Thoracoscopic Surgery for Pneumothorax Following Outpatient Drainage Therapy

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Purpose: We investigated the outcomes of surgery for pneumothorax following outpatient drainage therapy.

Methods: We reviewed the records of 34 patients who underwent operations following outpatient drainage therapy with the Thoracic Vent at our hospital between December 2012 and September 2016. Indications for outpatient drainage therapy were pneumothorax without circulatory or respiratory failure and pleural effusion. Indications for surgical treatment were persistent air leakage and patient preference for surgery to prevent or reduce the incidence of recurrent pneumothorax.

Results: Intraoperatively, 9 of 34 cases showed loose adhesions around the Thoracic Vent, all of which were dissected bluntly. The preoperative drainage duration ranged from 5 to 13 days in patients with adhesions and from 3 to 19 days in those without adhesions, indicating no significant difference. The duration of preoperative drainage did not affect the incidence of adhesions. The operative duration ranged from 30 to 96 minutes in patients with adhesions and from 31 to 139 minutes in those without adhesions, also indicating no significant difference.

Conclusion: Outpatient drainage therapy with the Thoracic Vent was useful for spontaneous pneumothorax patients who underwent surgery, and drainage for less than 3 weeks did not affect intraoperative or postoperative outcomes.