Skip to main content
NCBI home page
Thorax logoLink to Thorax
. 1983 Oct;38(10):737–743. doi: 10.1136/thx.38.10.737

Surgical experience in the management of spontaneous pneumothorax, 1972-82.

D Weeden, G H Smith
PMCID: PMC459648  PMID: 6648852

Abstract

In the past 11 years 233 patients have undergone 241 parietal pleurectomies for either recurrence of their spontaneous pneumothorax or failure to respond adequately to management by tube drainage. Major complications occurred in 3.7% of cases, with transaxillary apical pleurectomy engendering significantly fewer complications than full pleurectomy through a posterolateral thoracotomy. The significantly larger number of minor complications, however, in patients undergoing full pleurectomy was largely due to the larger number of patients with chronic obstructive lung disease in this group. On the basis of our experience we advocate the use of transaxillary apical pleurectomy for the younger age group with recurrent pneumothoraces and a full pleurectomy in the older age group, who frequently present because of failure to respond satisfactorily to tube drainage during their initial pneumothorax and often have lung disease secondary to chronic obstructive lung disease which is not confined to the apex of the upper lobe.

Full text

PDF
737

Images in this article

738Image
on p.738

Selected References

These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.

  1. ANDERSEN I., POULSEN T. Surgical treatment of spontaneous pneumothorax. Acta Chir Scand. 1959 Dec 28;118:105–112. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  2. Askew A. R. Parietal pleurectomy for recurrent pneumothorax. Br J Surg. 1976 Mar;63(3):203–205. doi: 10.1002/bjs.1800630309. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  3. BARONOFSKY I. D., WARDEN H. G., KAUFMAN J. L., WHATLEY J., HANNER J. M. Bilateral therapy for unilateral spontaneous pneumothorax. J Thorac Surg. 1957 Sep;34(3):310–322. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  4. Brooks J. W. Open thoracotomy in the management of spontaneous pneumothorax. Ann Surg. 1973 Jun;177(6):798–805. doi: 10.1097/00000658-197306000-00020. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  5. Clagett O. T. The management of spontaneous pneumothorax. J Thorac Cardiovasc Surg. 1968 May;55(5):761–762. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  6. Clark T. A., Hutchison D. E., Deaner R. M., Fitchett V. H. Spontaneous pneumothorax. Am J Surg. 1972 Dec;124(6):728–731. doi: 10.1016/0002-9610(72)90127-4. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  7. Cran I. R., Rumball C. A. Survey of spontaneous pneumothoraces in the Royal Air Force. Thorax. 1967 Sep;22(5):462–465. doi: 10.1136/thx.22.5.462. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  8. DRISCOLL P. J., ARONSTAM E. M. Experiences in the management of recurrent spontaneous pneumothorax. J Thorac Cardiovasc Surg. 1961 Aug;42:174–178. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  9. DeVries W. C., Wolfe W. G. The management of spontaneous pneumothorax and bullous emphysema. Surg Clin North Am. 1980 Aug;60(4):851–866. doi: 10.1016/s0039-6109(16)42187-0. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  10. DeVries W. C., Wolfe W. G. The management of spontaneous pneumothorax and bullous emphysema. Surg Clin North Am. 1980 Aug;60(4):851–866. doi: 10.1016/s0039-6109(16)42187-0. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  11. Deslauriers J., Beaulieu M., Després J. P., Lemieux M., Leblanc J., Desmeules M. Transaxillary pleurectomy for treatment of spontaneous pneumothorax. Ann Thorac Surg. 1980 Dec;30(6):569–574. doi: 10.1016/s0003-4975(10)61733-x. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  12. Ferguson L. J., Imrie C. W., Hutchison J. Excision of bullae without pleurectomy in patients with spontaneous pneumothorax. Br J Surg. 1981 Mar;68(3):214–216. doi: 10.1002/bjs.1800680323. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  13. GAENSLER E. A. Parietal pleurectomy for recurrent spontaneous pneumothorax. Surg Gynecol Obstet. 1956 Mar;102(3):293–308. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  14. Lichter I. Long-term follow-up of planned treatment of spontaneous pneumothorax. Thorax. 1974 Jan;29(1):32–37. doi: 10.1136/thx.29.1.32. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  15. MILLS M., BAISCH B. F. SPONTANEOUS PNEUMOTHORAX: A SERIES OF 400 CASES. Ann Thorac Surg. 1965 May;1:286–297. doi: 10.1016/s0003-4975(10)66756-2. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  16. Neal J. F., Vargas G., Smith D. E., Akl B. F., Edwards W. S. Bilateral bleb excision through median sternotomy. Am J Surg. 1979 Dec;138(6):794–797. doi: 10.1016/0002-9610(79)90298-8. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  17. REID J. M., STEVENSON J. G., McSWAN N. The management of spontaneous pneumothorax. Scott Med J. 1963 May;8:171–174. doi: 10.1177/003693306300800501. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  18. Rich R. H., Warwick W. J., Leonard A. S. Open thoracotomy and pleural abrasion in the treatment of spontaneous pneumothorax in cystic fibrosis. J Pediatr Surg. 1978 Jun;13(3):237–242. doi: 10.1016/s0022-3468(78)80393-5. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  19. Ruckley C. V., McCormack R. J. The management of spontaneous pneumothorax. Thorax. 1966 Mar;21(2):139–144. doi: 10.1136/thx.21.2.139. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  20. SAHA D. PARIETAL PLEURECTOMY FOR PREVENTION OF RECURRENT SPONTANEOUS PNEUMOTHORAX. Br J Dis Chest. 1964 Apr;58:78–84. doi: 10.1016/s0007-0971(64)80036-x. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  21. Saha S. P., Arrants J. E., Kosa A., Lee W. H., Jr Management of spontaneous pneumothorax. Ann Thorac Surg. 1975 May;19(5):561–564. doi: 10.1016/s0003-4975(10)64432-3. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  22. Seremetis M. G. The management of spontaneous pneumothorax. Chest. 1970 Jan;57(1):65–68. doi: 10.1378/chest.57.1.65. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  23. Singh S. V. The surgical treatment of spontaneous pneumothorax by parietal pleurectomy. Long-term results with special reference to pulmonary function studies. Scand J Thorac Cardiovasc Surg. 1982;16(1):75–80. doi: 10.3109/14017438209100614. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  24. Stowe S. M., Boat T. F., Mendelsohn H., Stern R. C., Tucker A. S., Doershuk C. F., Matthews L. W. Open thoracotomy for pneumothorax in cystic fibrosis. Am Rev Respir Dis. 1975 May;111(5):611–617. doi: 10.1164/arrd.1975.111.5.611. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  25. THOMAS P. A., GEBAUER P. W. Results and complications of pleurectomy for bullous emphysema and recurrent pneumothorax. J Thorac Cardiovasc Surg. 1960 Feb;39:194–201. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  26. Youmans C. R., Jr, Williams R. D., McMinn M. R., Derrick J. R. Surgical management of spontaneous pneumothorax by bleb ligation and pleural dry sponge abrasion. Am J Surg. 1970 Nov;120(5):644–648. doi: 10.1016/s0002-9610(70)80185-4. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]

Articles from Thorax are provided here courtesy of BMJ Publishing Group

RESOURCES