The History of Sympathetic Surgery.

At present, primary hyperhidrosis is the main indication for sympathectomy. For upper thoracic sympathetic ablation, excision of the second thoracic ganglion alone or with the first and/or third ganglia was the standard during the open surgery era. With the advent of thoracoscopy, modifications related to the level, extent, and type of ablation were proposed to attenuate compensatory hyperhidrosis. The ideal operation for sympathetic denervation of the face and upper limbs remain to be defined. Controlled double-blind studies with quantitave measurements of sweat production are required.

Theatre of paediatric surgery.

In the 50 years since the first edition of this journal, operative paediatric surgery has undergone radical change. Many of the most common instruments are unchanged, both as a testament to their utility and in recognition of past surgeons remembered eponymously. Surrounding that basic core of instruments, theatre has changed radically as new tools and techniques have arisen. Surgeons have come down from their pedestals, recognising surgery as a team sport rather than a solo performance. More than half of the current paediatric surgical trainees are women, a higher proportion than in any other craft group of the Royal Australasian College of Surgeons. The appearance, and rapid development, of laparoscopy is to many observers the most notable change in surgery over the last 50 years. Placed in its context though, it is simply the most prominent example of a frameshift in surgical thinking. The patient as a whole is now the focus, rather than just the disease. Recent developments are as much about minimising harm to normal tissues as they are about extirpating pathology. As a surgical maxim, 'Primum non nocere' is even more in evidence in 2015 than it was in 1965.

Medical pleuroscopy.

There has been an exciting expansion in the practice of medical pleuroscopy in recent years. As technology has become more available and confidence in the use of equipment has grown, medical thoracoscopy has become a core diagnostic and therapeutic tool in pleural disease care. Despite this, many areas of medical pleuroscopy practice remain conspicuously devoid of well-established evidence. More knowledge is needed in those areas where there is currently a degree of equipoise. Many areas where pleuroscopy currently has a marginal role require high-quality randomized trials be undertaken with a view to informing future practice and guidelines.

First steps in the management of pericardial effusion: who was first to relieve the pericardial sac--Larrey or Romero?

Early reports told us that the first pericardiotomy was performed by Baron Dominique Jean Larrey, Napoleon's chief military surgeon. In this article, we reveal a previous operation of that kind and its publication by Francisco Romero, who had a 9-year head start over Larrey's performance. The aim of this article was to briefly review the two-century-old history of pericardial fenestration.

The history of surgery for pulmonary tuberculosis.

Thoracic surgical procedures evolved from surgical management of tuberculosis; lung resections, muscle flaps, and thoracoscopy all began with efforts to control the disease. The discovery of antituberculosis drugs in 1944 to 1946 made sanatorium therapy and collapse therapy in all its forms obsolete and changed thoracic surgery dramatically. Currently, management of tuberculosis is primarily medical, and surgery has a minimal role. Today surgery is usually only performed in patients with tuberculosis when the diagnosis is necessary, who have complications or sequelae of the disease, or who have active disease resistant to therapy.

The tale of spring water cysts: a historical outline of surgery for congenital pericardial diverticula and cysts.

Congenital pericardial diverticula and cysts are extremely uncommon lesions within the anterior mediastinum. Both lesions derive from the pericardial celom and represent different stages of a common embryogenesis. Initial reports date from the 19th century. Surgical pioneers were Otto Pickhardt, who removed a pericardial cyst at Lenox Hill Hospital in New York in 1931, and Richard Sweet, who accomplished the first resection of a pericardial diverticulum at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston in 1943. These lesions were also called spring water cysts because they usually contain watery, crystal-clear fluid. This history outlines the milestones of evolving surgical management, from the first report in 1837 up to the present time.

100 years of thoracoscopy: historical notes.

