• Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases
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• v.76 no.3
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• pp.99-104
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• 2014

Pneumothorax-either spontaneous or iatrogenic-is commonly encountered in pulmonary medicine. While secondary pneumothorax is caused by an underlying pulmonary disease, the spontaneous type occurs in healthy individuals without obvious cause. The British Thoracic Society (BTS, 2010) and the American College of Chest Physicians (ACCP, 2001) published the guidelines for pneumothorax management. This review compares the diagnostic and management recommendations between the two societies. Patients diagnosed with primary spontaneous pneumothorax (PSP) may be observed without intervention if the pneumothorax is small and there are no symptoms. Oxygen therapy is only discussed in the BTS guidelines. If intervention is needed, BTS recommends a simple aspiration in all spontaneous and some secondary pneumothorax cases, whereas ACCP suggests a chest tube insertion rather than a simple aspiration. BTS and ACCP both recommend surgery for patients with a recurrent pneumothorax and persistent air leak. For patients who decline surgery or are poor surgical candidates, pleurodesis is an alternative recommended by both BTS and ACCP guidelines. Treatment strategies of iatrogenic pneumothorax are very similar to PSP. However, recurrence is not a consideration in iatrogenic pneumothorax.

• Journal of Chest Surgery
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• v.24 no.6
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• pp.631-635
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• 1991

Spontaneous pneumothorax is a rare manifestation of primary lung cancer and it is even more rare as an initial manifestation. Recently we have experienced three cases of lung cancer presenting initially as spontaneous pneumothorax. These three cases involved 2 men and one woman with an average age of 70 years [66 - 74years]. Lung cancer was discovered by explothoracotomy in two cases and by endoscopic biopsy in one case. In pathologic cell types, the one was alveolar cell carcinoma and the others were squamous cell carcinoma. We report these three cases of primary lung cancer presenting initially as spontaneous pneumothorax with review of the literatures.

• Journal of Chest Surgery
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• v.27 no.9
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• pp.770-778
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• 1994

Here analized the chest physiologic changes caused by various degrees of spontaneous pneumothorax in 77 patients admitted in Pusan National University Hospital from Jan. 1991 to Aug.1992. The results were summarized as follow: 1. There were 59 patients of primary spontaneous pneumothorax and 18 of secondary spontaneous pneumothorax. 2. The intrapleural pressure risings were paralled to the increasing sizes of pneumothorax, especiallythe intrapleural pressure changes were significant in large pneumothorax. In the secondary spontaneous pneumothoraces the intrapleural pressure were relatively higher than primary in the same sizes of pneumothorax. 3. The intensity of chest pain was paralled to the increasing sizes and intrapleural pressures of the pneumothorax, but the degrees of dyspnea had no linear interrelationship. 4. The pulse rate, cardiac output, and arterial PO2 started to change from positive intrapleural pressure, and significant changes were noted between 6 to 9 mmHg of intrapleural pressure. But the arterial PCO2 changes had no interrelationship to the degrees of pneumothorax.

• Journal of Chest Surgery
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• v.35 no.1
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• pp.43-47
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• 2002

Background: With the advances of video technology, thoracoscopic surgery has been applied to various areas of the thoracic surgical fields including major surgeries. Now a days,-thoracoscopic surgery is Performed as a procedure of choice for primary spontaneous pneumothorax. But the operative indication for the primary spontaneous pneumothorax has not been changed since the last few decades, although the procedure of choice was changed from open thoracotomy to thoracoscopy. Therefore, we thought new treatment strategy will be necessary for the management of primary spontaneous pneumothorax. Material and Method: Between January 1998 and December 1999, 149 primary spontaneous pneumothorax patients were admitted to the Kyungpook National University Hospital. Result: Of these patients, 177 were first attack pneumothoraces and the number of total attacks were 250. Conclusion: Analyzing the amount of pneumothorax, methods of treatment, number of recurrences, recurrence rate and hospital stay, we propose a critical pathway for establishing new treatment strategy for the management of primary spontaneous pneumothorax.

• Journal of Chest Surgery
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• v.36 no.7
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• pp.535-538
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• 2003

Spontaneous pneumothorax accompanying primary lung cancer is rare and its occurrence as an initial sign of primary lung cancer is much rarer. A few articles on spontaneous pneumothorax accompanying lung cancer have been published in Korea so far. Lung cancers, diagnosed after spontaneous pneumothorax, are usually in advanced stage, so that conservative treatment modalities such as closed tube thoracostomy, chemotherapy, or radiotherapy are the mainstream of the treatment. We experienced a case of local recurrence of primary lung cancer in six months after radical resection and radiotherapy of neoplasm performed immediately after the diagnosis by excisional biopsy of bulla, for which resection and pleurodesis had been done under the impression of spontaneous pneumothorax. In this paper, we report the case and follow-up observation of the patient.

