ObjectiveTo investigate the effects of closed thoracic drainage with single tube or double tubes after video-assisted thoracoscopic lung volume reduction surgery.MethodsRetrospective analysis was performed on 50 patients (39 males, 11 females) who underwent three-port thoracoscopic lung volume reduction surgery in our hospital from January 2013 to March 2019. Twenty-five patients with single indwelling tube after surgery were divided into the observation group and 25 patients with double indwelling tubes were divided into the control group.ResultsThere was no significant difference in pulmonary retension on day 3 after surgery, postoperative complications, the patency rate of drainage tube before extubation, retention time or postoperative hospital stay (P>0.05). Postoperative pain and total amount of nonsteroidal analgesics use in the observation group was less than those in the control group (P<0.05). ConclusionIt is safe and effective to perform closed thoracic drainage with single indwelling tube after video-assisted thoracoscopic lung volume reduction surgery, which can significantly reduce the incidence of related adverse drug reactions and facilitate rapid postoperative rehabilitation with a reduction of postoperative pain and the use of analgesic drugs.
Objective
To explore the diagnostic and treatment value of computed tomography (CT)-guided embolization coil localization of pulmonary nodules accurately resected under the thoracoscope.
Methods
Between October 2015 and October 2016, 40 patients with undiagnosed nodules of 15 mm or less were randomly divided into a no localization group (n=20, 11 males and 9 females with an average age of 60.50±8.27 years) or preoperative coil localization group (n=20, 12 males and 8 females with an average age of 61.35±8.47 years). Coils were placed with the distal end deep to the nodule and the superficial end coiled on the visceral pleural surface with subsequent visualization by video-assisted thoracoscopic (VATS). Nodules were removed by VATS wedge excision using endo staplers. The tissue was sent for rapid pathological examination, and the pulmonary nodules with definitive pathology found at the first time could be defined as the exact excision.
Results
The age, sex, forced expiratory volume in the first second of expiration, nodule size/depth were similar between two groups. The coil group had a higher rate of accurate resection (100.00% vs. 70.00%, P=0.008), less operation time to nodule excision (35.65±3.38 minvs. 44.38±11.53 min,P=0.003), and reduced stapler firings (3.25±0.85vs. 4.44±1.26,P=0.002) with no difference in total costs.
Conclusion
Preoperative CT-guided coil localization increases the rate of accurate resection.
ObjectiveTo summarize the clinical experience of the uniportal thoracoscopic anatomical sub-segmentectomy of the basal segment. MethodsThe clinical data of 34 patients who underwent uniportal thoracoscopic anatomical sub-segmentectomy of the basal segment in our department between April 2018 and April 2021 were retrospectively analyzed. There were 19 males and 15 females with a median age of 56.5 (28.0-76.0) years, a 3-4 cm incision was made in the 5th intercostal area at the front axillary line, and anatomical sub-segmentectomy of the basal segment was performed. Results The surgery was successfully performed in all patients, and there was no patient with additional chest incision or transfer to thoracotomy. The median operation time was 165.0 (125.0-220.0) min, intraoperative blood loss was 120.0 (70.0-290.0) mL, thoracic drainage time was 3.5 (2.0-24.0) d, and hospitalization time was 6.0 (3.0-26.0) d. There was no death during the hospitalization. Postoperative complications included 4 patients of atrial fibrillation, 2 patients of blood sputum, 3 patients of persistent air leakage, and they were recovered after conservative treatment. One patient developed pneumothorax after discharge, 1 patient developed pleural effusion, and both of them recovered after drainage. Postoperative pathology showed microinvasive adenocarcinoma in 22 patients, adenocarcinoma in situ in 7 patients, benign tumors in 5 patients. The lymph nodes were negative in all patients. Conclusion The uniportal thoracoscopic anatomical sub-segmentectomy of the basal segment is safe and feasible, and can be popularized and applied in clinic.
Surgical treatment is an important treatment for spontaneous pneumothorax, which can remove the gas in the pleural cavity, relieve symptoms, promote lung recruitment, moreover, prevent future recurrence. The surgical modalities included video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery (VATS) and non VATS treatment. Nowadays, the treatment of spontaneous pneumothorax has entered a minimally invasive era. With the development of minimally invasive techniques in recent years, as the representative of minimally invasive surgery, the surgeon techniques of VATS has developed to diversity, including three-port VATS, two-port VATS, uniportal VATS, subxiphoid uniportal VATS, 3D VATS, robotic-assisted VAT and cervical uniportal VATS. Each technique has its own advantages and limitations, and individual choices should be made.
