Surgical treatment of benign mediastinal neurogenic tumors - a 7-year analysis

Aim: Benign intrathoracic neurogenic tumors are neoplasms with low frequency prevalence ocurring predominantly in the posterior mediastinum. Video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery (VATS) enables minimally invasive surgical treatment in a number of intrathoracic diseases. The aim of this work was to compare the results of operations of neurogenic tumors of the mediastinum by VATS and open resection. Patients and methods: We retrospectively analyzed the set of 22 patients who underwent surgery between 2013-2018 for benign neurogenic tumors of the mediastinum. Results: The average age in the group was 57 years, 73% were women. 19 patients (86.4%) were asymptomatic and their tumors were accidental findings. Based on the histological examination 20 cases (90.9%) were neurinomas, 1 case (4.5%) was a paraganglion and 1 case (4.5.%) was a neurofibroma. There were no operative deaths in the group. Postoperative morbidity was 13.6%. VATS patients had significantly lower blood loss (42.5 +/- 52.6 vs. 95 +/- 48 mL; P = 0.033), shorter hospital stay (6.9 +/- 1.5 vs. 11 +/- 2.6 days; P = 0.008) and lower incidence of complications (6.25 vs. 33%; P = 0.001). There was no significant difference between the groups compared in the length of operations (78 +/- 22.3 vs. 87 +/- 72.2 min; P = 0.393) and tumor size (40 +/- 19.9 vs. 61 +/- 54.7 mm; P = 0.074). No tumor relapse occur red during the follow-up period (mean 34 months). Conclusion: VATS represents a safe and effective surgical method in the treatment of benign mediastinal tumors. Compared to open access, VATS achieved better results in lower blood loss, shorter hospital stay and lower frequency of complications.