• Journal of Chest Surgery
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• v.25 no.12
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• pp.1502-1507
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• 1992

Between February and July 1992, videothoracoscopic bullectomy was performed in nineteen patients with primary spontaneous pneumothorax. The indications of this surgery are recurrent in 12, persistent airleakage in 4 and previous contralateral pneumothorax in 3 patients. For the good operative field, we used double lumen endotracheal tube and put the CO2 gas into the thoracic cavity to make the lung collapse. We usually apply the endoGIA or electric cauterization for handling the bleb or bullae and there were 9 cases with of endoGIA only, 4 electric cauterization only and 6 both procedures. To evaluate the advantage of the Videothoracoscopic surgery, we compared surgical results with that of the tho-racotomy group[19 patients]. There were significant differences in operative time[93.8$\pm$41.9 min and 17.1$\pm$53.9 min, p< 0.01] and postoperative airleakage duration[35.6$\pm$113.3 hours and 117.9$\pm$214.4 hours, p<0.05] between the Videothoracoscopy and thoracotomy group. Tube indwelling time was shortened in Videothoracoscopy group[p<0.05]. The hospital stay was very short[p<0.01] and the patients needed analgesic injection less frequentley in videthoracoscopic group[p<0.05] In conclusion, we prefer the Videothoracoscopic procedure to the thoracotomy in uncomplicateed patients with pneumothorax because of simple procedure and good results.

• Journal of Chest Surgery
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• v.31 no.7
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• pp.692-696
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• 1998

For the management of a secondary spontaneous pneumothorax, videothoracoscopic surgery may offer the potential therapeutic benefits of a minimally invasive approach. We report on a series of 36 patients(33 men and 3 women) with a mean age of 56.3 years(range, 31 to 80 years) who underwent thoracoscopic surgical procedures for the treatment of secondary spontaneous pneumothorax. Twenty-one patients had emphysema and 20 patients had old pulmonary tuberculosis. Nineteen patients presented a persistent severe air leak more than 3 days preoperatively and 15 patients had more than one recurrence. Bullectomy or exclusion of the lesion was performed in 33 patients. Mechanical pleurodesis was performed in the entire patients, talc was sprayed in 22 and vibramycin in 14. Mild pleural adhesion at the upper lobe was shown in 10 patients and severe pleural adhesion in 7 patients. One patient with persistent air leak died of persistent air leak and respiratory failure. The mean postoperative stay was 7.0 days(range, 2 to 17 days). At a mean follow-up of 15.8 months (range, 5 to 45 months), no pneumothorax had recurred. In comparison with the result of the treatment for 112 patients with primary spontaneous pneumothorax, the operating time was not significantly longer and there were no more primary treatment failures, but the duration of postoperative chest drainage and hospital stay was longer. Videothoracoscopic surgery has proved to be an effective treatment for secondary spontaneous pneumothorax in elderly patients who represent high-risk candidates for thoracotomy.

• Journal of Chest Surgery
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• v.24 no.9
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• pp.890-894
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• 1991

We have performed a prospective study to assess the efficacy of suction drainage in 45 patients with primary spontaneous pneumothorax and 15 patients with secondary spontaneous pneumothorax, treated by closed chest tube drainage with underwater seal during the period Jan. 1990 to Dec. 1990 at the Department of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery, Yeungnam University Hospital. The patients were divided randomly into two groups, 28 cases receiving suction and the other 32 cases no suction. The success rate was 82.1% for the former and 87.5% for the latter with the overall success rate of 85.0% and there was no significant difference in success rate between the two groups According to the causes and the extent of pneumothorax, the difference between the success rates of the two groups was also not significant statistically. But according to the duration of air leakage, suction group under 2 days showed a high success rate[46.4%] and the same group with 3-4 days, a relatively low success rate[21.4%] compared with that of the former. We conclude that the suction treatment is somewhat valuable in shortening the tubing time in patients with small amounts of air leakage, but it doesn`t seem to increase the success rate in all patients.

