Abstract
Background: The aim of this study was to compare the early postoperative results of thymectomy
operations after partial sternotomy and videothoracoscopy for myasthenia gravis. Methods: A total of 51 thymectomy operations were reviewed. The surgical procedure was simple
thymectomy with partial sternotomy in the first 19 patients (Group I) and videothoracoscopic
thymectomy (Group II) in the remaining patients. Both groups were compared in terms
of preoperative data (age, gender, classification, duration of disease, medications),
operative data (operation time, the mean amount of drainage, the duration of chest
tube drainage), and postoperative data (duration of hospital stay, complications and
pain). Results: Groups were statistically uniform in terms of preoperative and operative data. Statistically
significant differences were noted for the duration of chest tube drainage (48.8 vs.
29.8 hours, p < 0.001), the amount of drainage (264.4 vs. 178.6 ml, p = 0.001), the length of hospital stay (5.6 vs. 2.3 days, p = 0.000), and the visual analogue scale score (4.8 vs. 3.1, p < 0.001). Conclusions: Thymectomy with videothoracoscopic surgery demonstrated a more comfortable and faster
recovery period without deterioration in myasthenic status.
Key words
VATS - thymectomy - sternotomy
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M. D. Serhan Tanju
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