Covering the staple line with polyglycolic acid sheet versus oxidized regenerated cellulose mesh after thoracoscopic bullectomy for primary spontaneous pneumothorax

Abstract

The aim of this study was to compare coverage with oxidized regenerated cellulose mesh and that with polyglycolic acid sheet to decrease the incidence of postoperative recurrent pneumothorax. From August 2010 to August 2014, a total of 112 patients with primary spontaneous pneumothorax undergoing thoracoscopic bullectomy were enrolled. We compared the clinicopathological characteristics between recurrent and non-recurrent cases and examined their association with the material used for visceral pleural coverage: polyglycolic acid sheet versus oxidized regenerated cellulose mesh. 57 patients underwent thoracoscopic bullectomy plus coverage using oxidized regenerated cellulose mesh and 55 underwent thoracoscopic bullectomy plus coverage using polyglycolic acid sheet. The recurrence rate among all patients was 13.3%. No severe postoperative complications were observed in either group. There were no significant differences in the perioperative outcomes. However, the postoperative recurrence rate was significantly higher in the oxidized regenerated cellulose mesh group than in the polyglycolic acid sheet group (22.8 vs 3.6%). Our results suggest that coverage with oxidized regerated cellulose mesh was not superior to coverage with polyglycolic acid sheet for postoperative recurrent pneumothorax.