2019 Volume 78 Issue 6 Pages 347-351
Although video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery has been widely used in the treatment of spontaneous pneumothorax, the rate of postoperative recurrence at the staple line has been reported to be relatively high only by bullectomy. In our hospital, we have performed a method that covers the staple line with a polyglycolic acid (PGA) sheet. The aim of this study was to evaluate this method and cases of postoperative recurrence. We retrospectively analyzed 177 patients (180 sides) under the age of 40 years, who presented with primary spontaneous pneumothorax between January 2004 and December 2016. These patients underwent thoracoscopic closure of the air leakage with a PGA sheet. Recurrence occurred in 6 cases (3.3%). Four of the 6 sides underwent reoperation. There was no air leakage at the location covered by the PGA sheet. Considering the intraoperative findings, newly formed bullae at the upper lobe and segment 6 appeared to be the causes of recurrence. It is important to use the PGA sheets to not only cover the apical region, but also the whole of the upper lobe and segment 6 to reduce postoperative recurrence.
