Minimally Invasive Thymectomy: Introduction

Abstract

There are very few issues in thoracic surgery attracting so much interest as thymectomy for myasthenia gravis (MG). This is a rather unique phenomenon if one considers how rare the disease MG is and how few patients need thymectomy. The introduction of surgery for MG was made by Sauerbruch in 1908 and by Blalock in l936; however, the modern principles of surgical treatment of MG have been established by several later authors, with Masaoka and Jaretzki being the most prominent. The main principle of thymectomy for MG is a complete removal of the whole thymic gland. A subtotal thymectomy is unacceptable and should not be performed. The necessity of removal of the ectopic thymic foci is a matter of controversy.