Yim A P
Division of Cardiothoracic Surgery, Department of Surgery, Prince of Wales Hospital, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shatin, N.T., Hong Kong.
Surg Endosc. 1996 Dec;10(12):1198-200. doi: 10.1007/s004649900278.
Video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery (VATS) is now an established approach in the management of many thoracic conditions. However, the high cost of this new technology has deterred many Asian hospitals from widely applying this technique.
This article describes our strategies to reduce cost in our practice of VATS over the last few years.
VATS involves (1) careful patient selection, (2) use of conventional thoracic instruments as much as possible, (3) modification of conventional instruments, (4) limited use of expensive consumables, and (5) development and application of endoscopic suturing technique.
VATS is still in evolution. Cost containment, while desirable in the West, is a high priority in Asia if this new surgical approach is to be applicable even in developing countries. More research is greatly needed in this area.
电视辅助胸腔镜手术（VATS）目前是治疗多种胸科疾病的既定方法。然而，这项新技术的高成本阻碍了许多亚洲医院广泛应用该技术。
本文描述了我们在过去几年中开展VATS手术时降低成本的策略。
VATS手术包括：（1）仔细选择患者；（2）尽可能使用传统胸科器械；（3）对传统器械进行改良；（4）限制使用昂贵的耗材；（5）开发和应用内镜缝合技术。
VATS仍在不断发展。控制成本在西方固然可取，但在亚洲，如果要使这种新的手术方法在发展中国家也能应用，这是一个高度优先事项。该领域非常需要更多的研究。
