Thoracoscopy: Origins Revisited

Abstract

The ways in which thoracoscopy has evolved wonderfully illustrate how a diagnostic and therapeutic technique can transcend a particular medical or surgical subspecialty. In this review, an in-depth history is provided to enable readers to better understand the nature of minimally invasive endoscopic pleural imaging techniques.

A glance at the history of uniportal video-assisted thoracic surgery

“…Therefore, Hans Christian Jacobaeus can be considered the first physician to employ the uniportal technique to enter the pleural cavity, perform biopsies and divide pleural adhesions. This event represents the commonly-accepted origin of thoracoscopy or pleuroscopy that was usually performed in spontaneously breathing patients using local anesthesia (7,8). This technique was unquestionably useful to investigate the normal and pathological aspects of the pleural cavity and the lung.…”

Overview of uniportal video-assisted thoracic surgery (VATS): past and present

“…In 1910, Jacobaeus reported inserting an ureteroscope into the thoracic cavity to inspect the pleura (1). He subsequently published a series of these cases and utilized a second incision to perform pneumolysin for pneumothorax therapy for tuberculosis.…”

“…Singer in 1924 utilized a specialized thoracoscope through which multiple instruments could be passed, essentially the first uni-VATS. However, these thoracoscopic techniques were abandoned with the advent of medical therapy for tuberculosis (1).…”

Thoracoscopy: Outstanding Interventional Modality in Diagnosis of Pleural Nosologies

“…More than a century has passed since 1910, when the Swedish physician Hanz-Christian Jacobaeus pioneered with his evolutionary approach in tuberculosis pleurisy. He achieved the lysis of intrapleural adhesions through intracavitary insertion of his cystoscope and artificially inducted pneumothorax as therapeutic maneuver [1]. Ever since thoracoscopy has been abandoned as a therapeutic modality for tuberculosis, but its role has been elucidated in a vast of pleural disorders.…”