Videothoracoscopic approach to recurrence primary spontaneous pneumothorax: Using of electrocoagulation in small bulla/blebs

Alpay Orki, Recep Demirhan, Halil Ciftci, Tugba Coskun, C. Asim Kutlu, Bülent Arman

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

3 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Objective: To evaluate the effectiveness of electrocoagulation of bullae/blebs and apical pleurectomy via videothoracoscopic approach. Methods: We reviewed 42 patients who underwent Videoassisted thoracoscopy (VATS) procedure for recurrence primary spontaneous pneumothorax (PSP) from 200022006. There were 30 male and 12 female patients with a median age of 30 years. The percentage of pneumothorax was calculated median of 60% (British Thoracic Society Guideline - 2003). Thirty-two (76.2%) bullae/blebs were observed with the median diameter of 15 mm (5-30). Results: Bulla ablation via cauterisation and apical pleurectomy was performed in 32 patients. Ten patients underwent only apical pleurectomy/abrasion because in this group there was not any either bulla or bleb could be found. The median duration of drainage time was 3 days. There was no mortality and complications occurred in five (11.9%) patients. Only two (4.76%) recurrence occurred during the 52 months (5 to 76) median follow-up period. Conclusion: Videothoracoscopic bulla ablation with apical pleurectomy is a safe method for recurrence PSP. Especially, if the bulla or bleb is smaller than 20 mm the ablation via cauterisation reduces the expenses of VATS procedure by avoiding the use of stapler devices.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)19-22
Number of pages4
JournalIndian Journal of Surgery
Volume71
Issue number1
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Feb 2009
Externally publishedYes

Keywords

  • Electrocoagulation
  • Prevent
  • Recurrent pneumothorax
  • VATS

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Videothoracoscopic approach to recurrence primary spontaneous pneumothorax: Using of electrocoagulation in small bulla/blebs'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this