title: Thymic cystectomy through subxyphoid by video-assisted thoracic surgery.
abstract: In this paper we present a new technique for thymic cystectomy by video-assisted thoracic surgery. The thoracoscope was inserted using a Vein Harvest (Ethicon Endo-Surgery Co, Ltd, Cincinnati, OH) through a 5-cm subxyphoid incision. A Harmonic Scalpel (Ethicon Endo-Surgery) and Cherry Dissector (Ethicon Endo-Surgery) were used for dissection. The thymic cyst was successfully removed through the incision without thoracotomy. The advantage of this technique is that it is less invasive than video-assisted thoracic surgery through the thorax, removing the need for a thoracotomy.
authors.affiliation: First Department of Surgery, Nagasaki University School of Medicine, Japan. shinji@net.nagasaki-u.ac.jp
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Akamine
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Takahashi
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Oka
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Kishimoto
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Ayabe
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008476:Mediastinal Cyst / Q000601:surgery*; D020775:Thoracic Surgery, Video-Assisted / Q000379:methods*