[Treatment of thymic diseases by bilateral video thoracoscopes].
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.
Wei
Li
L
Thoracic Tumor Diagnosis and Treatment Center of Henan Province, Henan Provincial People's Hospital, Zhengzhou 450007, China. wlixxt@yahoo.com.cn
Chen
Ming-yao
MY
Wu
Sen
S
Chen
Zhong
Z
Chen
Xiao
X
Wei
Jin-xing
JX
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