title: [Thoracoscopic surgery for pneumothorax].
abstract: It is difficult to tell clearly what a therapy for pneumothorax is because it is not enough just to cut away the bullae. The patients should be treated mentally, physically and less invasively. The 4 anxieties should be solved for pneumothorax patients. Four anxieties for symptom, the normal side of lung, the effect after therapy and surgery. In thoracoscopic surgery on pneumothorax, to cut away just the bullous change does not mean to prevent the postoperative recurrence. Added treatments need beside resection of bullae because bullae often tend to regenerate near the suture line soon after thoracoscopic surgery. The covering method is the most effective in some added treatments. It is a method of covering regenerative oxidized cellulose mesh and fibrin glue on the suture line. Classification of air leakage level that was designed in Pneumothorax Research Center is clinically useful. This classification forms from level 1 to 4 according to air leakage volume and pressure level. It is important to resolve the mechanism on postoperative regeneration of bullae at this point in order to ask for better surgery. Female pneumothorax and less than 15-year-old pneumothorax should be researched because they cause frequently postoperative recurrence.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pneumothorax Research Center, Nissan Tamagawa Hospital, Tokyo, Japan.
authors.forename: Masatoshi
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Kurihara
authors.forename: Hideyuki
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Kataoka
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D011030:Pneumothorax / Q000601:surgery*; D055502:Secondary Prevention; D013906:Thoracoscopy / Q000379:methods*