To investigate the feasibility of no chest tube drainage compared with chest tube drainage in patients who underwent uniportal thoracoscopic sublobar resection.
Approach:
Key Findings:
Pneumothorax occurred in 1.7% of the tubeless group and 0.0% in the chest tube group (P = 0.500).
No significant postoperative complications such as pleural effusion or pulmonary infection were reported in either group.
Operational time, perioperative blood loss, total hospital stay, and postoperative hospital stay were lower in the tubeless group.
Pain VAS scores were significantly lower in the tubeless group on postoperative days 1 and 2.
No significant differences in patient satisfaction between the two groups.
Interpretation:
Uniportal thoracoscopic sublobar resection without chest tube drainage may be feasible in selected low-risk patients without intraoperative air leakage.
Limitations:
Retrospective design may introduce selection bias.
Limited generalizability due to the specific patient population studied.
Further prospective studies with standardized outcome capture are needed for validation.
Conclusion:
The study suggests that a tubeless approach may be a viable option for selected patients undergoing uniportal thoracoscopic sublobar resection.
