Introduction

The technique of thoracoscopy was first described in the early 20 th century and its use in children was applied by the mid 1970s. In 1910, a Swedish internist, Hans Jacobaeus, reported the use of Nitze's lighted cystoscope in the pleural space to divide adhesions. This was performed under local anesthesia using a heated wire to divide the adhesions. This intrapleural pneumolysis was quite successful in achieving pulmonary collapse, with relatively low morbidity and mortality. Soon the technique was adopted in Europe and in the USA. [1]

In 1921, Jacobaeus reported use of this technique to diagnose benign and malignant conditions of the pleura and lung parenchyma. The rapid ...