Objective: To evaluate the role of videomediastinoscopy in the diagnosis of disease of the mediastinum.
Methods: We retrospectively reviewed the clinical records of the 115 patients who underwent videomediastinoscopy. Local anesthesia or general anesthesia was employed. This operation consisted of cervical videomediastinoscopy in 102 patients, parasternal videomediastinoscopy in 13 patients, ninety-one patients had videomediastinoscopy for diagnosis of isolated mediastinal mass or lymphadenopathy, 25 patients with non small cell lung cancer or suspected lung cancer showed enlarged mediastinal lymph nodes radiographically in the chest.
Results: Among the patients with mediastinal disease, sarcoidosis was diagnosed in 37 patients, tuberculosis in 14 patients, lymphoma in 15 patients, nodal metastasis in 18 patients, noncaseating granulomata without classical "sarcoid" in 6 patients, with the accuracy of 93.3% (84/90); and staging of lung cancer in 25 patients, with the accuracy of 100% (25/25). The total accuracy of videomediastinoscoy and CT was 94.8% (109/115), 56.5% (65/115), respectively. Mean operative time was 26 min. There was neither complication nor mortality.
Conclusion: videomediastinoscopy is a safe and effective procedure for the diagnosis of mediastinal disease and the staging of lung cancer.