Methods: The study group consists of 229 myasthenia gravis patients without thymoma, (164 females, 65 males; mean age 35.6 years; range 9 to 70 years). Postoperative complications and relations with age, gender, duration of symptoms, the clinical stage of the disease, the type of the operative procedure and medication were analyzed. The study population was divided into five groups according to their preoperative medication. Group 1 (n=51) Cholinesterase inhibitors, group 2 (n=30) Corticosteroids, group 3 (n=125) Cholinesterase inhibitors and Corticosteroids, group 4 (n=13) Immunosuppressants, Cholinesterase inhibitors and Corticosteroids, and group 5 (n=10) No medication. Postoperative complications were: i) Infectious complications (n=18), ii) Myasthenic complications (n=14), and iii) Others (n=7).

Results: There was not any statistically significant relation between complications and analyzed data other than subgroup of medications. Patients who had cholinesterase inhibitors, immunosuppressive therapy with additional corticosteroids had increased number of complications (p=0.004).

Conclusion: Concomitant administration of immunusupressants, cholinesterase inhibitors and corticosteroids to patients with Myasthenia Gravis could increase the number of complications following transsternal thymectomy.