Ultrasound-Guided Video-Assisted Mediastinoscopic Biopsy: A Novel Approach

Video-assisted mediastinoscopy (VAM) is the most commonly used invasive method for the preoperative mediastinal staging of lung cancer and for the diagnosis of other mediastinal diseases. However, VAM has the risk of causing life-threatening bleeding consequent to the specific mediastinal anatomy. We adopted the ultrasonic technique for VAM biopsies that can easily distinguish the lymph nodes from the surrounding great vessels and thus makes the procedure easier and safer.