• Journal of Chest Surgery
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• v.49 no.2
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• pp.85-91
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• 2016

Background: This study was conducted to determine the efficacy of staple line coverage using a polyglycolic acid patch and fibrin glue without pleural abrasion to prevent recurrent postoperative pneumothorax. Methods: A retrospective analysis was carried out of 116 operations performed between January 2011 and April 2013. During this period, staple lines were covered with a polyglycolic acid patch and fibrin glue in 58 cases (group A), while 58 cases underwent thoracoscopic bullectomy only (group B). Results: The median follow-up period was 33 months (range, 22 to 55 months). The duration of chest tube drainage was shorter in group A (group A $2.7{\pm}1.2day$ vs. group B $3.9{\pm}2.3day$, p=0.001). Prolonged postoperative air leakage occurred more frequently in group B than in group A (43% vs. 19%, p=0.005). The postoperative recurrence rate of pneumothorax was significantly lower in group A (8.6%) than in group B (24.1%) (p=0.043). The total cost of treatment during the follow-up period, including the cost for the treatment of postoperative recurrent pneumothorax, was not significantly different between the two groups (p=0.43). Conclusion: Without pleural abrasion, staple line coverage with a medium-sized polyglycolic acid patch and fibrin glue after thoracoscopic bullectomy for primary spontaneous pneumothorax is a useful technique that can reduce the duration of postoperative pleural drainage and the postoperative recurrence rate of pneumothorax.

• Journal of Chest Surgery
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• v.38 no.5 s.250
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• pp.371-376
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• 2005

Background: Retrospective study was carried out on patients with primary spontaneous pneumothorax with the aim of determining if conventional thoracoscopic wedge resection is superior to modified transaxillary minithoracotomy with thoracoscopy in the surgical treatment. Material and Method: 160 patients, aged 14 to 35 years with primary spontaneous pneumothorax were involved in this study. Patients were assigned to two groups by surgical technique; Conventional thoracoscopic wedge resection (group A; n=80) and modified transaxillary minithoracotomy with thoracoscopy (group B; n=80). Apical pleural abrasion & talc poudrage were performed in all cases. This study evaluated the following factors: duration of operation, days of analgesics used after operation, number of no air leak on the first postoperative day, duration of indwelling chest tube, hospital stay, postoperative complications, chronic chest pain (during follow-up) and resumption of normal activity. Relapses (ipsilateral recurrence after discharge) during follow-up periods were evaluated. Result: No significant differences were found in any of the factors studied in either group. Conclusion: Conventional thoracoscopic wedge resection and modified transaxillary minithoracotomy with thoracoscopy offer similar results in the surgical treatment of primary spontaneous pneumothorax. The rate of complication is low and the level of pain is acceptable without long-term sequele. Therefore, modified transaxillary minithoracotomy with thoracoscopy method appears as a valuable alternative surgical technique.

• Journal of Chest Surgery
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• v.51 no.4
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• pp.254-259
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• 2018

Background: Primary spontaneous pneumothorax (PSP) affects patients without clinically apparent lung disorder found in tall and thin young male. Scoliosis refers to curves exceeding $10^{\circ}$ Cobb angle observed through chest X-ray and affects 2% to 4% of adolescents. Both conditions are commonly encountered in primary health care setting. The aim of this study is to access the correlation of thoracic scoliosis and PSP in adolescent. Methods: A retrospective analysis was conducted for patients diagnosed for PSP in Konyang University Hospital between January 2010 and March 2017. Chest X-rays of 222 patients and 155 normal control (NC) cases were reviewed to measure the Cobb angle. Greater than $10^{\circ}$ of Cobb angle is diagnosed as scoliosis. Results: Scoliosis in patient with PSP has higher incidence than that of NC group (p<0.001). Median value of Cobb angle is $12.9^{\circ}$ in PSP group and $14.7^{\circ}$ in NC group. Directional relationship between scoliosis and pneumothorax in PSP group is also observed; 40.5% cases are ipsilateral and 59.5% are contralateral. Conclusion: PSP patients tend to have thoracic scoliosis more commonly compared with normal healthy adolescent. Scoliosis may contribute to heterogeneity of alveolar pressure which exacerbates subpleural bleb formation that can cause pneumothorax. The causal relationship is unclear and further studies are needed in the future.

