Chest Wall Resection for Adult Soft Tissue Sarcomas and Chondrosarcomas: Analysis of Prognostic Factors

Background: Wide resection with tumor-free margins is necessary in soft-tissue sarcomas to minimize local recurrence and to contribute to long-term survival. Information about treatment outcome and prognostic factors of adult sarcoma requiring chest wall resection (CWR) is limited. Methods: Sixty consecutive patients were retrospectively studied for overall survival (OS), local recurrence-free survival (LRFS), and disease-free survival (DFS). Twenty-one prognostic factors regarding survival were analyzed by univariate analysis using the Kaplan-Meier method and the log-rank test. Results: With a median survival of 2.5 years, the OS was 46% (33%) at 5 (10) years. The LRFS was 64% at 5 and 10 years, and the DFS was 30% and 25% at 5 and 10 years. At the end of the study period, 26 patients (43%) were alive, of which 20 patients (33%) had no evidence of disease and 40 patients (67%) had no chest wall recurrence. In the group of 9 patients with a radiation-induced soft-tissue sarcoma, the median survival was 8 months. Favorable outcome in univariate analysis in OS and LRFS applied for the low-grade sarcoma, bone invasion, and sternal resection. For OS only, age below 60 years and no radiotherapy were significant factors contributing to an improved survival. CWR was considered radical (R0) at the pathological examination in 43 patients. There were 52 patients with an uneventful recovery. There was one postoperative death. Conclusions: CWR for soft-tissue sarcoma is a safe surgical procedure with low morbidity and a mortality rate of less than 1%. With proper patient selection acceptable survival can be reached in a large group of patients. Care must be given to patients with radiation-induced soft-tissue sarcoma who have a significantly worse prognosis

Tumors of the Chest Wall

Primary tumors of the chest wall are uncommon. Chest wall tumors, whether malignant or benign,are classified as primary or secondary (metastatic).The most common benign tumors are osteochondromas and chondromas. The most common malignant chest wall tumors are sarcomas. Most primary tumors originate in the bones or muscles of the chest wall, though they can also arise from nerves and vessels. Less than half of malignant chest wall tumors are primary. Secondary tumors originate elsewhere in the body and spread (metastasize) to the chest wall. The most frequent secondary tumors of the chest wall spread from primary breast and lung cancer. In fact, they can either locally extend to the chest wall, or metastasize to it. Furthermore, other tumors that are not unfrequently spread to the pleura include those originating from ovary, kidney, uterus, head and neck, and testis. Therefore, almost all secondary tumors are malignant. Most chest wall tumors found in children are primary, while most found in adults are secondary . It is often difficult to make an accurate presurgical diagnosis and differentiate benign from malignant tumors. Most patients with primary chest wall tumor receive surgical biopsy or radical surgical resection

Reconstrução de trânsito intestinal após confecção de colostomia à Hartmann

OBJETIVO: O objetivo desse estudo foi avaliar as taxas de morbidade e de mortalidade da tentativa de reversão do procedimento de Hartmann. MÉTODOS: Foram estudados retrospectivamente 29 pacientes submetidos à operação para reconstrução do trânsito intestinal após procedimento de Hartmann no Hospital das Clínicas da Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais no período de janeiro de 1998 a dezembro de 2006. Foram avaliados dados pré-operatório, intra-operatórios e pós-operatórios. RESULTADOS: A média de idade dos pacientes submetidos à operação para reconstrução de trânsito intestinal após realização de colostomia a Hartmann foi de 52,6 anos, sendo 16 pacientes do sexo masculino (55,2%). O tempo médio da permanência da colostomia foi de 17,6 meses (variando de 1 a 84 meses). O tempo operatório médio foi de 300 minutos (variando de 180 a 720 minutos). O sucesso na reconstrução do trânsito intestinal foi alcançado em 27 pacientes (93%). Dois pacientes apresentaram fístula anastomótica (7%) e seis tiveram infecção de parede (22%). Ocorreu um óbito (3,4%) em paciente com fístula anastomótica e sepse abdominal. Dentre os fatores relacionados ao insucesso na reconstrução da colostomia a Hartmann observou-se associação estatisticamente significativa com a tentativa prévia de reconstrução (p = 0,007), a utilização prévia de quimioterapia (p = 0,037) e o longo tempo de permanência da colostomia (p = 0,025) CONCLUSÃO: O intervalo entre a confecção e a tentativa de reversão não deve ser muito longo e os pacientes devem ser alertados que, numa pequena porcentagem dos casos, a reconstrução do trânsito intestinal pode ser impossível devido às condições locais do reto excluído