Primary treatment of malignant pleural effusions: video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery poudrage versus tube thoracostomy

The objective of this study is to show that primary treatment of malignant pleural effusions secondary to ovarian carcinoma with video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery (VATS)-assisted talc poudrage (VATS-ATP) results in shorter hospital stays and reduced time with a chest tube than primary treatment with a chest tube and chemical pleurodesis. We conducted a retrospective chart review of all patients with a symptomatic pleural effusion secondary to primary ovarian carcinoma receiving intervention from January 1996 to December 2000. Patients either received tube thoracostomy with pleurodesis (n = 22) or VATS-ATP (n = 12). Of the patients treated with tube thoracostomy 18 per cent (4/21) died in the hospital before pleurodesis, 77 per cent (14/19) had successful pleurodesis, and 22 per cent (4/18) failed pleurodesis requiring VATS-ATP. In the group treated primarily with tube thoracostomy the chest tube was in place 8.36 +/- 2.61 days with a hospital stay of 12.64 +/- 5.80 days after the procedure. In the group treated with VATS-ATP there was 100 per cent successful pleurodesis. There were no mortalities. There was one prolonged intubation of 3 days and one incomplete lung reexpansion. The chest tube was in place for 4.58 +/- 1.78 days and a hospital stay of 7.50 +/- 4.12 days postprocedure. Groups treated by tube thoracostomy and VATS were statistically different; P < 0.001 for days with a chest tube and P = 0.011 for hospital days. We conclude that both tube thoracostomy with chemical pleurodesis and VATS-ATP provide adequate treatment of ovarian carcinoma-associated malignant pleural effusions. VATS-ATP provides a shorter duration of chest tube placement and postprocedure hospital stay.     

Video-assisted thoracoscopic pleurodesis for malignant pleural effusions

AIM: The objective was to analyse the efficiency, and safety of thoracoscopic pleurodesis (TP). A retrospective study was made of an initial series of 75 patients undergoing lifetime follow-up who received TP in our department for the treatment of malignant pleural effusions (MPE). MATERIAL AND METHODS: From May 1994 to December 1998, 34 men and 41 women with a median age of 63.4 +/- 12.5 years were treated by TP. We performed 36 partial diathermic abrasions on pleura combined with talc insufflation, and in 39 cases only talc poudrage. The mean duration of insention of the chest tube was 4.1 (range 2 to 17) days, with 8.4 (range 5 to 20) days of postoperative hospitalization. There were no severe intraoperative or postoperative complications. The 30-day mortality rate was 1.3% (1 case). The period of follow-up ranged from 2.5 to 40 months (average 6.8). No case of late recurrence has been observed to date. CONCLUSION: Videothoracoscopic pleurodesis (talc poudrage) as a simple and efficient procedure seems to be the best alternative treatment regimen for the management of MPE in a group of selected patients.     

Single-incision thoracoscopic surgery of pleural effusions for diagnosis and treatment

Background

Several procedures such as video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery (VATS) are used to make a definite diagnosis in recurrent pleural effusions so that appropriate treatment can be arranged. Single-incision thoracoscopic surgery (SITS) is the most appropriate procedure that can be used for this purpose. The contribution of SITS to diagnosis and treatment is evaluated in this study that we conducted using a single thoracoport in patients with pleural effusion.

Methods

Nineteen consecutive patients with pleural effusion that was recurrent or refractory to medical treatment were included in the study to be diagnosed and treated with SITS. Thoracentesis was performed and pleural fluid samples obtained in all patients before the procedure. Pleural effusion drainage was performed from the 11-mm single skin incision by using a 10.5-mm single thoracoport, and biopsy or talc pleurodesis was performed in the same session when needed.

Results

The median age of the patients was 56.68 ± 3.05 years and there were 11 males and 8 females. The total amount of fluid drained by SITS was 1,436 ± 227 mL and the surgery lasted 81.05 ± 5.36 min. In addition, partial decortication and/or deloculation were performed in six patients and talc pleurodesis in nine patients. Fifteen patients were diagnosed with benign and four patients with malignant pleural effusion by thoracentesis, while nine patients were diagnosed with benign and ten patients with malignant pleural effusion by SITS. We therefore had six cases diagnosed as benign with thoracentesis who were diagnosed with malignant disease after SITS.

Conclusions

SITS presents both diagnosis and treatment options together for pleural effusions. We believe SITS should be preferred to conventional three-port VATS to minimize the spread of infection and tumor cells to the chest wall in infectious and malignant diseases.     

