Comparison of Outcomes of Uniportal versus Triportal VATS for Primary Spontaneous Pneumothorax

Objective: To compare outcomes of uniportal versus triportal video assisted thoracoscopic surgery for management of primary spontaneous pneumothorax. Study Design: Quasi-Experimental study. Place and Duration of Study: Department of Thoracic Surgery, Combined Military Hospital, Rawalpindi Pakistan, from Jan 2019 to Jul 2020. Methodology: Patients who are diagnosed as cases of primary spontaneous pneumothorax and indicated to undergo apical stapling and pleural abrasion were divided randomly into two groups, Group A & Group B had 45 patients in each group. Group A was subjected to Uniportal VATS technique for apical stapling and pleural abrasion while Group B was subjected to same procedure using Triportal VATS technique. Variables which were studied included Operative time, need of additional port, intensity and duration of post operative pain, chest tube duration, length of hospital stay, surgical site infection (SSI), neuralgia and recurrence. Results: Uniportal VATS when compared to triportal VATS resulted in significant reduction in pain (p-value 0.02), duration of chest tube drainage (p-value 0.02), Length of hospital stay (p-value 0.038) and development of neuralgia (p-value 0.02). Conclusion: Uniportal VATS technique is effective in treatment of primary spontaneous pneumothorax specifically in regards to reducing post-operative pain, neuralgia and length of hospital stay.