163 CONSECUTIVE VIDEO THORACOSCOPIC PROCEDURES - THE HONG-KONG EXPERIENCE

Video-assisted thoracoscopy (VAT) offers a new approach to the diagnos is and treatment of many thoracic conditions. From September 1992 to A ugust 1993, a total of 163 VAT procedures were successfully, performed on 108 patients (87 male, 21 female; age range from 12 to 77) which c onsisted of 42 bleb eliminations and 64 mechanical pleurodesis for spo ntaneous pneumothorax, 11 wedge resections for pulmonary nodules, thre e wedge biopsies for diffuse pulmonary infiltrate, four thoracic sympa thectomies, resections of two mediastinal masses, three pericardial wi ndows, 10 guided pleural biopsies for undiagnosed effusions, six guide d drainage of empyema and haemothorax, 16 staging of intrathoracic tum ors and two explorations for penetrating thoracic trauma. There was no procedure-related mortality. Complications included one recurrence fo r spontaneous pneumothorax, one re-exploration for bleeding (also by V AT approach), one wound infection, and six persistent air leaks for mo re than 10 days. The median duration of postoperative chest tube drain age was 2 days and the median hospital stay was 4 days. It was conclud ed that VAT is a safe and effective approach in thoracic surgery and w ith further refinement in instrumentation even more procedures will be technically feasible. The long-term results of VAT are being awaited in order to define its true merits in thoracic surgery.