电视胸腔镜诊治胸腔积液的临床体会

目的:探讨电视胸腔镜手术诊治胸腔积液的应用价值。方法:回顾分析2006年3月至2012年8月为152例胸腔积液患者行电视胸腔镜手术的临床资料。双腔气管插管全麻后置入胸腔镜及活检钳,取胸膜组织送病理检查,并根据病理检查结果决定治疗方案。结果:152例患者中肺癌胸膜转移83例,恶性胸膜间皮瘤18例,胸腺瘤3例,恶性肿瘤胸膜转移16例,来源不明的转移肿瘤4例,结核性胸水25例,3例未明确诊断。恶性胸腔积液患者行滑石粉胸膜固定,根据病理类型术后予以规范化抗肿瘤治疗。结核性胸腔积液患者,术后予以正规抗结核治疗。余者均根据病理回报结果进行相应后续治疗。结论:电视胸腔镜手术诊治胸腔积液微创,确诊率高,疗效确切,为进一步治疗疾病提供了有力证据。     

Thoracoscopic palliative treatment of malignant pleural effusions

Background The aim of this study was to analyze the results of pleurodesis for malignant pleural effusion performed by surgeons. Patients and methods A series of 273 patients with malignant pleural effusion underwent thoracoscopy with the aim of performing a palliative pleurodesis. There were 94 males (34.4%) and 175 females (64.1%), ranging in age from 15 to 94 years (mean age: 60.6 years). The effusion was on the right side in 136 patients (49.8%), on the left side in 110 (40.3%), and bilateral in 27 (9.9%). Thoracoscopy was performed under general anaesthesia in all patients. Pleural biopsy was performed in two thirds of the patients (70.7%). Pleurodesis was produced by instillation of 5g of sterile asbestos-free talc; the chest tube was left in place a minimum of 3 days. It was removed when fluid drainage was less than 200 ml/24 h. Patients were usually discharged the day after chest tube removal. Results There was no intraoperative mortality. Two patients (0.7%) had intraoperative complications; 17 (6.2%) underwent a bilateral pleurodesis, and 10 (3.7%) had a pericardiopleural window. In 32 patients (11.7%) no pleurodesis was done, either because the lung did not properly re-expand (5.2%), or because of suspected infection, e.g., false membranes (1.9%), or because of multiple adhesions (4.6%). Finally, only 241 patients (88.3%) had a talc poudrage at the time of thoracoscopy. Duration of postoperative pleural drainage ranged between 1 and 11 days (mean: 3.64 days). The postoperative hospital stay ranged from 2 to 21 days (mean: 7.1 days). Pleural empyema occurred in 4 patients (1.5%) and was lethal in one patient. The mean follow-up period was 8.39 (7.2 months, and 172 patients had regular follow up. In this group, there were 24 recurrences (14%), 12 of which were treated by repeat pleurodesis. The results were very good in 133 patients (77.3%), acceptable in 35 patients (20.3%), and there was a failure in 4 patients (2.4%). Conclusions Results of surgical thoracoscopy for malignant pleural effusion are good, with low morbidity. However, in debilitated patients, bedside talc slurry may be preferable. Presented at the 13th Congress of the EAES (European Association for Endoscopic Surgery), Venice, June 2005.     

Long-term follow-up of video-assisted talc pleurodesis in malignant recurrent pleural effusions.

OBJECTIVE: Recurrent pleural effusion is a common condition and often presents a challenge for treatment. The aim of this report is to evaluate the long-term follow-up of thoracoscopic management of malignant recurrent pleural effusions. METHODS: From July 1st, 1992 to February 28th, 2001, out of 2311 VATS procedures performed at our Institution, 690 patients (29.85%) underwent videothoracoscopy (VATS) for recurrent pleural effusion. Of these 611 (88.55%) were treated for a malignant pleural effusion. There were 374 male and 237 female, with a mean age of 61.2 years. In all patients VATS was performed under general anaesthesia. The pleural effusion was carefully aspirated; fibrinous adhesions were taken down while dense fibrous adhesions were selectively divided; some limited decortications were also performed. Multiple pleural biopsies were always performed. Pleurodesis was performed with 5 g of sterile purified talc insufflated through a talc atomizer. One chest tube was left in situ for 3-5 days. RESULTS: Operative mortality was 0.81% (five cases). Postoperative complications occurred in 19 cases (3.1%). Specific histologic diagnosis was obtained in all patients. Follow-up was available for 602 patients (98.5%). After a median follow-up of 64 months (range 5-105 months), talc pleurodesis was successful in controlling recurrence of effusion in 92.7% (558 out of 602) of patients. The success rate did not show any statistically significant difference between patients who underwent postoperative adjuvant therapy and patients who did not. In two patients with failure of talc pleurodesis a redo-VATS was performed. CONCLUSIONS: VATS represents the method of choice for both diagnosis and treatment of malignant recurrent pleural effusions. Talc poudrage is safe and effective in obtaining pleurodesis.     

电视胸腔镜在食管疾病诊断与治疗中的应用

电视胸腔镜手术(VATS)作为一种微创技术应用于食管疾病的诊断和治疗已10年左右,其优点为减少术后早期和长期胸痛,减少术后呼吸道并发症,符合美学要求.VATS食管癌分期主要是评估食管癌外侵和转移情况,有助于选择合适的治疗方案.VATS治疗食管癌主要应用于早期食管癌切除,但由于手术部位多,操作较繁杂,应用受到一定的限制;而对食管良性疾病,如平滑肌瘤、贲门失弛缓症等在有条件的医疗中心已成为首选的手术方案.     

