STUDY OBJECTIVES We set out to determine whether there is a difference in postoperative pain and recovery after the patient undergoes the axillary muscle-sparing incision (ie, muscle-sparing thoracotomy [MT]) vs the modified posterolateral incision (ie, posterolateral thoracotomy [PT]). DESIGN Analysis of a database originally collected to determine the effect of the timing of epidural analge...

OBJECTIVE Although the thoracotomy incision is guided in part by the exposure required, both cosmesis and the potential for improved recovery are important factors to be taken into account. We conducted a prospective randomized study in order to compare muscle sparing thoracotomy (MST) and standard posterolateral thoracotomy (PLT) for postoperative pain and physical function during and after ho...

Intrathoracic lipomas are rare benign tumors; their behavior is not completely clear and their surgical removal may be challenging. We report a case of a giant right intrathoracic myxoid fusocellular lipoma compressing the lung, tracheobronchial tree, and esophagus which was removed through a posterolateral thoracotomy. Complete removal resulted in resolution of the chest pain and improvement o...

Intrathoracic goiters generally occupy anterior mediastinum, rarely involving the posterior mediastinal space. Reported herein is a 54-year-old female with a giant posterior mediastinal mass that was successfully resected via right posterolateral thoracotomy. The final pathologic diagnosis was giant posterior mediastinal goiter. This patient has done well postoperatively, with no evidence of lo...