[Evaluation of surgical treatment of spontaneous pneumothorax--assessment of postoperative recurrence and quality of life].

: To assess the effect of surgical treatment for spontaneous pneumothorax, including the evaluation of the quality of postoperative life by a questionnaire method, we examined 139 patients with spontaneous pneumothorax who underwent the surgical treatment. The operation was performed 149 times and 154 sides for these patients. Of these, 95 cases (65.2%) were the first episode of the disease, since we often chose surgical treatment even for the first attack of the disease. Postoperative recurrence was seen in only one case (0.6%). Operative complications included 4 cases of empyema (in two of them requiring reoperation) and 18 cases of wound infection. The most common postoperative complaints were post-thoracotomy pain in 12 cases (12.6%), disturbance of sensation in the scar in 9 (9.5%), and limitation of exercise in 9 (9.5%). Four patients (4.2%) suffered from these symptoms and had difficulty in daily life. Forty-seven patients (49.5%) had a fear of recurrence. Quality of postoperative life was almost satisfactory. From the viewpoints of both prevention of the recurrence and postoperative quality of life, the surgical treatment is effective and safe method. We advocate the surgical treatment as the first choice of the treatment even in case of the first episode of the disease, especially in patients with high activities in social life.