Outcome of an Original Video-Assisted Thoracoscopic Extended Thymectomy for Thymoma Sadanori Takeo, MD, PhD, Shuichi Tsukamoto, MD, PhD, Daigo Kawano, MD, Masakazu Katsura, MD The Annals of Thoracic Surgery Volume 92, Issue 6, Pages 2000-2005 (December 2011) DOI: 10.1016/j.athoracsur.2011.07.054 Copyright © 2011 The Society of Thoracic Surgeons Terms and Conditions
Fig 1 Sternum lifting method. To elevate the sternum, a 10 mm cotton string (10 mm wide, about 2 m long) is inserted in a stainless steel stick at the side of the head and tied to the hook of a Kent retractor at the level of the thigh. The Annals of Thoracic Surgery 2011 92, 2000-2005DOI: (10.1016/j.athoracsur.2011.07.054) Copyright © 2011 The Society of Thoracic Surgeons Terms and Conditions
Fig 2 Schematic diagram of the procedure. A 4 cm cervical incision and a 6 cm transverse abdominal incision are made, and three 5 mm thoracoports are placed in the third, fourth, and sixth intercostal spaces in the anterior axillary line. The Annals of Thoracic Surgery 2011 92, 2000-2005DOI: (10.1016/j.athoracsur.2011.07.054) Copyright © 2011 The Society of Thoracic Surgeons Terms and Conditions