scholarly journals Pleurodesis methods in the surgical treatment of primary spontaneous pneumothorax

2021 ◽  
pp. 77-81

Pneumothorax is the collection of air in the pleural space. Pneumothorax can be spontaneous, traumatic or iatrogenic. Primary spontaneous pneumothorax mostly occurs in healthy individuals without an apparent cause, probably due to the rupture of subpleural emphysematous bullae located on the apex of the lung. It usually occurs in tall and healthy males younger than 40 years old. Primary spontaneous pneumothorax has a recurrence rate of 20-30% after the first attack, 50% after the second attack, and 80% after the third attack. Surgery is presented as a treatment option to reduce the high recurrence rate after the second attack. It has been reported that recurrence is between 10 and 20% in patients who undergo bullectomy or wedge resection with endoscopic steps alone. Therefore, various pleural pleurodesis methods are applied in addition to bulla resection in order to reduce the recurrence rate after surgery. In mechanical pleurodesis, adhesion between visceral and parietal pleura is achieved by mechanical abrasion of the parietal pleura or by total or partial removal of the parietal pleura. In chemical pleurodesis, the visceral pleura is adhered to the parietal pleura by creating irritation in the pleura with chemical agents. In cases where pleurodesis was added, the recurrence rate was reported to be between 1.7 and 2.8%. Whether the pleurectomy, pleural mechanical or chemical abrasion methods performed with video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery is superior for preventing recurrence is still a matter of debate. In this article, we aimed to discuss the advantages and disadvantages of pleurodesis methods in the surgical treatment of primary spontaneous pneumothorax in the light of the literature.

2017 ◽  
Vol 66 (07) ◽  
pp. 575-582 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tobias Suttner ◽  
Reiner Neu ◽  
Tobias Potzger ◽  
Tamas Szöke ◽  
Christian Grosser ◽  
...  

Background The optimal treatment of primary spontaneous pneumothorax (PSP) is still controversial. The purpose of this study was to analyze the incidence of recurrence, the recurrence-free time, and to identify risk factors for recurrence after PSP. Methods We performed a retrospective analysis of 135 patients with PSP who were treated either conservatively with a chest tube (n = 87) or surgically with video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery (VATS; n = 48) from January 2008 through December 2012. Results In this study, 101 (74.8%) male and 34 (25.2%) female patients were included with a mean age of 35.7 years. The indications for surgery included blebs/bullae in the radiological images (n = 20), persistent air leaks (n = 15), or the occupations/wishes of the patients (n = 13). A first ipsilateral recurrent pneumothorax (true recurrence) was observed in 31.1% of all patients (VATS: 6.25%, conservative: 44.8%). Including contralateral recurrence, the overall first recurrence rate was 41.3% (VATS: 14.6%, conservative: 57.5%). The recurrence-free time did not differ significantly between the treatment groups (p = 0.51), and most recurrences were observed within the first 6 months after PSP. Independent risk factors identified for the first recurrence were conservative therapy (p = 0.0001), the size of the PSP (conservative; p = 0.016), and a body mass index <17 (VATS; 0.022). The risk for second and third recurrences of PSP was 17.5 and 70%, respectively, for both treatment groups, but it was 100% after conservative therapy. Conclusion Surgery for PSP should be selected based on the risk factors and the patient's wishes to prevent first recurrences but also to avoid overtreatment. The treatment of first and subsequent PSP recurrences should be with surgery since conservative treatment is associated with a 100% recurrence rate.


2019 ◽  
Vol 36 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Hasan Oğuz Kapicibasi

Objective: In the treatment of primary spontaneous pneumothorax (PSP), the influence of safety and applicability of uniportal video assisted thoracoscopic surgery (VATS) bullectomy/blebectomy and pleurectomy method were evaluated in 46 patients. Methods: Between November 2010 and January 2019, 46 patients (36 males, 10 females; mean age 24.2 years; range 16-36 years) undergoing uniportal video thoracoscopic bullectomy/blebectomy and apical pleurectomy for primary spontaneous pneumothorax were evaluated retrospectively at Canakkale Onsekiz Mart University (COMU). One patient underwent surgery for the second time after three months for contralateral pneumothorax and counted as two different patients, hence forty seven operations were performed in total. The cases were evaluated in terms of age, gender, comorbidity, duration of hospital stay, histopathological diagnosis, postoperative morbidity and mortality. Results: Right surgical intervention was performed in 20 cases (42.6%) and left surgical intervention in 27 cases (57.6%). A total of 15 (31.9%) surgical operations were performed during the first attack, 30 (63.8%) during the second attack and 2 (4.3%) during third and more attacks. There was prolonged air leakage in all patients operated during the first episode. All cases underwent wedge resection and pleurectomy with endoscopic stapes. None of the patients required thoracotomy. Postoperative drainage period was between 2-7 days (mean: 4.1) and the duration of hospitalization was between three to eight days. Postoperative pain and paraesthesia were observed in eight cases. Prolonged air leakage was observed in five cases. Conclusion: With video thoracoscopic uniportal technique, not only lung biopsy and resection but also bullectomy/blebectomy and pleurectomy operations can be performed safely in the treatment of PSP. In view of this information, minimally invasive techniques are seen as more advantageous than conventional techniques. doi: https://doi.org/10.12669/pjms.36.2.1556 How to cite this:Kapicibasi HO. Uniportal VATS technique for primary spontaneous pneumothorax: An analysis of 46 cases. Pak J Med Sci. 2020;36(2):---------. doi: https://doi.org/10.12669/pjms.36.2.1556 This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.


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