Surgical access rather than method of pleurodesis (pleurectomy or pleural abrasion) influences recurrence rates for pneumothorax surgery: systematic review and meta-analysis.

Surgery for recurrent spontaneous pneumothoraces is one of the most commonly performed procedures in thoracic surgery, but few studies have evaluated the efficacy of the surgical treatment options. We aimed to evaluate the influence of the type of pleurodesis on recurrence whilst adjusting for surgical access by systematic review and meta-regression of randomised and non-randomised trials.