CLINICAL VALUE OF THORACOSCOPY

Diagnostic value of medical thoracoscopy in malignant pleural effusion

BACKGROUND Medical thoracoscopy has been shown to be an efficacious procedure in diagnosing unexplained exudative pleural effusions with excellent safety. This study aimed to assess the diagnostic significance of thoracoscopy in the management of patients with malignant pleural effusion (MPE). METHODS Consecutive patients with malignant pleural effusion were retrospectively reviewed, and thei...

Diagnostic Thoracoscopy

Since the introduction of video-imaging and endoscopic surgical interventions, there is a worldwide renewed interest in thoracoscopy. However, thoracoscopy for diagnosis of pleural and pulmonary disease has been performed for more than 30 years. An overview is presented here of the results and experiences in the past 3 decades of thoracoscopy for diagnosis of pulmonary and pleural disease. Thor...

Medical thoracoscopy: rigid thoracoscopy or flexi-rigid pleuroscopy?

PURPOSE OF REVIEW In managing pleural diseases, medical thoracoscopy is often performed as a diagnostic and/or therapeutic procedure, particularly in undiagnosed pleural effusions. Flexi-rigid pleuroscopes are now widely available as an alternative to conventional rigid thoracoscopes. There is an ongoing debate on which is the better instrument. This review analyses the current literature that ...

[Value of thoracoscopy in the diagnosis and treatment of complicated thoracic endometriosis in 2 patients].

We present 2 cases in which, when faced with suspicion of catamenial hemopneumothorax or pneumothorax, video-assisted thoracoscopy was used for identification, biopsy, and electrocoagulation of the tissue sites where pleural endometriosis was suspected.

The centenary of medical thoracoscopy.