Comparison of early postoperative results of thymectomy: partial sternotomy vs. videothoracoscopy.

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.