Abstract
The postoperative recurrence rate of bilateral spontaneous pneumothorax (BSP) is believed to be higher than that of unilateral spontaneous pneumothorax (USP). However, risk factors for the postoperative recurrence of BSP remain unclear. We retrospectively analyzed the clinical characteristics of patients with spontaneous pneumothorax, who underwent surgical treatment in our hospital between January 1998 and December 2008, and investigated the risk factors for the postoperative recurrence of BSP. The postoperative recurrence rate in BSP patients was higher than that in USP patients (31.6 % (six of 16 patients) versus 7.1% (12 of 169 patients), respectively, p<0.001). In patients with postoperative recurrence, BSP patients were younger than USP patients (p<0.001), and comprised significantly more non-smokers (p<0.01). In BSP patients, postoperative recurrence was not related to the surgical procedure, but was significantly associated with fibrous adhesion between the apex of the lung and chest wall (p<0.01). To reduce the high rate of postoperative recurrence in BSP patients, the reconsideration of an appropriate method for adhesion is needed in their treatment.
