Outpatient thoracoscopy: a case report and discussion.

Thoracoscopy has long been recognized as having significant diagnostic and therapeutic value. We present a new, less invasive method of obtaining good biopsy specimens of pleural based lesions using a single incision and on an outpatient basis. JW, who has a history of Hodgkin's Lymphoma, presents with a suspicious pleural mass adjacent to the AP window and not amenable to percutaneous biopsy. She was admitted to the ambulatory surgery unit and underwent video thoracoscopic biopsy of the lesion through a single 12 mm incision. Surgery time was 25 minutes, and frozen section revealed Hodgkin's lymphoma. No chest tube was inserted, and post-op chest film revealed a small pneumothorax that resolved in 4 hours. The patient was ready for discharge at that time. The technique we used involved placing a standard 10 mm trocar and scope in the midaxillary line with the patient in the lateral decubitus position. Once the scope is in, the trocar is pulled back so that a mediastinal biopsy forcep can be placed alongside the camera through the same hole. The biopsy is taken, and irrigation and cautery instruments can then also be placed and used in a similar manner. Before removing the camera, a prolene pursestring suture is placed around the incision. While the anesthesiologist inflates the lung, the camera is slowly removed, watching all lobes inflate. The pursestring is then tied and the patient awakened. We have performed seven of the above procedures thus far with good results. We feel the following are essential in patient selection for outpatient thoracoscopy: 1) The lesion to be biopsied is pleural based.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)