Surgical outcomes of video – assisted thymectomy

INTRODUCTION: With the advancement of minimally invasive surgery, the use of video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery (VATS) for thymectomy in thoracic surgical practice has steadily increased. Although thymectomy was traditionally performed using conventional surgical approaches, minimally invasive techniques have now become the gold standard. In this study, we aimed to evaluate the clinical characteristics and surgical outcomes of patients who underwent VATS thymectomy at our institution.
METHODS: Patients who underwent VATS thymectomy at our institution between 2019 and 2026 for a thymic mass or non-thymomatous myasthenia gravis were included in the study. Demographic characteristics, surgical indications, histopathological diagnoses of the resected specimens, postoperative complication rates, operative time, chest tube duration, and length of hospital stay were analyzed.
RESULTS: A total of 33 patients were included in the study. Nineteen patients (57.6%) had MG. The mean chest tube duration was 2.66±2.44 days, with a median chest tube removal time of 2 days. The mean postoperative length of hospital stay was 4.15±4.76 days, with a median of 3 days. Conversion from VATS to open surgery was required intraoperatively in two patients. Operative time was significantly longer in patients with malignant lesions than in those with benign lesions (p=0.007).
DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION: Our study demonstrated that VATS thymectomy was associated with a short postoperative hospital stay and early chest tube removal. Although postoperative complications were rare, the possibility of major complications requiring conversion should not be overlooked.

Keywords: Myasthenia gravis, thymectomy, thymoma