Simultaneous Viscum pleurodesis and video-assisted thoracic surgery (VATS) bullectomy in patients with primary spontaneous pneumothorax

• Published in: Scientific reports 2021-11, Vol.11 (1), p.22934-22934, Article 22934
• Main Authors: Jung, Hee Suk, Kim, Hyun Jung
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: 692/308; 692/699; Adolescent; Adult; Chest; Complications; Female; Humanities and Social Sciences; Humans; Male; multidisciplinary; Operative Time; Patients; Plant Extracts - adverse effects; Plant Extracts - isolation & purification; Plant Extracts - therapeutic use; Pleurodesis - adverse effects; Pneumothorax; Pneumothorax - diagnostic imaging; Pneumothorax - surgery; Polyglycolic acid; Postoperative; Recurrence; Retrospective Studies; Science; Science (multidisciplinary); Surgery; Thoracic surgery; Thoracic Surgery, Video-Assisted - adverse effects; Thorax; Time Factors; Treatment Outcome; Viscum; Viscum album - chemistry; Young Adult
• ISSN: 2045-2322; 2045-2322
• DOI: 10.1038/s41598-021-02224-z

Although surgery is the gold standard for treatment of primary spontaneous pneumothorax (PSP), recurrence after surgery remains a concern. This study sought to evaluate the efficacy of simultaneous pleurodesis using Viscum album (VA) extract and video-assisted thoracic surgery (VATS) bullectomy for the treatment of PSP. From March 2016 to June 2020, 175 patients with PSP underwent bullectomy and intraoperative pleurodesis with VA extract at a single institution. All operations were performed through thoracoscopy by one surgeon. Upon completion of bullectomy, a polyglycolic acid sheet was used to cover the stapler lines, and 40 mg of VA extract was instilled over the entire chest wall before chest tube placement. The median operating time was 20 min (interquartile ranges, 15–30) and the median indwelling time of chest drainage was 2 days (interquartile ranges, 2–3). There were no postoperative complications over grade 3. During the median follow-up period of 38 months (interquartile ranges, 15–48), no recurrence of pneumothorax was observed. The results of this study demonstrated that simultaneous Viscum pleurodesis and VATS bullectomy provides a feasible and effective treatment option for preventing postoperative pneumothorax in patients with PSP.