Video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery. Technical considerations, advantagesand disadvantages: a review of 29 cases

We describe our experience with video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery (VA TS ). Twenty-nine patients were operated on with this technique for various an terior thoracic spinal lesions. There weve 6 cases of disc herniation with simple resection, 6 with acute thoracic fractures requiring anterior grafti ng and stabilization 7 old fractures and malunions treated by corporectomy, grafting and anterior stabilization in 3, 4 with spinal metastases that we re resected and stabilized 3 with a paravertebral spinal tunor (2 schwannom as and 1 chondroblastoma), and 3 osteoid osteomas that were resected with a nterior grafting in one ease. Indications for these procedures are specifie d and tile technical considerations discussed for each group of pathologies . We had three complications: one conversion to thoracotomy in a ease of spin al metastasis, one pleural effusion, and one incomplete resection of a thor acic disc herniation. WE emphasize the need for minimally invasive approach es in spinal surgery.