Thoracoscopic surgery is a procedure that is done to see inside the chest cavity and make surgical repairs. It is a less invasive surgical technique than open-chest surgery or other similar procedures.

The surgeon makes one or more small incisions in the chest area and places a special camera, called a thorascope, to see the area around the heart. Guided by this camera, the surgeon inserts one or more surgical instruments through the incisions and makes repairs where needed.

Thoracoscopic surgery usually results in a quicker recovery than traditional open-chest surgery. But this type of surgery cannot be used to repair many types of heart or lung problems.