Thymectomy is a major surgical procedure for patients with non-thymomatous myasthenia gravis，and can enhance their symptomatic remission rate and cure rate. There is still much controversy about appropriate surgical approach and extent of resection of thymectomy. The majority of thoracic surgeons believe that the completeness of thymectomy is closely associated with clinical symptom improvement，and perform complete resection of encapsulated thymus and surroun-ding fat tissues via mid-sternotomy. But minimally invasive thymectomies are often more acceptable by patients. On the contrary，in view of common existence of ectopic thymus tissue，some thoracic surgeons advocate a combination of cervical incision and sternotomy in order to further completely remove all thymus tissue.
Objective To investigate application values and techniques of robot-assisted extended thymectomy for the treatment of typeⅠmyasthenia gravis （MG） using Da Vinci S system. Methods We retrospectively analyzed clinical data of 3 patients with MG who underwent robot-assisted extended thymectomy in General Hospital of Shenyang Military Command from March 2012 to September 2012. All the patients were ocular MG （typeⅠ） including 2 men （33 years and 66 years old respectively） and 1 woman （21 years old）. Surgical outcomes were analyzed. Results All the 3 patients successfully received robot-assisted extended thymectomy without accessorial incisions. None of the patients required converting to open sternotomy or postoperative reexploration for bleeding. Intraoperative blood loss was 5-10 ml．Overall operation time was95-138 minutes, and thymoma dissection time was 26-80 minutes. No myasthenic crisis or other major postoperative complic-ation occurred. Postoperative chest drainage duration was 3-9 days and postoperative hospital stay was 10-15 days. Two patientswere followed up for 6-12 months after discharge without MG recurrence. Conclusion Robot-assisted extended thymectomy is safe and feasible for the treatment of typeⅠMG with satisfactory results．
Objective To summarize experiences of surgical treatment and long-term results of myasthenia gravis (MG). Methods Two hundred thirty-six patients underwent thymectomy for MG in our department from Jan.1978 to Dec. 2002. The perioperative management, relative factors of postoperative crisis and long-term results were analysed. Results In 236 patients postoperative crisis took place in 44 cases accounted for 18.6%. The occurrence of postoperative crisis was related to preoperative management, modified Osserman clinical classification and combination with thymoma. Three cases died in the postoperative periods. Among them, one died of acute respiratory distress syndrome induced by aspiration and the other died of crisis. The effective rate in 1, 3, 5 years was 84.6%, 91.0% and 89.0% respectively. Conclusions Thymectomy for MG is safe and effective. Delayed extubation could decrease the needs of tracheotomy in patients with high risk factors for postoperative crisis. The partial sternotomy approach is less traumatic but the long-term effects of surgery are identical to those reported by the most authors.
Objective To establish model of thymectomy in adult rats. Methods The animal models were built by resection of the thymus and simultaneously emptying the air under xiphoid in the rats underwent thoracotomy. Results Of 30 rats, 1 died of postoperative atelectasis, 1 died of excessive bleeding because of puncturing the pulmonary vein by mistake during the operation. Twenty-eight rats survived more than 30 days. A successful rate of 93.3% was achieved in the making of thymectomy model. Conclusion The results show that the model is easy to operate and the success rate is very high, and can be used in the experiment of thymectomy in the rats.
ObjectiveTo investigate the effect of noninvasive ventilation (NIV) in patients with myasthenic crisis after thymectomy. Methods31 myasthenic crisis patients after thymectomy who initially used NIV,admitted in the First Affiliated Hospital of Guangzhou Medical University between January 2011 and June 2013,were analyzed retrospectively.They were assigned to two groups according to the successful application of NIV or not,with 13 patients in the NIV success group and 18 patients in the NIV failure group.The related factors including gender,age,APACHEⅡ score when admitted to ICU,the results of blood gas analysis before NIV,thymoma or not,the history of myasthenic crisis,the history of chronic lung disease,and minute ventilation accounted for the largest percentage of predicted value (MVV%pred)were analyzed. ResultsThere were no significant differences in age,gender,or APACHEⅡ score between two groups (P>0.05).The PaCO2 in the NIV success group was lower than that in the NIV failure group.The preoperative MVV%pred in the NIV success group was higher than that in the NIV failure group.There were no significant differences between two groups in pH,PO2,thymoma or not,the history of myasthenic crisis,or the history of chronic lung disease (P>0.05).If using the 45 mm Hg as the cut-off value of PaCO2 and 60% as the cut-off value of MVV%pred,the incidence of PaCO2<45 mm Hg and the incidence of MVV%pred>60% were higher in the NIV success group than those in the NIV failure group (84.6% vs.33.3%, P<0.05;100% vs. 55.6%,P<0.05).Logistic regression analysis revealed that PaCO2<45 mm Hg was an independent influence factor for successful application of NIV in patients with myasthenic crisis after thymectomy. ConclusionPaCO2<45 mm Hg can be a predictor of successful application of NIV in patients with myasthenic crisis after thymectomy.For the patients underwent NIV whose PaCO2<45 mm Hg or MVV%pred<60%,the clinician should predict the possibility of failure and prepared for intubation.
