THORACOSCOPY FOR STAGING OF LUNG-CANCER

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.