In the historical evolution of thoracoscopy, which was initiated exactly one century ago by Hans Christian Jacobaeus, two distinct periods can be identified: one between 1910 and 1955, characterised by its use for the lysis of pleural adhesions to obtain therapeutic pneumothorax in lung tuberculosis, and the subsequent period which has seen the development of diagnostic applications, principally due to pulmonologists and, after 1990, the start of an exclusively surgical thoracoscopy called video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery or VATS to perform video-assisted interventions.

[Historic review of minimally invasive surgery in Romania--a new surgical era]. / Scurt istoric al chirurgiei miniminvazive in România--o noua era chirurgicala.

The minimally-invasive surgery developed during the last decades, having an important place within the operating techniques of many surgical specialities once high-performing instruments and devices were created. It is represented by laparoscopic, thoracoscopic, arthroscopic and endoscopic techniques (diagnostical and therapeutical). The introduction and development of such techniques at the global level allowed for them to be introduced in our country in a rather short period of time after their usage abroad. This article consists of a brief description of the minimally-invasive surgery both at the global and national level.

From Jacobeaus to the da Vinci: thoracoscopic applications of the robot.

With the increasing recognition of the benefits of minimally invasive surgery, surgical technology has evolved significantly since Jacobeaus' first attempt at thoracoscopy 100 years ago. Currently, video-assisted thoracic surgery occupies a significant role in the diagnosis and treatment of benign and malignant diseases of the chest. However, the clinical application of video-assisted thoracic surgery is limited by the technical shortcomings of the approach. Although the da Vinci system (Intuitive Surgical) is not the first robotic surgical system, it has been the most successful and widely applicable. After early applications in general and urologic surgery, the da Vinci robot extended its arms into the field of thoracic surgery, broadening the applicability of minimally invasive thoracic surgery. We review the available literature on robot-assisted thoracic surgery in attempt to better define the current role of the robot in pulmonary, mediastinal, and esophageal surgeries.

Advances in thoracoscopy: 100 years since Jacobaeus.

Thoracoscopy provides the physician a window into the pleural space, and enables the biopsy of the parietal pleura under direct visual guidance, chest tube placement and pleurodesis for recurrent pleural effusions or pneumothoraces in selected patients. In this review, we discuss the advances that have been achieved in thoracoscopy since its inception more than a century ago.

History of thoracoscopic surgery in Japan and the world.

PURPOSE: The aim of this study was to review articles to learn how current thoracoscopic surgery was developed to the present status. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The Internet literature search engines PubMed and Index Medicus were used to search for the published articles. Interpretation of the articles was reflected in the reviewer's personal experience, who was closely associated with the developmental history. RESULTS: Altogether, 49 articles were selected and reviewed. CONCLUSIONS: A variety of applications of thoracoscopy have been developed. It remains the major surgical technique in thoracic surgery.

Thoracoscopy: origins revisited.

The ways in which thoracoscopy has evolved wonderfully illustrate how a diagnostic and therapeutic technique can transcend a particular medical or surgical subspecialty. In this review, an in-depth history is provided to enable readers to better understand the nature of minimally invasive endoscopic pleural imaging techniques.

Hans Christian Jacobaeus: Inventor of human laparoscopy and thoracoscopy.

Hans Christian Jacobaeus performed the first clinical laparoscopic surgery in Stockholm. This pioneering procedure was based on the animal experiments of Georg Kelling (1866-1945), a German physician from Dresden, who performed the first laparoscopic intervention in 1901 using a Nitz cystoscope in a dog. In 1910, Jacobaeus published his initial experiences with laparoscopic surgery in the Münchner Medizinischen Wochenschrift under the title "The Possibilities for Performing Cystoscopy in Examinations of Serous Cavities." He used this technique for diagnostic purposes in undefined abdominal complaints and functional impairment. Jacobaeus was the first who pointed out the possibility of injuring organs, especially the intestines, by inserting the trocar. In 1910, Jacobaeus recognized the immense diagnostic and therapeutic possibilities of laparoscopic surgery, as well as its difficulties and limits. He also was the first to realize the need for initial endoscopic training in animals and corpses. He promoted the development of special laparoscopic instruments to optimize and simplify the procedure.