ObjectiveTo assess the long-term efficacy of extended thymectomy in the treatment of myasthenia gravis(MG) and the factors influencing the results. MethodsWe retrospectively analyzed the clinical data of 45 MG patients who underwent extended thymectomy in our hospital from January 2005 through December 2010. There were 11males and 34 females at age of 32.6(16-50) years. The overall effective rate was calculated. Univariate analysis was used to analyze the risk factors including sex, age, Osserman classification, and pathological type for outcomes. ResultsAll the patients were followed up for a mean of 58.3 months(ranged from 36 to 108 months). The overall effective rate was 80.0%(36/45) and rose with the extention of time. Age(P=0.019), pathological type(P=0.024) of thymus and Osserman classification(P=0.043) of MG were the main factors influencing the outcomes of the treatment except sex(P=0.666). ConclusionExtended thymectomy in the treatment of MG has better outcomes. And the overall effective rate rises with the extention of time.
ObjectiveTo explore the risk factors of myasthenic crisis after thymectomy (MCAT) for patients with myasthenia gravis (MG). MethodsWe searched PubMed, EMbase, The Cochrane Library (Issue 8, 2015), Web of Knowledge, CBM, CNKI and WanFang Data from inception to August 31, 2015, to collect case-control studies and retrospective cohort studies about the MCAT for patients with MG. Two reviewers independently screened literature, extracted data and assessed the risk of bias of included studies. Then meta-analysis was performed using Stata 13.0 software. ResultsA total of 17 studies involving 394 patients with myasthenic crisis and 1642 controls were included. Of the 17 studies, 11 were retrospective cohort studies and 6 were case-control studies. The results of meta-analysis showed that:a) univariate analysis indicated that history of myasthenic crisis (OR=8.05, 95%CI 5.80 to 11.15, P<0.01), bulbar symptoms (OR=5.10, 95%CI 3.01 to 8.67, P<0.01), preoperative severity of gravis (Osserman-stage) (OR=10.55, 95%CI 7.28 to 15.30, P<0.01), postoperative pulmonary infection (OR=10.77, 95%CI 3.88 to 29.95, P<0.01), thymoma (OR=2.37, 95%CI 1.50 to 3.75, P<0.01), dose of pyridostigmine (MD=0.45, 95%CI 0.29 to 0.62, P<0.01), AChRAb level >100 nmol/L (OR=12.14, 95%CI 4.80 to 30.73, P<0.01) and operation time (MD=0.57, 95%CI 0.26 to 0.88, P<0.01) were the risk factors of MCAT; b) multivariate analysis showed that, history of myasthenic crisis (OR=5.06, 95%CI 2.30 to 11.14, P<0.01), bulbar symptoms (OR=5.21, 95%CI 2.62 to 10.35, P<0.01), preoperative severity of gravis (Osserman-stage) (OR=5.82, 95%CI 2.60 to 13.04, P<0.01) and AChRAb level >100 nmol/L (OR=8.38, 95%CI 3.31 to 23.08, P<0.01) were the independent risk factors of MCAT. ConclusionThe independent risk factors of MCAT for patients with MG are history of myasthenic crisis, bulbar symptoms, preoperative severity of gravis (Osserman-stage) and AChRAb level >100 nmol/L.
Objective To investigate the clinical outcomes of subxiphoid video-assisted thoracoscopic thymectomy for myasthenia gravis. Methods The clinical data of the 85 patients undergoing video-assisted thoracoscopic thymectomy for myasthenia gravis in Department of Cardiothoracic Surgery, Huashan Hospital affiliated to Fudan University between January 2014 and July 2016 were studied. Subxiphoid approach video-assisted thoracoscopic thymectomy (SXVT) and through traditional unilateral approach video-assisted thymectomy (TVAT) were compared. The clinical outcomes of SXVT and TVAT were compared. Results There was no surgical death and no statistical difference between the two groups in drainage time, postoperative volume of drainage, postoperative hospital stay and bleeding volume during operation (P>0.05). However, the acute chest pain after surgery, as well as the postoperative chest pain, and operative time were less in the the SXVT group than that in the TVAT group (P<0.05). Conclusion SXVT for myasthenia gravis is safe and executable. It can alleviate intercostal neuralgia and abnormal chest wall feeling. And it should be considered in the treatment of myasthenia gravis.
Thymectomy is an important treatment for thymoma and myasthenia gravis. The application of minimally invasive surgery to complete thymectomy and rapid recovery of patients after surgery is a developmental goal in thoracic surgery technology. Surgical robots have many technical advantages and are applied for many years in mediastinal tumor resections, a process that has led to its recognition. We published this consensus with the aim of examining how to ensure surgical safety based on the premise that better use of surgical robots achieving rapid recovery after surgery. We invited multiple experts in thoracic surgery to discuss the safety and technical issues of thymectomy under nonintubated anesthesia, and the consensus was made after several explorations and modifications.