A Clinical Analysis of Video-Assisted Thoracoscopic Surgery for Spontaneous Pneumothorax

Objective To evaluate the effect of video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery for spontaneous pneumothorax. Methods From Jan. 1993 to Oct. 2001, 186 patients were treated by VATS (n=143) or thoracotomy (n=43) for primary (PSP) and secondary (SSP) spontaneous pneumothorax. The intraoperative and postoperative parameters of VATS such as volume of blood loss, duration of operative time, length of hospital stay, duration of drainage, complications and recurrences were retrospectively compared with those of the control group of thoracotomy. Results The volume of blood loss, duration of operative time, length of hospital stay of the VATS group were superior to those of the thoracotomy group. The postoperative morbidity of the VATS group and thoracotomy group were respectively 8.4% and 20.9%(P0.05). The recent and late recurrence rates of the groups were respectively 5.6% versus 7%(P0.05), 2.8% versus 2.3%(P0.05). Conclusion VATS is more acceptable by the patients and more efficient as compared with the open thoracotomy. VATS can be considered as the first choice for SP.