La toracoscopia: una innovativa tecnica mininvasiva per le procedure diagnostiche e chirurgiche nel cane e nel gatto

Abstract

Thoracoscopy is a minimally invasive technique and it is used to examine thoracic cavity and its organs performing little incisions. Thoracoscopic procedures are performed with specific tools and instruments, which allow the operator to manipolate thoracic organs and to visualize directly the inside of the cavity.The instruments are in continuous development and improvement with the aim of providing the practitioner with adequate technical skills for an optimal performance. In Veterinary Medicine, this technique is performed mainly in dogs and cats, but due to the improvement in tools, it has been recently used also in unconventional small mammals. The thoracoscopic diagnostic procedures in dogs and cats treated in this thesis are as follow: exploratory thoracoscopy, pleural, mediastinal and lung biopsies, pericardiocentesis, and staging of tumors. The mostcommonly performed thoracoscopic surgical procedures in dogs and cats are as follow: partial and total pulmonary lobectomy, removal of mediastinal masses, epicardial pacemaker placement, resolution of vascular anomalies, pericardial window and pericardectomy, removal of cardiac masses, and ligation of the toracic duct. Thoracoscopic techniques are nowadays widely accepted because of well described advantages, including significant decrease in postoperative pain and faster recovery. The aim of this thesis is to describe the different applications of thoracoscopic procedures in dogs and cats.