• Journal of Chest Surgery
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• v.33 no.10
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• pp.812-816
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• 2000

Background ; To evaluate the efficacy of Fibrin glue to decrease recurrence in video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery(VATS) for a treatment of spontaneous penumothorax. Material and Method : All medical records of 17 patients who underwent a thoracoscopic wedge resections of bullae with stapling device with Fibrin glue in our institute between May 1998 and December 1999 were reviewed. variables analyzed include affected sites primary indication of VATS. duration from admission to discharge duration of postoperative stay duration of chest tube drainage recurrence and complication. There were 16 men and 1 woman. Result : There was no evidence of hemodynamic instability or arterial blood gas abnormalities encountered during the procedure. Mean age at the time of the VATS was 26.9 years (range 15 to 61 years) The mean duration from admission to discharge was 7.8 days and mean postoperative stay was 5.1days mean chest tube indwelling period was 4..0 days. There was no recurrence of pneumothorx. Conclusion : Thoracoscopic wedge resections with introduction of fibrin glue are safe and effective and requires only a short hospital stay. We believe that this thoracoscopic technique will further simplify the surgical treatment of pneumothorax.

• Journal of Chest Surgery
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• v.54 no.1
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• pp.53-58
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• 2021

Background: We aimed to investigate the characteristics of primary spontaneous pneumothorax (PSP) in adolescents and to analyze the relationship between the occurrence of PSP and air pollutants. Methods: Data pertaining to age, sex, body mass index, smoking status, initial pneumothorax volume, presence of bullae, treatment methods, and city of residence were retrospectively obtained from January 2010 to December 2014. We investigated the association between short-term exposure to air pollutants (SO2, NO2, O3, CO, and PM10) and the occurrence of PSP using a case-crossover design with conditional logistic regression. Results: We collected information from 598 patients who were admitted for PSP, with a mean follow-up duration of 62.9 months. The majority (91.1%) of the patients were male. In the case-crossover design, conditional logistic regression showed that no air pollutant was associated with the occurrence of pneumothorax. The results were consistent across all city subgroups (Anyang, Gunpo, Uiwang, and Gwacheon). Conclusion: In our study, the incidence rate of pneumothorax was 153.8 per 100,000 person-years in male adolescents and 16.7 per 100,000 person-years in female adolescents. The case-crossover design showed that PSP in adolescents is unlikely to be related to air pollution.

• Journal of Chest Surgery
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• v.48 no.2
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• pp.155-155
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• 2015

• Journal of Chest Surgery
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• v.41 no.5
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• pp.619-624
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• 2008

Background: Secondary spontaneous pneumothorax is caused by various underlying lung diseases, and this is despite that primary spontaneous pneumotherax is caused by rupture of subpleural blebs. The treatment algorithm for secondary pneumothorax is different from that for primary pneumothorax. We studied the recurrence rate, the characteristics of recurrence and the treatment outcomes of the patients with secondary spontaneous pneumothorax. Material and Method: Between March 2005 to March 2007, 85 patients were treated for their first episodes of secondary spontaneous pneumothorax. We analyzed the characteristics and factors for recurrence of secondary spontaneous pneumothorax by conducting a retrospective review of the medical records. Result: The most common underlying lung disease was pulmonary tuberculosis (49.4%), and the second was chronic obstructive lung disease (27.6%), The recurrence rate was 47.1% (40/85). The second and third recurrence rates were 10.9% and 3.5%, respectively. The mean follow up period was $21.1{\pm}6.7$ months (range: $0{\sim}36$ month). For the recurrence cases, 70.5% of them occurred within a year after the first episode. The success rates according to the treatment modalities were thoracostomy 47.6%, chemical pleurodesis 74.4%, blob resection 71% and Heimlich valve application 50%. Chemical pleurodesis through the chest tube was the most effective method of treatment. The factor that was most predictive of recurrence was 'an air-leak of 7 days or more' at the first episode. (p=0.002) Conclusion: The patients who have a prolonged air-leak at the first episode of pneumothorax tend to have a higher incidence of recurrence. Further studies with more patients are necessary to determine the standard treatment protocol for secondary spontaneous pneumothorax.