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Minimally Invasive Thymectomy

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Thoracic Surgery
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Abstract

Thymectomy is indicated for thymic tumours and a subset of patients with myasthenia gravis . Traditional access to the thymus gland has been maximally invasive via sternotomy or thoracotomy . However, minimal access techniques have become increasingly popular across the world over the last decades, greatly facilitated by increasingly sophisticated endoscopic technologies. Several retrospective observational studies have demonstrated advantages in terms of improved post-operative recovery, with similar symptomatic or oncologic outcomes compared to more aggressive approaches . This chapter will examine the indications for and principles of thymectomy , as well as discuss the advantages and disadvantages of surgical resectional techniques in common use.

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Correspondence to Giuseppe Aresu .

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Margaret, H., Aresu, G. (2020). Minimally Invasive Thymectomy. In: Nistor, C.E., Tsui, S., Kırali, K., Ciuche, A., Aresu, G., Kocher, G.J. (eds) Thoracic Surgery. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-40679-0_51

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-40679-0_51

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-030-40678-3

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-030-40679-0

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