[A case treated with thoracoscopic wedge resection for cT1N0M0 lung cancer complicated with both chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and hypofunction of left ventricle in a octogenarian].

A 81-year-old man who had medical treatment for both COPD and essential hypertension was admitted to our institution for evaluation of shadows of a mass in the right upper field on chest X-rays. The tumor was 3.0 cm in diameter on chest CT and diagnosed to be bronchogenic squamous cell carcinoma on the basis of findings of bronchoscopic brushing.

[A case treated surgically through anterior axillary thoracotomy for recurrent right spontaneous pneumothorax after repeated video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery].

A 21-year-old male who had thoracoscopic surgery for right spontaneous pneumothorax was admitted to our hospital complaining of dyspnea due to the recurrence. There was no bulla in right apex but empysematous change in visceral pleura at re-thoracoscopic surgery. Two bulla in right S6 were removal using endo-stapler.

[Pleural empyema complicated by spontaneous pneumothorax treated with thoracoscopic debridement and pleural irrigation: case report].

A 69-year-old man who had experienced spontaneous left pneumothorax one week previously was admitted to our hospital for the management of left empyema thoracis. Because the symptoms did not resolve with antibiotic therapy and chest tube drainage, thoracoscopic debridement and pleural irrigation were performed in the fibrinopurulent phase 4 days after admission. The postoperative course was uneventful.

[A case report treated in two-stage operations for lung cancer associated with arteriosclerosis obliterans (ASO)].

A case of lung cancer complicated with ASO treated surgically in two-stage procedures was reported. A 74-year-old male was admitted to our institution with the complaint of intermittent claudication. Chest X-rays showed shadows of a mass in the right upper lung field, and the tumor was suspected to be bronchogenic adenocarcinoma on the basis of findings of bronchoscopic brushing smears (class IIIb).

[Two case reports of bilateral synchronous pneumothorax treated in a single stage bilateral thoracoscopic surgery].

We report here two cases of bilateral synchronous pneumothorax treated by video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery. The first case was a 15-year-old male and the second case was a 22-year-old male. Bilateral thoracoscopic surgery by using of endo-stapler was performed at one stage and Nd-YAG Laser ablation to both the emphysematous surroundings and multiple small blebs was added.

[A case report of pleural empyema treated by video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery in an elder patient receiving hemodialysis].

A 79-year-old male who had the treatment of renal failure with hemodialysis was admitted to our hospital for the management of right pleural empyema. We performed thoracoscopic débridement and pleural irrigation in the management of empyema thoracis, because both chest tube drainage and antibiotic therapy had failed. Postoperatively pleural irrigation was performed for three weeks and the chest drains were removed after four weeks.

[A case report of small-sized peripheral lung cancer diagnosed by thoracoscopic biopsy].

A case who had surgical treatment for small-sized peripheral lung cancer diagnosed by thoracoscopic biopsy was reported. A 66-year-old female was admitted to our hospital because of evaluation of an abnormal shadow on chest X-ray. Chest CT showed that the tumor about 7 mm in diameter was situated in right S1b and suspected to be malignant.

[Comparative studies of video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery versus thoracotomy for primary spontaneous pneumothorax].

Between April 1992 and March 1997, 32 patients with primary spontaneous pneumothorax were operated in our institution. In the first three years, 9 patients underwent thoracotomy which was classified into two groups axillary thoracotomy group (AX group) in 5 cases and postero-lateral thoracotomy group (PL group) in 4 cases. In the recent two years, 23 consecutive patients underwent video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery (VATS group).

[A case of mediastinal neurilemmoma originating from the intrathoracic vagal nerve].

A case of mediastinal neurilemmoma originating from the left intrathoracic vagal nerve was reported. A 42-year-old female was admitted to our hospital because of evaluation of an abnormal shadow on chest X-ray. Both CT and MRI showed that the tumor was located in middle mediastinum between the aortic arch and the left pulmonary artery, and the diagnosis was suspected to be neurilemmoma originating from the intrathoracic vagal nerve.