Complications of video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery

We introduced video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery (VATS) for chest disorders in our institution in March, 1992. At first, many of the subjects' disorders were non-malignant diseases such as spontaneous pneumothorax, but later we started to perform this procedure for lung cancer and mediastinum neoplasm, with improved result over thoracoscopic surgical procedures. Now most of the chest disorders at our institution are treated with VATS. However, many kinds of complications due to manual techniques and instrument troubles surfaced during this period. Therefore, in this article we would like to describe the complications that we have experienced in our institution using VATS and discuss how we have attempted to deal with these complications.     

Rotating brush for video-assisted thoracoscopic pleural abrasion

We present a simple device enabling parietal pleural abrasion during video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery (VATS). The rotating brush facilitates safe pleurodesis in patients with pneumothorax obviating the need for additional chemical agents or pleurectomy.     

Life expectancy of patients with malignant pleural effusion treated with video-assisted thoracoscopic talc pleurodesis

The aim of the current study was to analyse postoperative complications and survival after video-assisted thoracoscopic (VATS) talc pleurodesis for malignant pleural effusion. All patients with morphologically proven malignant pleural effusion who underwent VATS talc pleurodesis from November 1995 to November 2002 were included in retrospective analysis. VATS was performed in general anaesthesia and 5 g of asbestos-free talc was insufflated into the pleural cavity. Postoperative pleural drainage was used until fluid output was less than 100 ml/24 h. Ninety-eight patients (28 male and 70 female) with mean age 59.6 (range 18-82) years were included. Thirteen patients had a bilateral pleural effusion. The most common primary cancer sites were lung (30 cases), breast (25) and ovarium (11). Average duration of the operation was 46 (range 10-120) min. Median duration of postoperative drainage was 3 (range 1-20) days and postoperative hospitalisation 7 (range 3-70) days. Twenty-eight patients had postoperative complications (fever in 17 cases). In seven cases pleurodesis was ineffective. Median survival was 8.4 months. Six-, 12- and 24-month survival was 58% (95% CI [0.47-0.67]), 39% [0.29-0.49] and 20% [0.12-0.29], respectively. Survival data after VATS talc pleurodesis advocate use of this invasive treatment method despite the advanced stage of cancer.     

胸腔镜在恶性胸腔积液诊治中的应用

自１９９２年１１月至１９９６年１０月间,作者用胸腔镜技术对２０例恶性胸腔积液患者进行了诊断和治疗,均获得明确诊断;其中恶性胸膜间皮瘤８例,转移癌１２例。２０例行滑石粉胸膜固定术;其中１８例获得可靠的胸膜固定。有２例未成功的原因为肺实性变而不能复张。术后有２例短暂发热和轻度哮喘,对症治疗后症状明显缓解。作者认为,胸腔镜手术可以大大提高恶性胸腔积液的病因诊断率和胸膜固定术的效果,术中应尽可能将附着于脏、壁层胸膜的纤维素剥除,以利于肺复张。     

电视胸腔镜手术在胸外科的应用

目的探讨电视胸腔镜手术(video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery,VATS)在胸外科的应用. 方法回顾分析1998年7月～2002年12月78例胸腔镜手术的临床资料.其中:自发性气胸肺大疱切除40例,胸外伤探查12例,肺包块楔形切除9例,胸膜活检 胸膜固定6例,纵隔肿瘤切除4例,肺叶切除4例,肺叶切除术后支气管胸膜瘘2例,食管平滑肌瘤切除1例. 结果无一例中转开胸,5例因胸膜顶粘连辅助小切口.3例中老年自发性气胸术后持续漏气,分别于第7,8,13天拔除胸管,其余均在48h内拔除胸管.5例引流管口延期愈合.手术并发症发生率10.3%(8/78). 结论 VATS在胸外科有广阔的发展空间,一次性耗材价格昂贵限制其临床应用,腔镜下缝合技术或打结技术的应用比较适合目前的国情,节省医疗费用.     

A case report of pleural empyema treated by video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery in an elder patient receiving hemodialysis

A 79-year-old male who had the treatment of renal failure with hemodialysis was admitted to our hospital for the management of right pleural empyema. We performed thoracoscopic débridement and pleural irrigation in the management of empyema thoracis, because both chest tube drainage and antibiotic therapy had failed. Postoperatively pleural irrigation was performed for three weeks and the chest drains were removed after four weeks. He was successfully transferred to our department of internal medicine at four weeks after the operation. Thoracoscopic débridement and pleural irrigation for the elder patient with pleural empyema is safe, effective and minimally invasive surgical procedure.