Emergency VATS for Hemopneumothorax and Diaphragm Repair After Stabbing

This video demonstrates video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery (VATS) procedure performed on a 16-year-old male who had been stabbed in the right lower chest. The knife caused a 2 cm wound, penetrating through the chest wall into lung and diaphragm. The patient was taken to his local hospital, where a chest drain was inserted to drain the hemopneumothorax. However, because of continued bleeding and shock, the patient was urgently transferred to the author’s center for emergency surgery. A VATS procedure was performed through the two pre-existing wounds (stab and chest drain) without extending them. The steps performed in the operation were: drainage of the hemothorax, arrest of the bleeding, sutured repair of the diaphragm, and stapling of the injured lung to close the air leak. He was also aggressively transfused blood. The drain was removed on the second post-operative day, and he was medically discharged three days after the surgery.