Rhomboid Intercostal and Serratus Anterior Interfascial Plane Blocks for the Treatment of Post-Operative Pain after Video-Assisted Thoracoscopic Surgery: A Retrospective Propensity-Matched Study.

Objective: Video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery (VATS) techniques are commonly used for surgical procedures within the thoracic cavity with smaller incisions. There are very few regional anesthesia methods used to achieve this goal. This study aimed to investigate the effect of two fascial plane block technique rhomboid intercostal block (RIB) and serratus anterior plane block (SAPB) administered on pain scores after VATS.

[Thoracoscopic bullectomy and pleural abrasion in the treatment of primary spontaneous pneumothorax].

Although spontaneous pneumothorax is the most common problem seen by the thoracic surgeon, there is no universal agreement in its management. Thoracoscopic bullectomy is preferred to open bullectomy because of minimal trauma, less pain, early recovery and discharge with comparable results. Seventy thoracoscopic bullectomy and apical pleural abrasion in 65 patients with spontaneous pneumothorax were retrospectively reviewed.

Pleurovenous shunt for treating refractory benign pleural effusion.

We report the case of a 63-year-old female with hepatic cirrhosis due to chronic hepatitis C, successfully treated for refractory nonmalignant hepatic hydrothorax by using a long-term pleurovenous shunt (PVS). After failure of conventional treatment by mechanical pleurodesis, a PVS was inserted to drain the pleural fluid into the right subclavian vein. After 8 months of follow-up, the effusion is well controlled, and the shunt remains patent.