[Thoracotomy and thoracoscopy in the treatment of patent arterial duct in infants weighing less than 2500 g].

Background: Thoracoscopic clipping of the patent ductus arteriosus is an alternative to conventional surgical closure via thoracotomy in low birth weight infants. The aim of this study is to compare of these two groups of patients for the last 11 years.
Methods: We reported the data of 127 small children's who underwent standard transaxillary thoracotomy (101 patients - Group I) and video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery for patent ductus arteriosus clipping (26 patients - Group II). The two groups were compared for patients demographics, operative report and postoperative parameters.
Results: The groups were similar in terms of demographics and preoperative parameters. There was significant difference in mean operative time between open and thoracoscopic procedure (44.65 min vs 38.46 min; p<0.05). Duration of care in neonatal intensive unit and length of hospital stay were significantly shorter in the Group II (16.44 d vs 8.77 d; p<0.05 and 40.13 d vs 33.65 d; p<0.05). Early complication rates were equivalent between groups (6.93% vs 3.85%; p>0.05). Rate of long-term complications was dominated in the thoracotomy group (19.80% vs 0%; p=0127).
Conclusion: Thoracoscopic ligation of the patent ductus arteriosus in infants less than 2500 g gave results better than open surgery.