Diagnosis and Treatment of Pulmonary Hamartoma with Minimally Invasive Surgery:A Report of 40 cases

Objective:To review the experience using minimally invasive techniques in diagnosis and treatment of pulmonary hamartoma.Methods: From August 1996 to September 2005,40 cases with pulmonary hamartoma received minimally invasive surgery.Of these patients,the clinical data including symptoms,disease courses,image characteristics and surgery procedures were investigated.Results: Thoracoscopy or thoracoscopy-assisted procedures were perform in our series(n=40),in which,38 cases underwent wedge-shaped resection,1 lobectomy and 1 thoracoscopic biopsy.All cases were confirmed by pathology frozen section. In 35 cases followed up for 4-96 months,no recurrence or malignany was demonstrated.Conclusion: Pulmonary hamartoma should be resected for pathological diagnosis.It was suggested that minimally invasive surgery might be a good approach in the diagnosis and treatment of pulmonary hamartoma.