Comparison of patients who underwent video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery or thoracotomy

Abstract

Aim: Thoracotomy is one of the surgical procedures used in thoracic surgery. The morbidities in this method are related to the size of the surgical incision. Video-assisted thoracoscopic surgeries (VATS) are operations performed to reduce surgical morbidity without sacrificing basic surgical principles. Smaller and fewer incisions are made in VATS compared to thoracotomy. In our study, we aimed to compare the advantages and disadvantages of patients who underwent video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery or thoracotomy. Material and Methods: Patients (n;47) were divided into two groups as patients who underwent VATS (Group 1; 28) and open surgery (thoracotomy) (Group 2; 19). Age, gender, localization of the disease, diagnosis, surgeries, duration of surgery, pain scores, length of stay, complications, and mortality of the patients in each group were recorded. Values were recorded as numerical expressions ranging from zero (no pain) to 10 (very severe pain). The groups were compared statistically.Results: When the groups were compared, there was no significant difference between the groups in terms of gender, localization, and mean age (p>0.05). However, it was seen that Group 1 had significantly lower scores compared to Group 2 in terms of duration of surgery, length of hospital stay, and pain. Moreover, it was observed that in Group 1 complication rates were significantly lower compared to Group 2.Discussion: VATS is prominent as it is less invasive compared to thoracotomy and the postoperative period is more comfortable. It has much more advantages than the thoracotomy procedure. Therefore, we strongly suggest that VATS be preferred to thoracotomy when possible and be strictly applied.