Video-mediastinoscopic biopsy and treatment for pleural effusion / 中国微创外科杂志

ABSTRACT

Objective To investigate the application of video-mediastinoscopic biopsy and treatment for pleural effusion. Methods Thirty-two patients with pleural effusion received mediastinoscopic biopsy or treatment. The patients were maintained at a lateral decubitus. A 2 cm incision was made along the midaxillary line for introducing the mediastinoscope. The pleural fluid was drawn out and exploration with biopsy was conducted under mediastinoscope. For 25 patients with malignant hydrothorax, talcum powder was applied for pleurodesis. Results The operation time was 30~70 min (mean, 42 min). A confirmative diagnosis was obtained by video-mediastinoscopy in all the 32 patients, including adencarcinoma in 22 patients, poorly differentiated squamous cell carcinoma in 2, invasive thymoma in 1, tuberculosis in 5, and inflammation in 2. All the operations were successful and the patients recovered smoothly without severe postoperative complications. Conclusions Video-mediastinoscopy is one of effective methods for biopsy and treatment of pleural effusion.