Interventional bronchoscopy for benign tracheobronchial diseases under cardiopulmonary bypass support: case reports and literature review

The use of cardiopulmonary bypass as an adjunct to airway surgery for non-malignant diseases in adults is not well established in the UK. We are reporting two cases which demonstrate the additional benefits of using cardiopulmonary bypass during difficult bronchoscopy and complex airway stenting. The first case presents an emergency indication for cardiopulmonary bypass in a life-threatening but benign condition. The second case presented, utilises cardiopulmonary bypass standby as adjunct to a potentially life threatening procedure. A review of the literature is also provided

Cellular Basis of Tissue Regeneration by Omentum

The omentum is a sheet-like tissue attached to the greater curvature of the stomach and contains secondary lymphoid organs called milky spots. The omentum has been used for its healing potential for over 100 years by transposing the omental pedicle to injured organs (omental transposition), but the mechanism by which omentum helps the healing process of damaged tissues is not well understood. Omental transposition promotes expansion of pancreatic islets, hepatocytes, embryonic kidney, and neurons. Omental cells (OCs) can be activated by foreign bodies in vivo. Once activated, they become a rich source for growth factors and express pluripotent stem cell markers. Moreover, OCs become engrafted in injured tissues suggesting that they might function as stem cells

A CT scan section of case 2, showing severe stenosis of left main bronchus

<p><b>Copyright information:</b></p><p>Taken from "Interventional bronchoscopy for benign tracheobronchial diseases under cardiopulmonary bypass support: case reports and literature review"</p><p>http://www.cardiothoracicsurgery.org/content/3/1/27</p><p>Journal of Cardiothoracic Surgery 2008;3():27-27.</p><p>Published online 7 May 2008</p><p>PMCID:PMC2409331.</p><p></p