Absorbable Mesh Pleurodesis in Thoracoscopic Treatment of Spontaneous Pneumothorax

Plain-language summary

Primary spontaneous pneumothorax usually occurs in young, lean male without underlying lung disease. In most cases, the cause of pneumothorax is rupture of blebs at the apex of the lung. Traditionally, bullectomy with mechanical pleurodesis through thoracotomy is indicated in patients with recurrence or persisted air leakage. In recent years, thoracoscopic bullectomy with pleural abrasion is getting popular, thanks for the advance of endoscopic instruments and technique. The pneumothorax recurrence rate after thoracoscopic surgery is around 10%, which is significantly higher than that of thoracotomy. In addition, the rate of postoperative prolonged air leakage is 5-8%. The possible causes of recurrent pneumothorax and prolonged air leakage are missed bleb surrounding the endoscopic suture line or suboptimal suturing or healing of the thoracoscopic suture. To prevent these complications, a novel method using coverage of the endoscopic suture line by a large absorbable mesh during thoracoscopic surgery was proved to be safe and feasible. Theoretically, the mesh can strengthen the suture line and induce local fibrosis surrounding the suture line, and reduce the rate of recurrent pneumothorax and prolonged air leakage. To prove this hypothesis, the investigators are conducting a prospective randomized trial in National Taiwan University Hospital. The investigators will enroll 204 patients with primary spontaneous pneumothorax who will be randomly assigned to additional mesh pleurodesis (mesh group, 102 patients) or not (control group, 102 patients) after thoracoscopic bullectomy and pleural abrasion. The primary endpoint is to compare the rate of pneumothorax recurrence within one year between the two groups. The secondary endpoints are to compare the safety, efficacy, and long-term pulmonary function between the two groups.

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