Abstract
This study was aimed to estimate the safety and efficacy of covering the visceral pleura with a polyglycolic acid (PGA) sheet and autologous blood following thoracoscopic surgery for spontaneous pneumothorax. We retrospectively evaluated the results of the two different methods. Between December, 2001 and December, 2005, 32 consecutive patients (PGA and autologous blood group) with primary spontaneous pneumothorax were treated by thoracoscopic bullectomy followed by covering visceral pleuras with a PGA sheet and autologous blood. The conventional group consisted of 26 consecutive patients treated by thoracoscopic bullectomy only between March, 1995 and November, 2001. There were no significant differences between the two groups in terms of operation time, operative blood loss, drainage period, and hospital stay. Otherwise, the recurrence rate was lower in the PGA and autologous blood group. (0% vs 11.5%) The method of covering the visceral pleura with a polyglycolic acid sheet and autologous blood is safer and more effective than the conventional method.
