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Objectives: We aimed to analyze our diagnostic video assisted thoracoscopic surgery (VATS) applications for patients who came to our clinic due to pleural effusion.
Methods: 35 patients who were referred to our thoracic surgery clinic due to pleural effusion between January 2017 and December 2018 were examined retrospectively. Age, sex, pleural biopsy pathologies, pleural fluid cytology and cultures, and the duration of hospitalization were recorded.
Results: Of the 35 patients who underwent VATS, 25 (71.43%) were male and 10 (28.57%) were female. The mean age was 61.89. The mean duration of hospitalization was 5.66 days. 18 of the patients in the right hemithorax (51.43%) and 17 patients had pleural effusıon in the (48.57%) left hemithorax. Pleural fluid cytology was benign in 29 patients (82.85%) and malignant in 6 patients (17.15%). Pleural biopsy pathology was reported as benign in 26 patients (74.30%) and as malignant in 9 patients (25.70%). In patients with malignant pleural biopsy, 2 (5.71%) of them were malignant pleural mesothelioma, 4 (11.42%) were adenocarcinoma, 2 (5.71%) were carcinoma with unknown origin and one (2.85%) of them was Ewing sarcoma. Benign pleural biopsies were as follows; 3 (8.57%) of them were granulomatous inflammation without specified necrosis, 1 (2.85%) was caseating granulomatous inflammation, 20 (57.14%) were nonspecific inflammation and 2 (5.71%) were inflammation resulting with abscess formation. In only one (2.85%) patient, Mycobacterium tuberculosis culture of pleural fluid resulted as positive.
Conclusion: VATS procedure can be used safely to diagnose and regulate treatment in patients with pleural effusion.