Abstract
Thoracoscopic surgery has two functions, one diagnostic and the another therapeutic. In the former, thoracoscopy is useful for diagnoses of i) unknown pleural effusion, ii) diseases of the pleural surface, iii) peripheral lung nodule, iv) diffuse lung disease, v) mediastinal tumor, and vi) diseases related to diaphragm.
On the other hand, therapeutic thoracoscopy is used in the surgical treatment of various lung diseases. Bullaectomy for spontaneous pneumothorax using a thoracoscope is very popular. Video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery (VATS) for lung carcinoma has been adopted for peripheral small tumors with T1N0M0. Compared to standard thoracotomy, VATS lobectomy seems to be less invasive in terms of postoperative pain or bleeding volume during operations. It is also superior from a cosmetic point of view.
Thus, thoracoscopic surgery should be become an important option in the diagnosis and treatment of lung disease.
