[Thoracoscopic surgery, current indication and technique].

Thoracoscopy has become an important tool in the diagnosis and management of intrathoracic disease. The development of endoscopic suturing techniques and stapling devices for abdominal surgery dramatically expanded the potential of thoracoscopic surgery. Between 1993 and 1994, 43 patients underwent thoracoscopic surgery. Lung resection were performed on 23 patients for pulmonary nodules and on 9 patients for diagnosis of interstitial lung disease. Extirpation were performed on 2 patients for mediastinal tumor. A procedure done thoracoscopically is far less invasive and the postoperative pain and its consequences are drastically reduced. As endoscopic instrumentation develops, newer operations will become technically feasible. We think that indications for thoracoscopic surgery will expand in developing these techniques in the future, if thoracoscopic surgery is safer and more efficient.