Thoracoscopic surgery for pneumothorax in older patients

Background: Secondary pneumothorax is more common in older pneumothorax patients. Therefore, we set out to investigate the usefulness of thoracoscopic surgery in this group. Methods: A total of 59 operations were performed on patients aged greater than or equal to50 years, with the goal of excising only the lesions responsible for air leaks by using the minimum degree of dissection. If the patients were found to have numerous bullae, the lesions responsible were identified by pleurography. The duration of chest tube drainage, hospital stay, and recurrence were assessed. Results: The air leaks stopped and all patients were discharged without drains. Postoperative drainage time was 3.8+/-3.0 days. Postoperative hospital stay was 10.8+/-9.2 days. Six patients died of other diseases, but there was only one recurrence of pneumothorax. Conclusion: We consider video-assisted thoracic surgery (VATS), with the goal of excising only the lesions responsible for air leaks, to be particularly efficacious in older pneumothorax patients.