ObjectiveTo explore the safety and feasibility of 3D precise localization based on anatomical markers in the treatment of pulmonary nodules during video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery (VATS).MethodsFrom June 2019 to April 2015, 27 patients with pulmonary nodules underwent VATS in our Hospital were collected in the study, including 3 males and 24 females aged 51.8±13.7 years. The surgical data were retrospectively reviewed and analyzed, such as localization time, localization accuracy rate, pathological results, complication rate and postoperative hospital stay.ResultsA total of 28 pulmonary nodules were localized via this method. All patients received surgery successfully. No mortality or major morbidity occurred. The general mean localization time was 17.6±5.8 min, with an accuracy of 96.4%. The mean diameter of pulmonary nodules was 14.0±8.0 mm with a mean distance from visceral pleura of 6.5±5.4 mm. There was no localization related complication. The mean postoperative hospital stay was 6.7±4.3 d. The routine pathological result showed that 78.6% of the pulmonary nodules were adenocarcinoma.Conclusion3D precise localization based on anatomical markers in the treatment of pulmonary nodules during thoracoscopic surgery is accurate, safe, effective, economical and practical, and it is easy to master with a short learning curve.
Objective
To explore the safety, feasibility and learning curve of video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery(VATS) in treatment of thoracic diseases.
Method
We retrospectively analyzed the clinical data of 591 patients of thoracic surgery in our hospital between September 2009 and September 2016. There were 378 males and 213 females at age of 14–82 years.
Result
All patients were successfully completed surgery. Twelve patients converted to open chest with conversion rate of 2.0%. Postoperative complications occurred in 24 patients (4.1%). Four patients died during the perioperative period, and mortality rate was 0.7%. The learning curve of VATS for lung cancer was about 25 patients. And the learning curve of video-assisted laparoscopy for resection of esophageal cancer was about 15 patients.
Conclusion
VATS is safety and feasible for the chest disease patients in municipal hospital, and is worthy to popularize.
ObjectiveTo investigate the effect of multi-sided foramen ultrafine drainage tube with metal support on the formation of thoracic residual cavity after uniportal video-assisted thoracoscopic (VATS) upper lobectomy. MethodsThe clinical data of the patients who underwent uniportal VATS upper lobectomy for lung cancer in the Department of Thoracic Surgery of the First Hospital of Lanzhou University from January 2021 to April 2022 were retrospectively analyzed. According to the type of ultrafine drainage tube used in the surgery, the patients were divided into a test group (using metal-supported multi-sided foramen ultrafine drainage tube) and a control group (using ordinary 12F ultrafine drainage tube). The incidence of postoperative thoracic residual cavity and operation-related data were compared between the two groups. ResultsA total of 200 patients were enrolled, including 126 males and 74 females, with a mean age of 57.52 years. There were 90 patients in the test group, and 110 patients in the control group. The incidence of postoperative thoracic residual cavity in the test group was lower than that in the control group (P=0.045). The differences in the postoperative bedtime, postoperative visual analogue scale, postoperative analgesic pump using time, postoperative hospitalization time, times of postoperative thoracentration and drainage, postoperative drainage time and hospitalization cost between the two groups were statistically significant (P<0.05). The incidences of postoperative lung infection, pleural effusion and atelectasis complications were lower in the test group than those in the control group (P<0.05). The differences in the preoperative anesthesia time, operation time, intraoperative bleeding and postoperative lung leakage were not statistically significant (P>0.05). ConclusionThe use of multi-sided foramen ultrafine drainage tube with metal support can reduce the incidence of thoracic residual cavity after uniportal VATS upper lobectomy, and can reduce pain and economical burdens and the incidence of operation-related complications, accelerating the recovery of patients after surgery. The application of multi-sided foramen ultrafine drainage tube with metal support in uniportal VATS upper lobectomy can be widely used in the clinic.
Objective
To compare the short-term outcomes of small thoracotomy and thoracoscopic approach for pediatric lobectomy.
Methods
From June 2011 to June 2016, 42 patients with lung diseases undertook lobectomy in Xinhua Hospital. There were 24 males and 18 females with an average age of 7.13±5.00 years, ranging from 4 months to 16 years. According to different operation methods, they were divided into a thoracoscopy group (n=22) and a small incision group (n=20). Duration of operation, intraoperative blood loss, duration of postoperative drainage, and postoperative hospital stay and complications between the two groups were recorded and compared.
Results
There was no significant difference in the age, body weight between the two groups (8.44±4.99 yearsvs. 5.68±4.69 years,t=1.84,P=0.07; 34.18±16.52 kgvs. 25.03±18.06 kg,t=1.72,P=0.09). Two patients (9%) undergoing thoracoscopy required conversion to small thoracotomy. Perioperative outcomes, including operation time (151.64±74.59 minvs. 136.40±50.36 min,t=0.77,P=0.45), intraoperative blood loss (43.41±45.91 mlvs. 79.50±131.00 ml,t=–1.21,P=0.23), drainage duration (5.00±1.79 dvs. 4.90±2.36 d,t=0.23,P=0.82), length of hospital stay (8.41±3.11 dvs. 8.65±2.66 d,t=–0.27,P=0.79) showed no significant differences between the two groups. One patient suffered pneumonia in thoracoscopy group after operation and the rest patients recovered well without severe complications such as atelectasis, active bleeding and bronchopleural fistula.
