Thoracoscopy was first performed in 1910 for the diagnosis of pleural diseases. The procedure was frequently performed under local anesthesia to diagnose and treat pleural tuberculosis. There was limited therapeutic application of this technology until the introduction of video-endoscopic instrumentation in the late 1980s.

Minimally invasive thoracic surgery allows the performance of surgical procedures in the chest cavity utilizing small incisions and specially-adapted, video-endoscopic instruments. This affords a quicker and less painful convalescence for the patient. Many procedures which were previously performed with larger incisions can now be done thoracoscopically, with comparable results. Thoracoscopy is useful for the diagnosis and treatment of a variety of intra-thoracic processes.

Minimally invasive surgery in the chest, referred to as video-assisted thoracic surgery (VATS), is being used for both diagnostic and therapeutic interventions for a number of chest problems that previously required large, open surgical incisions. These procedures include lung, pleural and node biopsies; the removal of peripheral lung nodules; the treatment of pleural effusions and recurrent pneumothorax; resection of small mediastinal tumors; lung-volume reduction for pulmonary emphysema; and surgery for lung cancer, coronary artery disease and valvular disease.