• Journal of Chest Surgery
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• v.26 no.3
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• pp.209-213
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• 1993

The pathogenesis of the primary spontaneous pneumothorax is the rupture of subpleural bleb or bullae and subsequent sudden collapse of the affected lung. Mostly, the bullae or blebs are present bilaterally, but detecting the number, size, and location of the causating foci by plain chest film is quite difficult . We have performed chest CT scans for detecting the bullous lesions in 33 cases of primary spontaneous pneumothorax, and compared the results with surgical findings.1. Seventy-four blebs were identified in the chest CT scan, and 100 blebs or bullae were detected surgically [ Sensitivity was 0.74 ].2. Diagnosis rate was 80% [40/50] at right upper lobe, 75.7% [28/37] at left upper lobe, 55.6% at right lower lobe, and 25.0% at left lower lobe, respectively.3. Blebs or bullae smaller than 1 cm of its diameter were detected by 57.1% [24/42] of sensitivity, and in the cases of size larger than 1 cm, it revealed 86.2% [50/58] of sensitivity respectively.4. Of the 45 cases, 7 cases were false negative [15.6%], most of these were ruptured or small size [< 0.5 cm]. 5. One case was false positive, which was irregular adhesion at the apex of the lung.6. We could detect blebs or bullae with preoperative CT scans in 84.4% [38/45] of total patients. In conclusion, chest CT scan is a very advantageous diagnostic tool for proper management and preventing recurrence of primary spontaneous pneumothorax patient.

• Journal of Chest Surgery
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• v.18 no.4
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• pp.582-588
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• 1985

We have observed 165 cases of spontaneous pneumothorax from Aug. 1978 to May. 1985 at the department of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery, School of Medicine, Keimyung University. The ratio of male to female cases were 8.2:1 in male predominance, and the incidence was highest in the adolescence between 21 to 30 year of age. There were 85 patients of primary spontaneous pneumothorax and 80 patients of secondary spontaneous pneumothorax. The etiologic factors of secondary spontaneous pneumothorax were tuberculous origin in 50 cases, chronic bronchitis with emphysematous bullae or blebs in 17 cases, asthma in 10 cases and lung cancer in 3 cases. Closed thoracotomy was performed for reexpansion of collapsed lung in 153 cases, bed rest in 3 cases, needle aspiration in 5 cases and open thoracotomy in 14 cases. Closed thoracotomy was the main therapeutic approach of choice in the great majority of spontaneous pneumothorax with recurrence rate of 21.6%. However, open thoracotomy was undertaken in patients with continuous air leakage, recurrent episodes, bilateral pneumothorax and large visible apical blebs or bullae.

• Journal of Chest Surgery
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• v.49 no.2
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• pp.80-84
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• 2016

Background: Video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery (VATS) pulmonary wedge resection has emerged as the standard treatment for primary spontaneous pneumothorax. Recently, single-port VATS has been introduced and is now widely performed. This study aimed to evaluate the outcomes of the Tower crane technique as novel technique using a 15-mm trocar and anchoring suture in primary spontaneous pneumothorax. Methods: Patients who underwent single-port VATS wedge resection in Chungnam National University Hospital from April 2012 to March 2014 were enrolled. The medical records of the enrolled patients were reviewed retrospectively. Results: A total of 1,251 patients were diagnosed with pneumothorax during this period, 270 of whom underwent VATS wedge resection. Fifty-two of those operations were single-port VATS wedge resections for primary spontaneous pneumothorax performed by a single surgeon. The median age of the patients was $19.3{\pm}11.5$ years old, and 43 of the patients were male. The median duration of chest tube drainage following the operation was $2.3{\pm}1.3days$, and mean post-operative hospital stay was $3.2{\pm}1.3days$. Prolonged air leakage for more than three days following the operation was observed in one patient. The mean duration of follow-up was $18.7{\pm}6.1months$, with a recurrence rate of 3.8%. Conclusion: The tower crane technique with a 15-mm trocar may be a promising treatment modality for patients presenting with primary spontaneous pneumothorax.

• Journal of Chest Surgery
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• v.25 no.11
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• pp.1286-1291
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• 1992

We have experienced 456 cases of spontaneous pneumothorax from January, 1981 to December, 1991 at the department of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery, Chonbuk National University Hospital. Of these, 102 cases were recurrent pneumothorax. These 102 cases were based on the retrospective clinical analysis, and the results were as follows: The ratio of male to female was 6.2: 1 in male predominance and the old aged patients, over 50 years old, occupied 46.8%a of all patients. Primary spontaneous pneumothorax was 43 cases[42.6%] and secondary spontaneous pneumothorax was 59 cases. The underlying pathology in secondary spontaneous pneumothorax was tuberculosis: 31 cases[30.4%], emphysema and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease: 27 cases[26.1%], Most frequent operative and pathologic findings in the primary and the secondary spontaneous pneumothorax was bullae and blebs at apex. The employed managements were only closed thoracostomy in 41 cases, open thoracot-omy in 61 cases. The operative procedures at thoracotomy were bullectomy or bullae ligation in 37 cases, bullae resection with wedge resection in 8 cases, bullae resection with segmentectomy in 6 cases, bullae resection with decortication in 3 cases, lobectomy in 5 cases, decortication in 2 cases. Complications were subcutaneous emphysema[5 cases], wound infection[1 case], and temporary pulmonary insufficiency[1 cases]

• Journal of Chest Surgery
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• v.32 no.7
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• pp.648-652
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• 1999

Background: Bullectomy through a transaxillary minithoracotomy have been widely used in the treatment of primary spontaneous pneumothorax. Material and Method: From September 1997 to September 1998, 22 consecutive cases of those who underwent transaxillary mini thoracotomy with Finochieto rib spreader(group F) and 24 consecutive cases with Naruke thoraco-opener(group N) at Taegu Fatima Hospital were reviewed retrospectively to compare the clinical results of transaxillary minithoracotomy with different rib spreaders in the opera tive treatments of primary spontaneous pneumothorax. Result: There were no significant differences in operative time, hospital stay, postoperative hospital stay, the duration of the indwelling chest tube, and the number of postoperative recurrences and complications in the two group. CONCLUSION This technique may be useful in the operative treatments of primary spontaneous pneumothorax.