The Heart Surgery Forum (HSF) is published by IMR Press from Volume 28 Issue 9 (2025). Previous articles were published by another publisher under the CC-BY-NC licence, and they are hosted by IMR Press on imrpress.com as a courtesy and upon agreement.
Implementation of Uniportal Video-Assisted Thoracoscopic Surgery to Treat Pericardial Effusion: A Review
1 College of Medicine, Alfaisal University, 11533 Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
2 Department of Thoracic Surgery, University Hospital of Leeds, LS9 7TF Leeds, West Yorkshire, UK
3 Thoracic Surgery & Lung Transplant, Lung Health Centre, Organ Transplant Center of Excellence (OTCoE), King Faisal Specialist Hospital & Research Center, 11211 Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
4 Department of General Surgery & Medical Specialties, University Polyclinic Hospital, University of Catania, 95131 Catania, Italy
*Correspondence: mmiglior@hotmail.com (Marcello Migliore)
Abstract
Pericardial effusion is the pathological accumulation of fluid in the pericardial cavity and can lead to life-threatening complications such as cardiac tamponade. While pericardiocentesis and surgical pericardial window creation remain the mainstay of treatment, uniportal video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery (UVATS) has emerged as a minimally invasive alternative with potential advantages over conventional approaches. This study comprehensively reviewed the existing literature to evaluate the safety, effi-cacy, and clinical outcomes of UVATS in managing pericar-dial effusion. A comprehensive search across the PubMed, Cochrane, and Google Scholar databases identified studies published from 2000 onward, focusing on the application of UVATS in thoracic surgery. The findings indicate that UVATS is associated with shorter hospital stays, reduced postoperative pain, and lower recurrence rates compared to multiportal VATS and the subxiphoid approach. Addi-tionally, since UVATS is a single-incision technique, this method minimizes intercostal trauma, instead enhancing postoperative recovery. However, challenges remain, in-cluding a steep learning curve, technical limitations, and the requirement for specialized instrumentation. Despite these concerns, UVATS continues to evolve with advancements in instrumentation, imaging, and robotic assistance, further improving its feasibility and outcomes. As the adoption of UVATS grows, future research should focus on long-term efficacy, standardization of techniques, and expanded indi-cations to optimize its role in thoracic surgery.
Keywords
- uniportal VATS
- pericardial effusion
- minimally invasive surgery
- thoracic surgery
- pericardial window
