Background: To evaluate the clinical experiences on the application of videoassisted mediastinoscopy for 40 patients with mediastinal lesions.
Methods: Forty patients underwent video-assisted mediastinoscopy through neck-way surgery, including 17 cases with sole mediastinal nodule or mass, of which the pathologic diagnosis was warranted; 18 cases diagnosed as lung cancer with enlarged mediastinal lymph nodes, of which the clinical stage needed to be clarified; and 5 cases of mediastinal mass with miscellaneous clinical conditions. The results of mediastinoscopy biopsy and pathological diagnosis were analyzed.
Results: Satisfied tissue for detailed examination was obtained for all of the 40 cases who underwent mediastinoscopy. The successful rate for biopsy was 100%. The final pathologic diagnosis were 11 cases of lymph node metastasis from lung cancer, 4 cases of lymph node metastasis from unknown site, 9 cases of sarcoidosis, 6 cases of lymph node reactive hyperplasia, 4 cases of tuberculosis, 2 cases of lymphoma, 2 cases of mediastinal cyst, 1 case of retrosternal thyroid, 1 case of inflammatory granuloma. Two cases of postoperative hemorrhage related to surgery were successfully treated.
Conclusions: Video-assisted mediastinoscopy is safe and useful. It's essential for the diagnosis of sole mediastinal mass, a good method to clarify the pathologic stage of patients with lung cancer, and the only way to get the pathologic diagnosis for some special mediastinal disease.