A case of thoracoscopic surgery for posterior mediastinal tumor using carbon dioxide insufflation in prone position

Abstract

Cases of selected thoracoscopic surgery for mediastinal tumors have increased depending on each tumor.

In surgery for a tumor in the area of the lower thoracic vertebra, the operative field may be poor due to the diaphragm.

The patient, a woman in her 50s, had a posterior mediastinal tumor in the right posterior mediastinum at the 11th to 12th vertebral level.

Thoracoscopic surgery using CO2 insufflation in a prone position was performed, which has been increasingly employed for esophagectomy in recent years.

In addition to the collapse of the lungs, the diaphragm was also depressed to the caudal side because of gravity and CO2 insufflation. Thoracoscopic surgery for a posterior mediastinal tumor using CO2 insufflation in a prone position was able to secure a good operative field.