Source: Annual Congress 2001 - Thoracoscopy
Disease area: Interstitial lung diseases, Thoracic oncology

Abstract

Minimally invasive techniques are frequently needed to diagnose diffuse interstitial lung diseases, mediastinal and pleural pathologies. The aim of the retrospective study was to analyze the usefulness, efficacy and safety of VATS as a diagnostic procedure within a large group of patients.
METHODS: Between 1995 and 2000, 650 diagnostic VATS procedures in general anesthesia were performed. 315 patients had a lung biopsy, in 178 an enlarged lymph node was resected, in 112 cases pleural biopsy was performed and there was 45 mediastinal or lung tumor biopsies. 421 (64.8%) patients were females. The mean age was 44.5 ±]14.2 (range 15-79). In all patients with lung biopsy a chest tube was inserted and the end of the procedure. 80% of the patients with pleural and lung tumor biopsies. In the subgroup of lymph node biopsy, only 20% of the patients needed a chest tube after the surgery.
RESULTS: The pathological diagnosis was obtained in 99% of lymph node specimens, 98% of parenchyma 96% of pleura and 95% of lung and mediastinal tumors. Conversion to open thoracotomy was required in 5 (0.8%). VAT assisted mini-thoracotomy was performed in 45 (6.9%). The was one death in the post-operative period (not related to the procedure). There was no other major complications. The mean post-operative stay was 3.6 days.
CONCLUSION: Very high diagnostic accuracy was achieved by a possibility of the vision-guided biopsy of the affected sites. The method is very effective in diagnosing both pleural, mediastinal and parenchymal pathologies. It is a minimally invasive procedure and the both mortality and morbidity is very low.

Rating:

Share or cite this content

Citations should be made in the following way:
C. T. Piwkowski, W. Dyszkiewicz, M. Kasprzyk, L. Gasiorowski, K. Pawlak, P. Kasprzak (Poznan, Poland). VATS as a diagnostic tool in parenchymal, pleural and mediastinal diseases - a retrospective analysis of 650 cases. Eur Respir J 2001; 16: Suppl. 31, 3484

Member's Comments

No comment yet.

Related content which might interest you: Videothoracoscopic lung biopsy (VATS-LB) in the diagnosis of diffuse interstitial lung disease (DILD) and evaluation of an outpatient surgical approach. A prospective multicentric study Source: Annual Congress 2008 - Clinical aspects of interstitial lung disease Year: 2008 Retrospective assessment of diagnostic yield of percutaneous transthoracic pleural biopsy in malignant pleural effusions Source: Eur Respir J 2004; 24: Suppl. 48, 528s Year: 2004 ‘Redo‘ medical thoracoscopy is feasible in patients with pleural diseases – a series Source: Annual Congress 2008 - Diagnostic and therapeutic approaches in pleural diseases Year: 2008 VATS lung biopsy is the method of choice for patients with ambiguous pulmonary pathology to establish a morphologic diagnosis Source: Annual Congress 2011 - General thoracic surgery I Year: 2011 Diagnostic value of medical thoracoscopy in pleural disease – a 5-year retrospective study Source: Annual Congress 2008 - Diagnostic and therapeutic approaches in pleural diseases Year: 2008 Retrospective review of diagnostic medical pleuroscopy in tuberculous pleural effusions Source: Eur Respir J 2005; 26: Suppl. 49, 421s Year: 2005 Can suspicion for malignancy improve the indication of video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery (VATS) in patients with pleural effusion of unknown cause? Source: International Congress 2017 – Pleural and mediastinal malignancies Year: 2017 The impact of video-assisted thoracoscopy (VAT) on the management of malignant pleural effusions Source: Eur Respir J 2002; 20: Suppl. 38, 538s Year: 2002 Diagnostic tools in tuberculous pleurisy: a direct comparative study Source: Eur Respir J 2003 Oct 01;22(4):589-591 Year: 2003 Cryobiopsy in the diagnosis of diffuse parenchymal lung diseases: diagnostic strategy and complications in 699 patients Source: International Congress 2018 – The world of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF): global registries Year: 2018 Radial probe endobronchial ultrasound for the diagnosis of peripheral lung cancer: systematic review and meta-analysis Source: Eur Respir J 2011; 37: 902-910 Year: 2011 Rigid thoracoscopy versus CT-guided pleural needle biopsy for diagnosis of patients with pleural effusions: a randomized controlled trial Source: Annual Congress 2007 - Pleural diseases Year: 2007 Ultrasound assisted Tru-Cut biopsy of pleural tumors: a prospective analysis of 62 consecutive cases in a high incidence area for malignant mesothelioma Source: Eur Respir J 2002; 20: Suppl. 38, 594s Year: 2002 Diagnostic thoracoscopy in suspected malignant disease of the pleura: Pleural nodularity justifies talc poudrage Source: Annual Congress 2011 - Molecular markers: diagnosis and management of malignant pleural effusions Year: 2011 The role of video-assisted thoracoscopy in the diagnostic of tuberculous pleural effusions Source: Annual Congress 2010 - Extrapulmonary tuberculosis Year: 2010 Routine neck ultrasound by respiratory physicians in the diagnosis and staging of patients with lung cancer and mediastinal lymphadenopathy: a prospective pilot study Source: ERJ Open Res, 6 (1) 00180-2019; 10.1183/23120541.00180-2019 Year: 2020 Biopsy techniques in the diagnosis of pleural diseases Source: ISSN=1025-448x, ISBN=1-904097-25-1, page=120 Year: 2002 A randomised controlled study to compare the efficacy of closed pleural biopsy and medical thoracoscopic pleural biopsy in undiagnosed exudative pleural effusion Source: Annual Congress 2011 - From outside to inside: access to the pleura Year: 2011 Utility of thoracic ultrasound for detecting malignant pleural effusion: a systematic review and meta-analysis Source: Virtual Congress 2020 – Transthoracic and endobronchial ultrasound Year: 2020 Comparison of percutaneous pleural biopsy and video-assisted thoracoscopic biopsy (VATS) in diagnosis of pleural effusions Source: Eur Respir J 2004; 24: Suppl. 48, 629s Year: 2004