Abstract
The thymus is located in the superior mediastinum and is the site for generation of T cells. Thymectomy is indicated in patients with thymic cyst, thymoma, and non-thymomatous myasthenia gravis, among others. These conditions are rare in pediatric patients, which make the conduct of prospective, randomized, controlled study to evaluate treatment outcomes and efficacy challenging. Thoracoscopic thymectomy is increasingly chosen over open sternotomy or cervical approach in both adult and pediatric patients. The thoracoscopic approach is equally effective in terms of achieving an adequate resection, with the added benefit of decreased pain, shorter length of stay, and improved cosmesis that allows earlier stage disease to be treated. In this chapter, thymic anatomy and physiology, surgical indications, operative technique, and postoperative management are discussed.
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Leeper, C.M., Scholz, S. (2017). Thoracoscopic Thymectomy. In: Walsh, D., Ponsky, T., Bruns, N. (eds) The SAGES Manual of Pediatric Minimally Invasive Surgery. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-43642-5_6
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-43642-5_6
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