title: [Video-assisted thoracoscopic left sympathectomy for the treatment of congenital long QT syndrome].
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To assess the feasibility, safety and effectiveness of video-assisted thoracoscopic sympathectomy (VATS) for the treatment of congenital long QT syndrome.
  
  
  METHODS
  Under general anaesthesia, pleural cavity was entered via two or three small incisions in the left intercostal space. The left thoracic sympathetic chain was identified and resected from T2 approximately T5. The lower one at the third of the left stellate ganglion was also resected.
  
  
  RESULTS
  VATS resulted in a significant shortening in corrected QT intervals in three patients. The average QT interval of the four patients was 537.5 ms before VATS and 512.5 ms after VATS. The heart rate of the patients remained unchanged. There were no major peri-operative complications apart from mild ptosis of the left upper eyelid in one patient who recovered in the following days. The syndrome recurred in one patient in syncopal events in four months after VATS.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  VATS is a safe as well as an effective technique for the treatment of congenital long QT syndromes.
authors.affiliation: Department of Thoracic Surgery, People's Hospital of Peking University, Beijing 100044, China.
authors.forename: Jian-feng
authors.initials: JF
authors.lastname: Li
authors.forename: Jun
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Da-yi
authors.initials: DY
authors.lastname: Hu
authors.forename: Le-xin
authors.initials: LX
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Yun
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Li
authors.forename: Yan-guo
authors.initials: YG
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.forename: Meng-zan
authors.initials: MZ
authors.lastname: Li
authors.forename: Guo-liang
authors.initials: GL
authors.lastname: Zhang
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D002648:Child; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008133:Long QT Syndrome / Q000151:congenital* / Q000601:surgery*; D008297:Male; D013562:Sympathectomy / Q000379:methods*; D020775:Thoracic Surgery, Video-Assisted / Q000379:methods*