[Spontaneous pneumothorax--considerations on etiology and therapy].

A retrospective analysis of all patients, who were treated for spontaneous pneumothorax during a ten year period from January 1st 1978 to December 31st 1987 at the Dept. of General Surgery at Kiel University (n = 140) is presented. In January/February 1990 these patients were interviewed by telephone (n = 92). There were 77% males (n = 108) and 23% females (n = 33), ratio 3:1. 131 patients had a unilateral pneumothorax, the right side was afflicted in 60% (n = 78), the left side in 40% (n = 53). A bilateral pneumothorax occurred in 19% (n = 18). 96 cases were treated for the first episode of which 95 received an intercostal drainage. Only in 65% (n = 62) the lungs reexpanded, the rest of the patients had to be treated thoracoscopically or were operated. Among those patients, who were treated exclusively by intercostal drainage, 40% (n = 25) had a recurrence and 14 of these had to be operated later. The long-term results after operation (wedge resection and/or parietal pleurectomy) were excellent with regard to recurrence rate and general health (97% almost or completely free of complaint) irrespective of the kind of operation that had been performed. The portion of smokers was 78% (n = 56) of the males and 40% (n = 8) of the females, which seems to be much higher than in the comparable groups of the general population.