Video-Assisted Thoracoscopic Surgery for Open Chest Trauma

Objective To investigate the feasibility and superiority of video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery(VATS) in the diagnosis and treatment of open chest trauma.Methods According to the order of admission and the severity of the disease,60 patients with open chest trauma were randomly assigned to receive either VATS(experimental group,n=30) or traditional treatment(control group,n=30).Results Among the 30 patients in experimental group,22 underwent complete VATS,4 underwent video-assisted small incision surgery,3 were converted to conventional open thoracotomy,and 1 underwent small incision surgery and conventional laparotomy.Patients in control group were treated with closed thoracic drainage,thoracentesis exhaust drainage and conventional thoracotomy.All patients were followed up for 1-6 months.Compared with control group,VATS significantly decreased the incision,degree of pain on postoperative day 3,blood transfusion,drainage time,drainage volume and postoperative hospital stay,but obviously increased FEV1 on postoperative day 7(P0.05).Conclusion VATS can result in strong intuition,minimal trauma,mild pain,rapid recovery,short hospital stay,minimal drainage volume and few complications in the diagnosis and treatment of acute chest injury.Reasonable indications can contribute to rapid,effective and scientific diagnosis and treatment of open chest trauma.