title: [Treatment of thymic diseases by bilateral video thoracoscopes].
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To explore the therapeutic efficacy of thymic diseases by bilateral video-assisted thoracoscopes.
  
  
  METHODS
  A total of 46 cases with thymic diseases, including benign or malignant thymoma and myasthenia gravis (MG), were operated by bilateral video-assisted thoracoscopes. It was compared with 33 cases undergoing traditional thymic operations.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The resection rate was 100%. There was no perioperative mortality. All cases were followed up for 3 years. The 1, 3-year survival rates were 95.7% (44/46) and 91.3% (42/46) versus 93.9% (31/33) and 90.9% (30/33) for a traditional thymic operation respectively. And the difference was insignificant (P > 0.05). The effective remission rate of MG was 91.7% (11/12) versus 92.9% (13/14) for a traditional thymic operation. And the difference was insignificant (chi(2) = 0.17, P > 0.05).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The treatment of thymic diseases by bilateral video-assisted thoracoscopes can achieve a comparable clinical efficacy of employing a traditional thymic operation. But it is superior in terms of surgical trauma and postoperative recovery.
authors.affiliation: Thoracic Tumor Diagnosis and Treatment Center of Henan Province, Henan Provincial People's Hospital, Zhengzhou 450007, China. wlixxt@yahoo.com.cn
authors.forename: Li
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Wei
authors.forename: Ming-yao
authors.initials: MY
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.forename: Sen
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Wu
authors.forename: Zhong
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.forename: Xiao
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.forename: Jin-xing
authors.initials: JX
authors.lastname: Wei
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008206:Lymphatic Diseases / Q000601:surgery*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009157:Myasthenia Gravis / Q000601:surgery; D020708:Thoracoscopes; D013950:Thymus Gland; D016896:Treatment Outcome