INTEREST OF VIDEO-ASSISTED THORACIC-SURGE RY IN INTERNAL-MEDICINE - AREPORT OF 7 CASES

Since a few years, the medical thoracoscopy has already been used spec ially for the diagnostic and therapeutic taking up of the pleural path ology. Behind it, the video-assisted thoracic surgery has been improve d since 1990. As a surgical technology, it proved its interest referin g to the classical thoracotomy by lessening operative morbidity and mo rtality. The authors discuss its main indications about seven cases, r ecruted in the internal medicine service and operated in the thoracic surgery service of the Val-de-Grace hospital. Some of these indication s are now admited by most of the authors: 1) diagnostic aims: Pulmonar y biopsy in case of interstitial pathology, of pulmonary peripheral un der-pleural nodule and sometimes of solid tumors of the mediastinum, s pecially of some lymph-nodes. 2) Therapeutic dims: the spontaneous pne umothorax treatment of the adult remains the most classical indication ; the thoracic sympathectomy, the creation of pleuropericardial window s and the resection of benign tumors of the mediastinum are now well a cknowledged indications.