Conclusion
Lobectomy via small thoracotomy and thoracoscopic approach is effective and safe for pediatric patients with equivalent short-term outcomes. While thoracoscopic surgery with relatively small incision achieves good cosmetic outcome.
Objective To investigate the advantage of the concept of wide exposure in uniportal video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery (uniportal-VATS) for radical resection of lung cancer and assess its safety and feasibility. Methods Clinical data of 255 patients (110 males and 145 females, a mean age of 54.3±7.9 years) with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) who received wide exposure in uniportal-VATS or three portal VATS (3P-VATS) during August 2017 to March 2018 were retrospectively analyzed. There were 153 patients (67 males and 86 females, a mean age of 56.1±8.5 years) in the uniportal-VATS group and 102 patients (43 males and 59 femals, a mean age of 54.4±7.4 years) in the 3P-VATS group. The clinical effects were compared between the two groups. Results There was no statistical difference in the operation time between the uniportal-VATS and 3P-VATS (135.0±45.6 min vs. 142.0±39.5 min, P>0.05). The overall number of dissected stations (6.9±1.0) and LNs (14.5±3.0) in the uniportal-VATS group were similar with those in the 3P-VATS group (7.1±1.0, 15.1±1.7). The dissected stations of N2 LNs (uniportal-VATS: 4.1±1.7, 3P-VATS: 3.9±0.8) and number of dissected N2 LNs (uniportal-VATS: 8.0±0.9, 3P-VATS: 7.8±1.1) were both similar between the two groups. The duration of postoperative tube drainage and postoperative hospital stay of uniportal-VATS group (3.5±1.8 d and 7.2±0.9 d) were much shorter than those of 3P-VATS group (4.0±1.3 d and 8.8±2.0 d). No significant difference was found in incidence of postoperative complication between the two groups except that the incidence of subcutaneous emphysema in the uniportal-VATS group was much lower. There was no perioperative death in the two groups. Conclusion The concept of wide exposure in uniportal-VATS can meet the requirment of radical resection and it is a safe and valid method which can be used for radical resection of lung cancer.
Objective To explore the effect of early short-term use of low-dose steroids on early acute lung injury (EALI) after video-assisted thoracoscopic lobectomy. Methods Patients who underwent video-assisted thoracoscopic lobectomy in our department from January 2019 to January 2022 were selected for this retrospective cohort study. They were divided into an early steroid treatment group and a control group based on whether steroids were used in the early postoperative period. In the early steroid treatment group, in addition to routine postoperative treatment, low-dose methylprednisolone was administered intravenously, at 80-120 mg/d for 3 consecutive days. In the control group, routine postoperative treatment was given, but no steroids were used in the first 3 days. A chest computed tomography (CT) scan was performed on postoperative day (POD) 1, and POD3 or POD4 to assess lung injury. Chest CT scores, the EALI incidence, the length of hospital stay, and the incidence of poor incision healing were recorded. ResultsA total of 521 patients were included, consisting of 255 males and 266 females, aged 11-80 years. There were 203 patients in the early steroid treatment group and 318 patients in the control group. On POD1, the incidence of EALI was 16.0% in the control group and 13.8% in the steroid group, with no significant difference between the two groups (P>0.05). There was also no significant difference in the CT scores of patients with EALI in the two groups (P>0.05). On POD3/4, the incidence of EALI was 33.6% in the control group and 22.7% in the steroid group, showing a significant difference (P=0.007). When comparing the CT scores of patients with EALI in both groups, the scores were lower in the steroid group, but the difference was not significant (P>0.05). The overall incidence of EALI on POD1-4 was 37.4% in the control group and 26.1% in the steroid group, showing a significant difference (P=0.007). Of these, 28.9% of patients in the control group showed radiological progression, which means new EALI occurred or existing EALI progressed, while the progression rate was 14.8% in the steroid group (P<0.001). The length of hospital stay was significantly shorter in the steroid group compared to the control group (P<0.001), but the incidence of poor incision healing was not (P>0.05). Conclusion Early use of corticosteroids cannot reduce the incidence and severity of EALI on POD1, but it can reduce the incidence of EALI on POD3/4 and decrease the risk of radiological progression, and also lower the overall risk of EALI after surgery, without extended postoperative hospital stays or increased incidence of poor incision healing. Therefore, early postoperative use of low-dose corticosteroids can help to inhibit the occurrence and progression of EALI. It is suggested to use as early as possible especially in patients with high risks of postoperative EALI.
