title: [Minimally invasive surgery for thymic disease].
abstract: This study describes minimally invasive surgery using video-assisted thoracic surgery (VATS) for thymic diseases. Our procedure has been changed in the last decade from sternum-lifting thoracoscopic surgery with mini-thoracotomy to complete thoracoscopic surgery. Indications for this method include benign thymic disease, non-invasive thymoma or myasthenia gravis (MG). We performed these procedures for 27 cases, including 12 cases of thymic cyst, 10 cases of thymoma without MG, 3 cases of thymoma with MG and 2 cases of MG alone. In all cases of thymoma, tumor size was less than 5 cm. Complete VATS, VATS with mini-thoracotomy and sternum-lifting VATS were performed in 20, 4 and 3 patients, respectively. Complications were phrenic nerve palsy in 2 cases and postoperative bleeding in 1 case. We always use ultrasonic devices in this procedure. No recurrences have been identified in any cases. Even though definitive evidence is lacking for use of a unilateral approach with VATS for thymoma and MG, VATS thymectomy appears acceptable as a less-invasive procedure with less pain and rapid recovery.
authors.affiliation: Department of Translational Medical Sciences, Nagasaki University School of Biomedical Sciences, Nagasaki, Japan.
authors.forename: Keitaro
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Matsumoto
authors.forename: Naoya
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Yamasaki
authors.forename: Tomoshi
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Tsuchiya
authors.forename: Takuro
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Miyazaki
authors.forename: Tomayoshi
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Hayashi
authors.forename: Tsutomu
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Tagawa
authors.forename: Takeshi
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Nagayasu
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008206:Lymphatic Diseases / Q000601:surgery*; D008297:Male; D008476:Mediastinal Cyst / Q000601:surgery; D008875:Middle Aged; D019060:Minimally Invasive Surgical Procedures / Q000379:methods*; D009157:Myasthenia Gravis / Q000601:surgery; D011183:Postoperative Complications; D020775:Thoracic Surgery, Video-Assisted / Q000379:methods*; D013934:Thymectomy / Q000379:methods*; D013945:Thymoma / Q000601:surgery; D013950:Thymus Gland; D013953:Thymus Neoplasms / Q000601:surgery