Carbon Dioxide Blower Facilitates Visceral Pleurectomy in Malignant Pleural Mesothelioma.

Dai, Jie; Liu, Ming; Liu, Xiaogang; Li, Jiaqi; Jin, Kaiqi; Chen, Linsong; Bao, Minwei; Jiang, Gening · Ann Thorac Surg · 2022

case_report · Level V

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Abstract

Pleurectomy and decortication serves as a major component of therapy for malignant pleural mesothelioma (MPM), but the procedure is time consuming. We tentatively applied a carbon dioxide (CO<sub>2</sub>) blower into pleurectomy and decortication for a patient with local relapse of MPM. The blower can help increase the potential subpleural place thanks to the positive pressure by CO<sub>2</sub>, while the mist of saline could clean the potential bleeding to increase visibility. Thereby, the procedure was greatly facilitated in a more precise manner, with blood loss of 100 mL and acceptable postoperative air leak and thorax drainage. Therefore, a CO<sub>2</sub> blower may be considered in pleurectomy and decortication for MPM.

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