Initial experience of single-incision thoracoscopic surgery for 100 patients with primary spontaneous pneumothorax

Abstract

Purpose: The aim of this retrospective study was to evaluate single-incision thoracoscopic surgery (SITS) for primary spontaneous pneumothorax (PSP). Methods: Among 141 patients who underwent surgery for PSP from July 2009 to December 2013, a total of 100 patients underwent SITS. Their data were examined for clinical characteristics and surgical results. Results: More patients with younger age, female sex, and who had social indications were treated by SITS than by three-port video-assisted thoracic surgery (VATS). The mean operative time for SITS was 48.8 min. There were no conversions from SITS to three-port VATS or thoracotomy. After SITS, the median duration of chest drainage was 1 day, and the median hospital stay was 2 days. Early complications included one surgical-site infection and one case of air leakage. Four patients (4.0%) had ipsilateral recurrence of PSP. Conclusion: SITS is feasible when performed for selected patients with PSP. Long-term follow-up and further examinations are required to evaluate patient selection, efficacy, and comparability of SITS with conventional open and three-port VATS approaches.