Single-port thoracoscopic intrathoracic rib resection: a case description

[摘要] Rib anomalies effect approximately 1% of the generalpopulation, and supernumerary intrathoracic ribabnormalities are even less common (1). This abnormalitymainly manifests as supernumerary ribs originating fromthe spine or other normal ribs, and those ribs traversingthe thorax or floating directly in the thorax without bonystructural connections (2,3). About 60 cases have beenreported since Lutz first reported rib anomalies in 1947 (1).Ribs in the thoracic cage rarely produce clinical symptomsand are generally discovered by accident; however, thepurpose of identifying such ribs is to exclude or identifysome types of malignant tumors (4). Not all intrathoracicribs cause symptoms, but some have been reported tocause pain, pneumothorax, and even liver damage (1,5).The diagnosis of intrathoracic ribs mainly relies on chestcomputed tomography (CT) and three-dimensional (3D)rib reconstruction (6). Thus, research on intrathoracic ribshas mainly focused on the following: (I) the diagnosis ofintrathoracic ribs; and (II) the treatment of symptomaticintrathoracic ribs. Currently, there is no uniform treatmentfor symptomatic intrathoracic ribs, although a patient withpainful intrathoracic ribs was successfully treated withrobotic-assisted thoracoscopic surgery (7).

[学科分类] 外科医学