title: Video assisted thoracoscopic staple resection of a giant bulla.
abstract: Video assisted thoracoscopic surgery (VATS) for spontaneous pneumothorax has been well described. However, there are few reports on the use of this technique on giant bullae. We report a 49 year old man with a symptomatic giant bulla who underwent a successful thoracoscopic staple resection. His chest drains were removed on the second postoperative day and he was discharged on the third postoperative day with virtually no discomfort. We conclude that thoracoscopic staple resection of a giant bulla is feasible technically and is an attractive alternative to the conventional open technique.
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgery, Chinese University of Hong Kong, Prince of Wales Hospital, Shatin, Hong Kong.
authors.forename: A P
authors.initials: AP
authors.lastname: Yim
authors.forename: J K
authors.initials: JK
authors.lastname: Ho
mesh_terms: D004564:Electrocoagulation; D004724:Endoscopy; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011013:Pneumonectomy / Q000379:methods*; D011656:Pulmonary Emphysema / Q000473:pathology / Q000601:surgery*; D017792:Surgical Stapling; D013906:Thoracoscopy; D014741:Video Recording