Poor results in the treatment of lung cancer have led to the development of several techniques designed to obtain tissue for diagnosis and to determine the feasibility of resection. Although mediastinoscopy has obtained great popularity, we have been dissatisfied with it because of the low yield of positive results and the attendant increases in length of operations and hospitalizations. We have modified the old technique of thoracoscopy, using a sterilized sigmoidoscope inserted through an intercostal space with the patient positioned and prepared for thoracotomy. Although most frequently used in patients with lung cancer, this procedure also has been helpful in patients with coin lesions, mediastinal tumors, and penetrating wounds of the chest. Although we agree that mediastinoscopy is useful in selected patients, we believe that thoracoscopy offers a greater number of patients a reliable means of obtaining the proper diagnosis more efficiently.
肺癌治疗效果不佳促使了多种技术的发展，这些技术旨在获取组织用于诊断并确定切除的可行性。尽管纵隔镜检查已广受欢迎，但由于阳性结果的检出率低以及随之而来的手术时间和住院时间增加，我们对其并不满意。我们改进了传统的胸腔镜检查技术，通过肋间间隙插入经过消毒的乙状结肠镜，患者的体位和准备如同开胸手术。虽然该操作最常用于肺癌患者，但对肺部孤立性结节、纵隔肿瘤和胸部穿透伤患者也有帮助。虽然我们认同纵隔镜检查在特定患者中有用，但我们认为胸腔镜检查能为更多患者提供一种更高效地获得正确诊断的可靠方法。
