The figure-L unilateral mini-sternotomy for anterior mediastinal tumor.
We performed a figure-L unilateral mini-sternotomy for anterior mediastinal tumor resection in ten patients. Pathological diagnosis among the ten included six thymomas, three mature teratomas including one with a seminoma component, and one thymic cyst. Mean tumor length was 7 x 5 x 4 cm. The required skin incision was 8 cm in mean length. The third intercostal space was transected in six cases, the fourth intercostal space in four cases. Bilateral internal thoracic arteries were preserved in all cases. All tumors were completely resected without complications during the procedure. Mean operating time was 106 minutes (range 85 to 120 minutes). Postoperative hospital stay ranged from three to seven days without any complications. All patients were alive at the end of a mean follow-up period of 39 months (range 3 to 60 months). The figure-L unilateral mini-sternotomy is considered an effective and useful minimally invasive approach for anterior mediastinal tumors.
Second Department of Surgery, Kagoshima University Faculty of Medicine, Kagoshima, Japan. shun@khosp2.kufm.kagoshima-u.ac.jp
S-I
SI
Watanabe
S
S
Shimokawa
K-I
KI
Sakasegawa
Y
Y
Nakamura
K
K
Kariatsumari
H
H
Oyama
R
R
Sakata
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D007902:Length of Stay; D008297:Male; D008476:Mediastinal Cyst / Q000601:surgery; D008479:Mediastinal Neoplasms / Q000601:surgery*; D008875:Middle Aged; D018239:Seminoma / Q000601:surgery; D013249:Sternum / Q000601:surgery*; D013724:Teratoma / Q000601:surgery; D013736:Testicular Neoplasms / Q000601:surgery; D013895:Thoracic Arteries / Q000601:surgery; D013945:Thymoma / Q000601:surgery; D013953:Thymus Neoplasms / Q000601:surgery; D016896:Treatment Outcome