[Our experience with thoracoscopy (author's transl)].

The last two years, we carried out 25 thoracoscopies in 26 patients. The examination was not possible in 2 cases, because of severe adhesions, in one case neoplastic and in the other, fibrous. One patient had a bilateral exploration on two separate occasions. All these examinations were carried out under general anesthesia with differential intubation or, on occasion, tracheal intubation. The first 15 cases were carried out using the rigid bronchoscope with a cold light; the subsequent examinations were carried out using the Storz thoracoscope. From a diagnostic point of view, our patients broke down in the following manner: -metastatic pleurisies - 6, -pleural effusion in reaction to bronchial carcinoma -2, -post-radiotherapic pleural effusion - 1, -benign asbestos pleurisy -5, -cirrhotic pleural effusion - 1, -inflammatory pleurisy - 9. We carried out talcum adhesion of the pleura in only 4 cases : 2 cases of neoplastic pleurisy, 1 post-radiotherapy pleurisy, and 1 inflammatory pleurisy. There were 2 infectious complications in this series : one in a patient with diabetes, leading, indirectly, to death. The second was cured by pleuro-pulmonary decortication.