THORACOSCOPIC LIMITED PERICARDIAL RESECTION WITH AN ULTRASONIC SCALPEL

We employed an ultrasonic scalpel, the Harmonic Scalpel (Ethicon Endo- Surgery, Cincinnati, OH), for thoracoscopic limited pericardial resect ion in consecutive 10 patients with massive pericardial effusion or pe ricarditis. The mean operative time was 27 minutes for pericardial eff usion. No dangerous arrhythmias were induced even in the patient with dense pericardial adhesions. There were mo operation-related complicat ions or deaths. The thoracoscopic ultrasonic scalpel technique can be an efficacious minimally invasive alternative for pericardial window. (C) 1998 by The Society of Thoracic Surgeons.