Application of subaxillary vertical small incision in lung operations / 中国微创外科杂志

ABSTRACT

Objective To explore the improvement of traditional incision in thoracotomy and the application of subaxillary vertical small incision in lung operations. Methods We carried out a retrospective analysis on documents of 680 cases of subaxillary vertical small incision pneumonectomy conducted in this hospital between December 1996 and June 2003. Results The length of incision was 8~13 cm (mean, 11 2 cm). The time for thoracotomy was 4 5~10 min (mean, 6 min) and the operation time was 50~ 170 min (mean, 135 min). The intraoperative blood loss was 100~1200 ml (mean, 350 ml), the postoperative drainage volume was 120~800 ml (mean, 300 ml), and the perioperative blood transfusion, 0~1400 ml (mean, 300 ml). Postoperative pain classification results revealed that 585 cases of grade 1, 60 cases of grade 2 and 35 cases of grade 3 severity were observed. The postoperative hospital stay was 10~21 days (mean, 14 days). No surgical death occurred. Conclusions Subaxillary vertical small incision can be simply made. It offers minimal invasion, less blood loss, mild postoperative pain, quick recovery and good cosmetic results, being a viable option in most operations of pneumonectomy.