Video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery (VATS) was first reported in the early 1990s. Since then, the safety and efficacy of thoracoscopy for diagnosing and treating pleural, pulmonary, and mediastinal disease has been demonstrated with similar oncological results, which were confirmed by multiple clinical studies. Although VATS for thoracic surgery is practical, has been shown to reduce postoperative discomfort, and has improved cosmetic results when compare to open thoracotomy, unfortunately chronic thoracic wound discomfort and postoperative neuralgia were found in a significant portion of patients .~Recently, a minimally invasive approach that is different from the conventional multiport thoracoscopic technique is gradually becoming of great interest in the diagnosis and treatment of thoracic surgical disease. Single-port VATS is one of the most promising emerging surgical techniques which allows the surgeon to perform a majority of thoracic surgeries and with similar perioperative outcomes that are comparable with the conventional multiport technique. However, a very limited number of clinical studies have demonstrated the advantages of single port VATS in postoperative pain reduction, when comparing to the traditional multiport thoracoscopic approach.~To clarify the physiologic and immunologic effects of different approaches for minimally invasive thoracic surgery, investigators aim to compare the perioperative physiological changes, immunological responses, and postoperative pain between standard (multi-port) transthoracic thoracoscopic and single-port transthoracic thoracoscopic surgery for thoracic disease.
Video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery (VATS) for thoracic surgery is practical, has been shown to reduce postoperative discomfort, and has improved cosmetic results when compare to open thoracotomy. The specific aims of this project are: to clarify the physiologic and immunologic effects of different approaches for minimally invasive thoracic surgery: (1) multiple-port VATS; (2) single-port VATS