THORACOSCOPIC PLEURODESIS IN RECURRENT OR PERSISTENT PNEUMOTHORAX

103 patients with recurrent or persistent pneumothorax have been treated with local application of fibrin and talcum by a thoracoscopic procedure. The method was successful in 97 patients (94.2 %) and lead to a stable and complete reexpansion of the lung within 6.3 days. As a direct consequence of the procedure itself only a few and minor complications occured during a mean hospitalization-time of 10.4 days. The longterm followup over a mean period of 6.4 years revealed a recurrence rate of 15 %, although half of the episodes occured early during the first three months. After 6 years, 80 % of the patients were completely asymptomatic and spirometric lung function was restored to normal values. We therefore consider thoracoscopic pleurodesis to be a successful and safe method for treating complicated pneumothorax.