Recurrence after thoracoscopic surgery for spontaneous pneumothorax.

Aim: The purpose of this study was to examine the cause and risk of recurrence after thoracoscopic surgery for spontaneous pneumothorax.

Methods: A total of 204 patients under 60 years of age who underwent axillary thoracotomy and 139 patients who underwent thoracoscopic surgery were compared. In addition, among the patients who underwent thoracoscopic surgery, recurrent and non recurrent cases were reviewed and compared.

Results: Postoperative recurrence rate was significantly higher among the thoracoscopic surgery group. There were some significant differences between the recurrent and non recurrent cases in the Brinkman index, the duration from the onset of pneumothorax to the initial consultation, and the number of patients who had past history of pneumothorax. The recurrence rate was higher in patients with an air leak in the chest drainage tube before operation than in patients without an air leak.

Conclusions: Appropriate training under supervision of experienced surgeons is necessary for minimizing complications and procedure failures. A history of heavy smoking or an air leak in the chest drainage tube before surgery may be an index of recurrence after surgery.