Thoracoscopy
Encyclopedia
Thoracoscopy is a medical procedure involving internal examination, biopsy
, and/or resection of disease or masses within the pleural cavity
and thoracic cavity
. Thoracoscopy may be performed either under general anaesthesia
or under sedation
with local anaesthetic.
, a Swedish
internist in 1910 for the treatment of tuberculous
intra-thoracic adhesions. He used a cystoscope to examine the thoracic cavity, developing his technique over the next twenty years. Today, thoracoscopy is performed using specialized thoracoscopes. These instruments include a light source and a lens
for viewing
and may have ports through which other instruments may be inserted for the purpose of tissue removal and manipulation.
(VATS) is a surgical
operation involving thoracoscopy, usually performed by a thoracic surgeon using general or local/regional anaesthesia with additional sedation as necessary. It has historically also been referred to as pleuroscopy. A wide variety of diagnostic and therapeutic procedures may be performed with this technique which has become very popular and increasingly so since the early 1990s. Prior to this, limited diagnostic procedures were done using variations on the cystoscope since 1910. Advances in direct optical visualization were quickly surpassed when video cameras were attached to the endoscopes. The advent of endoscopic stapling was also a major advance so that complicated procedures such as pulmonary lobectomy could be performed safely.
Biopsy
A biopsy is a medical test involving sampling of cells or tissues for examination. It is the medical removal of tissue from a living subject to determine the presence or extent of a disease. The tissue is generally examined under a microscope by a pathologist, and can also be analyzed chemically...
, and/or resection of disease or masses within the pleural cavity
Pleural cavity
In human anatomy, the pleural cavity is the potential space between the two pleura of the lungs. The pleura is a serous membrane which folds back onto itself to form a two-layered, membrane structure. The thin space between the two pleural layers is known as the pleural cavity; it normally...
and thoracic cavity
Thoracic cavity
The thoracic cavity is the chamber of the human body that is protected by the thoracic wall ....
. Thoracoscopy may be performed either under general anaesthesia
General anaesthesia
General anaesthesia is a state of unconsciousness and loss of protective reflexes resulting from the administration of one or more general anaesthetic agents...
or under sedation
Sedation
Sedation is the reduction of irritability or agitation by administration of sedative drugs, generally to facilitate a medical procedure or diagnostic procedure...
with local anaesthetic.
History
Thoracoscopy was developed by Hans Christian JacobaeusHans Christian Jacobaeus
Hans Christian Jacobaeus was a Swedish internist born in Skarhult. In 1916 he became a professor at the Karolinska Institutet in Stockholm. From 1925 until his death in 1937, he was a member of the Nobel Prize Committee....
, a Swedish
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
internist in 1910 for the treatment of tuberculous
Tuberculosis
Tuberculosis, MTB, or TB is a common, and in many cases lethal, infectious disease caused by various strains of mycobacteria, usually Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Tuberculosis usually attacks the lungs but can also affect other parts of the body...
intra-thoracic adhesions. He used a cystoscope to examine the thoracic cavity, developing his technique over the next twenty years. Today, thoracoscopy is performed using specialized thoracoscopes. These instruments include a light source and a lens
Lens (optics)
A lens is an optical device with perfect or approximate axial symmetry which transmits and refracts light, converging or diverging the beam. A simple lens consists of a single optical element...
for viewing
Viewing
In funeral services, a viewing is the time that the family and friends come to see the deceased after they have been prepared by a funeral home...
and may have ports through which other instruments may be inserted for the purpose of tissue removal and manipulation.
Video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery
Video-assisted thoracoscopic surgeryVideo-assisted thoracoscopic surgery
Video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery is a type of thoracic surgery performed using a small video camera that is introduced into the patient's chest via a scope. The surgeon is able to view the instruments that are being used along with the anatomy on which the surgeon is operating...
(VATS) is a surgical
Surgery
Surgery is an ancient medical specialty that uses operative manual and instrumental techniques on a patient to investigate and/or treat a pathological condition such as disease or injury, or to help improve bodily function or appearance.An act of performing surgery may be called a surgical...
operation involving thoracoscopy, usually performed by a thoracic surgeon using general or local/regional anaesthesia with additional sedation as necessary. It has historically also been referred to as pleuroscopy. A wide variety of diagnostic and therapeutic procedures may be performed with this technique which has become very popular and increasingly so since the early 1990s. Prior to this, limited diagnostic procedures were done using variations on the cystoscope since 1910. Advances in direct optical visualization were quickly surpassed when video cameras were attached to the endoscopes. The advent of endoscopic stapling was also a major advance so that complicated procedures such as pulmonary lobectomy could be performed safely.
See also
- Thoracic surgeryThoracic surgeryThoracic surgery is the field of medicine involved in the surgical treatment of diseases affecting organs inside the thorax . Generally treatment of conditions of the lungs, chest wall, and diaphragm....
- Cardiothoracic surgeryCardiothoracic SurgeryCardiothoracic surgery is the field of medicine involved in surgical treatment of diseases affecting organs inside the thorax —generally treatment of conditions of the heart and lungs .-Cardiac / Thoracic:...
- Video-assisted thoracoscopic surgeryVideo-assisted thoracoscopic surgeryVideo-assisted thoracoscopic surgery is a type of thoracic surgery performed using a small video camera that is introduced into the patient's chest via a scope. The surgeon is able to view the instruments that are being used along with the anatomy on which the surgeon is operating...
- VATS lobectomyVATS lobectomyVideo-assisted thoracoscopic surgery lobectomy is an approach to lung cancer surgery.-Traditional approach to lung cancer surgery: thoracotomy:Anatomic lung resection, i.e...