Two cases of thoracoscopic surgery under the local and epidural anesthesia for the treatment of pneumothorax in poor-risk patients

Abstract

We report two cases of thoracoscopic surgery under local and epidural anesthesia for the treatment of intractable pneumothorax, in which they consisted of a case of severe emphysema and one lung ventilation under general anesthesia was felt to be risky. Operation was undertaken after identifying the location of the air leakage by pleurogram.
Pain was minimal and the cough reflex was well controlled during the operation, allowing us to perform thoracoscopic surgery in a well exposed operation field. The blood pressure, pulse, and O₂ saturation during the operation were stable.