Background: Myasthenia gravis (MG) is a neuromuscular junction autoimmune disorder that has a great impact on quality of life. Thymectomy can be approached by classic trans-sternal or thoracoscopic thymectomy. This study aimed to assess the perioperative characteristics and the efficacy of VATS as compared to the classic trans-sternal thymectomy in myasthenia gravis patients in Sultan Qaboos University hospital (SQUH) and also to compare the postoperative outcomes.
Methods: MG patients had undergone either VATS or classic trans-sternal thymectomy. Only patients with complete data were included. Medical records were examined for patient demographics, preoperative conditions, co-morbidities, perioperative and postoperative outcomes.
Results: A total of 56 thymectomies were performed. Among them, 22 were done by VATS and 34 were done by classic trans-sternal thymectomy. Total hospital stay, postoperative wound infection, visual analogue scale for pain score and postoperative analgesics were significantly less in VATS group.
Conclusion: VATS thymectomy achieved superior results compared to the classic trans-sternal approach in terms of less postoperative complication such as wound infection and pain score, less postoperative medications and shorter hospital stay. It is recommended that further randomized prospective studies with longer follow-up periods to confirm our results.