OBJECTIVE To discuss the feasibility and experience of treating valvular heart diseases with thoracoscopy-assisted mitral valve replacement concomitant with tricuspid valvuloplasty, with domestically manufactured pipeline products for cardiopulmonary bypass. METHODS A total of 135 patients with valvular heart disease were admitted to our hospital between January 2011 and January 2013. They re...

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE Parapneumonic empyema (PPE) is a frequent complication of acute bacterial pneumonia in children. There is limited evidence regarding the optimal treatment of this condition. The aim of this study was to compare the efficacy of drainage plus urokinase versus video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery in the treatment of PPE in childhood. METHODS This prospective, randomized,...

BACKGROUND This report describes a preliminary experience with six patients undergoing video imaged thoracoscopic pulmonary lobectomy. METHODS Three left upper lobectomies, and one each of right upper, right lower and left lower lobectomy were undertaken. The resections were performed as orthodox dissectional lobectomy procedures but were carried out under videothoracoscopic imaging with inst...

The practicality of physicians performing thoracoscopy for diagnostic purposes was assessed in 30 patients with pleural effusions of unknown cause. A rigid thoracoscope was compared with a fibreoptic bronchoscope used as a flexible thoracoscope and the diagnostic adequacy of biopsy specimens obtained with the two instruments assessed. The two instruments were inserted by a physician in the bron...

A 23-year-old male underwent a left internal jugular vein catheterization during extended surgery for treatment of multiple fractures due to a traffic accident. Although the catheterization was performed under ultrasound (US) guidance, iatrogenic perforation of the central vein and pleura occurred. The catheter was removed, and the perforated site was addressed under thoracoscopy rather than an...

A patient had attempted suicide by firing a butcher's gun into his left chest 3 cm caudal to the mammilla. Transthoracic echocardiography and CT-scan showed a discrete hematopneumothorax but no pericardial effusion, the cardio respiratory condition was stable. As the bolt had been aimed directly at the heart of the patient, thoracoscopy was performed to rule out cardiac trauma. Thoracoscopy sho...

In eight patients with pleural effusion arterial oxygen and carbon dioxide tensions (PaO2 and PaCO2), pH, respiratory frequency, and cardiac rhythm and frequency were measured before, during, and after thoracoscopy. Four of the patients had a PaO2 below 70 mm Hg (9.3 kPa) before the procedure. During and after the procedure respiratory frequency increased and PaCO2 fell, indicating hyperventila...

Video-assisted thoracoscopy is a minimally invasive surgical technique. It is the procedure of choice for the treatment of certain lung and pleural diseases. It has been increasingly used in the acute phase of thoracic trauma. Another indication for its use, which is rarely described in the literature, is for the removal of retained intrathoracic foreign bodies. We report the cases of two hemod...