Thoracoscopic surgery for pulmonary arteriovenous malformation.

We report 6 consecutive cases of pulmonary arteriovenous malformation in the periphery of the lung, which were treated successfully by thoracoscopy. Pulmonary wedge resection was performed with a linear cutting stapler to divide the feeding artery, drainage vein, and aneurysmal lesion of the arteriovenous malformation. Operative time ranged from 30 to 95 min (mean, 50 min). Bleeding was minimal in all cases. No major surgery-related complications were observed. Postoperative hospital stay was limited to one week except for one patient who had experienced a brain infarction preoperatively, caused by migration of an embolization coil. Histological examination confirmed that the arteriovenous malformation foci were completely removed. Pulmonary wedge resection through thoracoscopy is feasible as an alternative treatment for arteriovenous malformation located in the periphery of the lung parenchyma when pulmonary embolization therapy is difficult or unsuccessful.