RESULTS OF VIDEO ASSISTED THORACOSCOPIC PLEURODESIS IN MANAGEMENT OF PNEUMOTHORACES

The objective of the study is to find out the efficiency of video assisted thoracoscopic (VATS) pleurodesis and predisposing factors of postoperative complications. This is a retrospective study that those who had VATS pleurodesis from January 1994 to December 2000 were recruited. There were consecutive 306 VATS pleurodesis performed on 271 patients. These included 33 female and 238 male patients from 15 to 73 years old. 31 of them had bilateral procedures. 244 of them had primary spontaneous pneumothoraces and 27 of them had secondary pneumothoraces. Most of them had two or more episodes of pneumothoraces and persistent air leakage >14 days before operations. 15 patients had failed surgical or chemical pleurodesis before VATS. There was no operative death. Usually they were discharged within five days after operations. There were 21 persistent air leakage >5 days (6.8%), 1 bleeding required surgical haemostasis (0.3%) and 4 infectious complications (1.3%). Follow up duration was up to 72 months. There was 12 recurrence (3.9%) after discharge. Absence of blebs, presence of pleural adhesion, prolonged chest tube placement before VATS pleurodesis, and failed surgical or chemical pleurodesis before are the predisposing factors of complications.