TY - CHAP M1 - Book, Section TI - Thoracoscopic Approach to Thymectomy with Advice on Patients with Myasthenia Gravis A1 - Argote-Greene, Luis M. A1 - Jaklitsch, Michael T. A1 - Sugarbaker, David J. A2 - Sugarbaker, David J. A2 - Bueno, Raphael A2 - Colson, Yolonda L. A2 - Jaklitsch, Michael T. A2 - Krasna, Mark J. A2 - Mentzer, Steven J. A2 - Williams, Marcia A2 - Adams, Ann PY - 2015 T2 - Adult Chest Surgery, 2e AB - Thoracoscopy is the application of video imaging technology to standard thoracic surgical procedures. The thoracoscopic approach permits indirect visualization of the thoracic cavity without the necessity of performing a full thoracotomy. Before the current era, the standard surgical approach to thymectomy was through a midline sternotomy or a cervical collar incision. In the last two decades, however, thoracoscopic thymectomy has been used increasingly in selected patients as a means of reducing pain and recovery time while maintaining the quality of gland removal, as well as comparable remission and asymptomatic disease rates compared to other minimally invasive and open techniques.1 Thoracoscopic thymectomy is a good alternative to standard surgical treatment with full sternotomy because it offers excellent visualization (superior to the collar incision) and avoids the morbidity of a sternal division. We enthusiastically advocate a thoracoscopic approach to myasthenia gravis (MG), thymic cysts, thymic masses, and other anterior mediastinal tumors, including small (<2 cm) thymomas.2,3 Bulky thymomas may be better visualized through a standard sternotomy. In this chapter, we describe our technique for thoracoscopic thymectomy with particular advice on ensuring a complete resection. SN - PB - McGraw-Hill Education CY - New York, NY Y2 - 2024/03/28 UR - accesssurgery.mhmedical.com/content.aspx?aid=1105847480 ER -