How to identify intersegmental planes in performing sublobar anatomical resections

Pulmonary segmentectomy is a common surgical procedure in thoracic surgery nowadays. Though this technique helps preventing postoperative pulmonary function loss, potential challenges are the management of air leaks and the difficulty of palpating ground-glass components during surgery, as well as how to deal with the intersegmental planes. Several techniques have been proposed for the identification and treatment of the intersegmental planes during sublobar anatomical resections: this review focuses on preoperative planning and workup and intraoperative strategies. Three-dimensional computed tomography bronchography and angiography (3D-CTBA), virtual-assisted mapping (VAL-MAP) using bronchoscopy multi-spot dye marking and three-dimensional computed tomography (3D-CT) are preoperative tools that may facilitate the planning of operation. Inflation-deflation techniques, infrared-fluorescence-enhanced method combined with bronchial and intravenous injection of indocyanine green (ICG) and near-infrared fluorescence (NIF) mapping with ICG have been described as intraoperative strategies to identify the intersegmental plane. The treatment and section of the intersegmental planes is mainly accomplished by stapler and electrocautery or energy devices. The use of staplers reduces postoperative air leaks, bleeding risks and operative time but seems to reduce preserved lung volume, compromising adjacent lung expansion; in addition, higher costs and sometimes non-adequate oncological margins, being a non-anatomical technique have been described. The electrocautery and energy devices allow for a more anatomical and precise dissection maintaining safe oncological margins, with a better lung expansion and so an increased postoperative lung function. Time consuming procedure and frequent requirement of aero-haemostatic tools to treat air and blood leaks are the main drawbacks. In conclusion, there are several methods to identify and treat the intersegmental planes but there are no significant differences between the different tools, therefore the use of one technique rather than another depends overall on surgeon’s preference and the location of the segment

Control angiography for perioperative myocardial Ischemia after coronary surgery: Meta-analysis

Background: Perioperative myocardial ischemia (PMI) in patients undergoing coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) is associated with poor outcome. The aim of this study was to pool the available data on the outcome after control angiography and repeat revascularization in patients with perioperative myocardial ischemia (PMI) after coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG).Methods: A literature review was performed through PubMed, Scopus, ScienceDirect and Google Scholar to identify studies published since 1990 evaluating the outcome of PMI after CABG.Results: Nine studies included 1104 patients with PMI after CABG and 1056 of them underwent control angiography early after CABG. Pooled early mortality after reoperation for PMI without control angiography was 43.6% (95%CI 29.7-57.6%) and 79.8% of them (95%CI 64.4-95.2%) had an acute graft failure detected at reoperation. Among patients who underwent control angiography for PMI, 31.7% had a negative finding at angiography (95%CI 25.6-37.8%) and 62.1% had an acute graft failure (95%CI 56.6-67.6%). Repeat revascularization was performed after early control angiography in 46.3% of patients (95%CI 39.9-52.6%; 54.2% underwent repeat surgical revascularization; 45.8% underwent percutaneous coronary intervention). Pooled early mortality after control angiography with or without repeat revascularization was 8.9% (95%CI 6.7-11.1%). Three studies reported on early mortality rates which did not differ between repeat surgical revascularization and PCI (11.7% vs. 9.2%, respectively; risk ratio 1.45, 95%CI 0.67-3.11). In these three series, early mortality after conservative treatment was 5.9% (95%CI 3.6-8.2%).Conclusions: Control angiography seems to be a valid life-saving strategy to guide repeat revascularization in hemodynamically stable patients suffering PMI after CABG.</p

Case report: Successful multimodal assessment and management of chemothorax

Dislocation or wrong placement of central venous catheters into the pleural cavity is rare, but if undiagnosed, may cause major, sometimes life-threatening, complications (pneumothorax, hemothorax, infection, and migration) and accidental pleural effusion due to intravenous injection of fluids containing drugs (i.e. chemotherapy, antibiotics, parenteral nutrition, other). We report a rare case of pleural effusion consisting of chemotherapy (chemothorax) directly injected into the pleural cavity due to the wrong placement of a central venous catheter (Porth-A-Cath) in a woman with breast cancer. A multidisciplinary management consisting of antidote administration, followed by removal of the venous device and washing of the pleural cavity through video-assisted thoracic surgery (VATS), avoided any major complication related to the adverse event

Standardized definitions and concepts of radicality during minimally invasive thymoma resection

Radical thymectomy is the gold standard treatment for thymoma; in particular, completeness of surgical resection of a well-encapsulated thymoma and adequate margins are considered the most important prognostic factors. According to the International Thymic Malignancy Interest Group instructions, in fact, the thymus should be resected en bloc with its upper cervical poles and the surrounding mediastinal fat and through a no-touch surgical technique. For years, the open approaches have been considered the gold standard treatment for thymic masses, because of technical advantages and proved good oncological results. When applied to properly chosen patients on the basis of the tumor stage, dimension, and histology, minimally invasive approaches could be as effective as open ones in terms of long-term outcomes. To accomplish a minimally invasive thymoma resection, several minimally invasive techniques (transcervical, subxiphoid, thoracoscopic, and robotic) have been described, each presenting advantages and drawbacks. Moreover, when dealing with early stage neoplasms, many authors have proposed to perform the thymomectomy alone, not involving the rest of the thymic gland, but evidence is still imprecise and vague, and some studies have described a higher rate of local recurrence when using this technique. Finally, many studies suggest that surgeons with expertise in minimally invasive lymphadenectomy for lung cancer may easily endorse the idea of nodal dissection, to be performed at least in advanced thymomas involving neighboring structures, large masses, and thymic carcinomas

