Objective To evaluate the clinical outcomes of harmonic scalpel in subxiphoid and subcostal arch approach for resection of anterior mediastinal lesion. Methods We retrospectively analyzed the clinical data of 217 patients with anterior mediastinal lesion at the Department of Thoracic Surgery of Tangdu Hospital of the Fourth Military Medical University from June 2015 to June 2017, among whom 162 underwent thoracoscopic surgery via subxiphoid and subcostal arch approach with harmonic scalpel (a harmonic scalpel group, 95 males and 67 females at an average age of 46.2±18.7 years ranging from 22 to 72 years) and 55 with Ligasure (a Ligasure group, 29 males and 26 females at an average age of 47.7±12.9 years ranging from 31 to 68 years). Operation time, intraoperative blood loss, intraoperative conversion rate, postoperative hospital stay, patients satisfaction score, patients pain score and postoperative complications were compared between both groups. Results All operations were accomplished successfully, and there was no death or conversion to thoracotomy. There was a statistical difference in operation time (58.6±34.8 min vs. 72.8±32.6 min, P=0.01), and intraoperative blood loss (36.2±18.7 ml vs. 41.9±12.9 ml, P=0.04). There was no statistical difference between the two groups in length of hospital stay (4.2±2.6 d vs. 4.5±1.9 d, P=0.36), pain score at postoperative day 1, 3 and 30 (8.3±0.9 vs. 8.5±0.6, P=0.13; 6.4±1.5 vs. 6.9±1.1, P=0.19; 1.3±0.7 vs. 1.4±0.9, P=0.40), patients’ satisfaction score (8.6±1.2 vs. 8.4±1.7, P=0.34), or incidence of postoperative complications (5.6% vs. 9.1%, P=0.35). Conclusion Harmonic scalpel plays an important role in resection of anterior mediastinal lesion via subxiphoid and subcostal arch approach. All tissues are separated and blood vessels are dissected only by the harmonic scalpel, so it is very important for us to handle the harmonic scalpel skillfully.
ObjectiveTo compare clinical effects of extended thymectomy for the treatment of thymic abnormalities with myasthenia gravis (MG) between subxiphoid and subcostal arch thoracoscopic resection (SR) and the unilateral thoracoscopic resection (UR) by a propensity-score matching analysis.MethodsWe retrospectively analyzed the clinical data of 612 patients who presented with MG and were admitted to Tangdu Hospital of Air Force Military Medical University between December 2011 and December 2018. Of these patients, 520 patients underwent subxiphoid and subcostal arch thoracoscopic extended thymectomy (a SR group) and 92 unilateral thoracoscopic extended thymectomy (a UR group). Ninety-two patients in the SR group were matched with the UR group by propensity-score matching analysis. There were 52 males and 40 females with an average age of 26-70 (50.2±10.3) years in the SR group, and 47 males and 45 females with an average age of 20-73 (51.5±12.1) years in the UR group. The operation time, intraoperative blood loss, thoracic drainage time, postoperative hospital stay, thorough adipose tissue removal, postoperative remission of MG, patients’ satisfaction score, pain and complications were compared and analyzed between the two groups.ResultsAll operations were accomplished successfully, without conversion to thoracotomy of the two groups. There were statistical differences between the two groups in operation time (46.2±19.5 min vs. 53.4±23.5 min), chest drainage duration (0 d vs. 3.4±1.2 d), hospital stay (2.9±1.9 d vs. 3.6±1.7 d), patients’ satisfaction score (7.9±2.1 points vs. 6.7±1.2 points) and pain scores (all P<0.05). There were no statistical differences between the two groups in intraoperative blood loss (52.2±12.7 mL vs. 51.2±10.3 mL), peripheral adipose tissue removal (8.1±0.6 vs. 7.9±0.9), remission rate of MG (89.1% vs. 85.9%) and rate of postoperative complications (10.9% vs. 6.5%) (all P>0.05). ConclusionSubxiphoid and subcostal arch thoracoscopic extended thymectomy is a safe and feasible minimally invasive procedure for the management of MG with thymic abnormalities.
Surgery is an important treatment for the anterior mediastinal disease. With the rapid development of minimally invasive techniques, complete resection of the lesion in most patients with thymic disease can be achieved through thoracoscopic surgery. Practice has proved that the three-port resection of anterior mediastinal thymus disease via the subxiphoid approach is an ideal surgical method for the treatment of anterior mediastinal thymic tumors at present, which has strong popularization and popularity and can benefit the patients. The procedure focuses primarily on the anterior and upper mediastinum and can thoroughly expose the anatomy of the mediastinum and both sides, with minimal intraoperative bleeding, high safety, minimal trauma and postoperative pain, and a short hospital stay. It has clear advantages over conventional thoracic open-heart surgery and transversal resection. However, the surgical approach and field of view, and intraoperative precautions of this procedure are completely different from those of previous thoracoscopic procedures, and from the subxiphoid single-port approach adopted by other centers. Based on 10 years of surgical experience at our center, a modular mode of surgical operation has been developed and its procedure has been standardized. This paper will share and discuss relevant operational points and experiences.