The recent advancements in diagnosis and treatment of thoracic disease
have been made mostly in line with advancements in endoscopic equipme
nt design and refinement of thoracoscopic surgery techniques. Between
March 1992 and February 1993, video thoracoscopic procedures were perf
ormed in 50 patients. Twelve of the 50 patients were diagnosed with lu
ng cancer. Thoracic staging was performed in 6 patients (clinical diag
nosis of suspicious intrapulmonary metastasis, 3 patients; intrapulmon
ary metastasis and/or lymph node metastasis, 1 patient; interlobar ple
ural effusion, 1 patient; and pleural dissemination, 1 patient). There
were no complications or mortality associated with these procedures.
Our initial experience has indicated that thoracoscopic staging for lu
ng cancer is a safe and effective procedure.