PLEURAL ABRASION VIA AXILLARY THORACOTOMY IN THE ERA OF VIDEO-ASSISTED THORACIC-SURGERY

Background - Recurrent episodes of spontaneous pneumothorax can be man aged medically or surgically by various methods, video assisted thorac oscopy being the latest and most attractive. Methods - A retrospective analysis was made of 43 pleural abrasions performed in 39 patients th rough a 4-6 cm axillary thoracotomy incision. Results - There were no deaths and complications were few. At a mean follow up of 33 months th ere were two recurrences, neither of which required drainage. Conclusi ons - Compared with results achieved with video assisted thoracoscopic surgery, open pleural abrasion via a small thoracotomy may be the tre atment of choice in most hospitals.