Surgical views: Thoracoscopy: Common techniques in small animals

Thoracoscopy is gaining popularity in small animal surgery as an alternative to thoracotomy for an increasing variety of cases. This article discusses the details of some of the most frequently performed thoracoscopic procedures in small animal practice: diagnostic biopsy of pleural, mediastinal, pericardial, and lung tissue; thoracoscopic pericardial window creation and subphrenic pericardectomy; lung lobectomy; thoracic duct ligation; and cranial mediastinal mass resection. A companion article that presented the instrumentation, anesthesia challenges, and approaches for thoracoscopic procedures in small animals was published in the January 2013 issue.