Resectable IIIA-N2 Non-Small-Cell Lung Cancer (NSCLC): In Search for the Proper Treatment

Locally advanced non-small cell lung cancer accounts for one third of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) at the time of initial diagnosis and presents with a wide range of clinical and pathological heterogeneity. To date, the combined multimodality approach involving both local and systemic control is the gold standard for these patients, since occult distant micrometastatic disease should always be suspected. With the rapid increase in treatment options, the need for an interdisciplinary discussion involving oncologists, surgeons, radiation oncologists and radiologists has become essential. Surgery should be recommended to patients with non-bulky, discrete, or single-level N2 involvement and be included in the multimodality treatment. Resectable stage IIIA patients have been the subject of a number of clinical trials and retrospective analysis, discussing the efficiency and survival benefits on patients treated with the available therapeutic approaches. However, most of them have some limitations due to their retrospective nature, lack of exact pretreatment staging, and the involvement of heterogeneous populations leading to the awareness that each patient should undergo a tailored therapy in light of the nature of his tumor, its extension and his performance status

Control angiography for perioperative myocardial Ischemia after coronary surgery:meta-analysis

Abstract Background: Perioperative myocardial ischemia (PMI) in patients undergoing coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) is associated with poor outcome. The aim of this study was to pool the available data on the outcome after control angiography and repeat revascularization in patients with perioperative myocardial ischemia (PMI) after coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG). Methods: A literature review was performed through PubMed, Scopus, ScienceDirect and Google Scholar to identify studies published since 1990 evaluating the outcome of PMI after CABG. Results: Nine studies included 1104 patients with PMI after CABG and 1056 of them underwent control angiography early after CABG. Pooled early mortality after reoperation for PMI without control angiography was 43.6% (95%CI 29.7–57.6%) and 79.8% of them (95%CI 64.4–95.2%) had an acute graft failure detected at reoperation. Among patients who underwent control angiography for PMI, 31.7% had a negative finding at angiography (95%CI 25.6–37.8%) and 62.1% had an acute graft failure (95%CI 56.6–67.6%). Repeat revascularization was performed after early control angiography in 46.3% of patients (95%CI 39.9–52.6%; 54.2% underwent repeat surgical revascularization; 45.8% underwent percutaneous coronary intervention). Pooled early mortality after control angiography with or without repeat revascularization was 8.9% (95%CI 6.7–11.1%). Three studies reported on early mortality rates which did not differ between repeat surgical revascularization and PCI (11.7% vs. 9.2%, respectively; risk ratio 1.45, 95%CI 0.67–3.11). In these three series, early mortality after conservative treatment was 5.9% (95%CI 3.6–8.2%). Conclusions: Control angiography seems to be a valid life-saving strategy to guide repeat revascularization in hemodynamically stable patients suffering PMI after CABG

Pulmonary Sclerosing Pneumocytoma: A Pre and Intraoperative Diagnostic Challenge. Report of Two Cases and Review of the Literature

Pulmonary sclerosing pneumocytoma is a rare benign pulmonary tumor of primitive epithelial origin. Because of the unspecific radiological features mimicking malignancies and its histological heterogeneity, the differential diagnosis with adenocarcinoma and carcinoid tumors is still challenging. We report our experience of two cases of sclerosing pneumocytoma, as well as a review of the literature. Immunohistochemical findings showed intense staining of the cuboidal epithelial cells for cytokeratin-pool and TTF-1, with focal positivity for progesterone receptors. Round and spindle cells expressed positivity for vimentin, TTF-1 and focally for the progesterone receptor. Cytologic diagnosis of pulmonary pneumocytoma requires the identification of its dual cell population, made up of abundant stromal cells and fewer surface cells. Since the pre- and intraoperative diagnosis should guide surgical decision making, obtaining a sufficient specimen size to find representative material in the cell block is of paramount importance

Rare gastrointestinal metastases from primary lung cancer. Two case reports of patients managed with emergency surgery

Background: Lung cancer represents the second leading cause of death in US and the high mortality rate could be related to the diagnosis, usually, performed in an advanced metastatic stage. Gastrointestinal metastases from non-small cell lung cancer, are extremely rare and only few cases complicated by digestive haemorrhage and/or perforation have been reported in literature. Material and methods: We report two cases of gastrointestinal metastases and their rare clinical onset with haemorrhage and perforation of the digestive tract. Both patients were admitted in an emergency setting. The first case was a 59-year-old man complained of abdominal pain and massive gastrointestinal haemorrhage. An upper gastrointestinal endoscopy revealed an ulcerated gastric mass and an emergency CT-scans showed a right lung mass with biopsy conclusive for a large cell lung cancer. The second case was a 62-year-old man with abdominal pain and shock due to gastrointestinal bleeding. He was submitted to an emergency CT-scan showing two lung nodules (1.0 and 3.5 cm of diameter) as well as widespread metastases, intraperitoneal free air and fluids. Results: Both patients were surgical managed in emergency and pathology revealed the metastatic origin from an unknown large-cell lung cancer and a rare lung adenocarcinoma in the second one. Conclusions: Despite the rare clinical condition, in patients with a diagnosis of lung cancer managed in emergency for gastrointestinal complication, gastrointestinal metastases should be taken into account, and referred to the primary disease in order to tailor the best approach. Key words: Gastrointestinal metastases, Lung cancer, Tailored surgery

Multicenter randomized study on the comparison between electronic and traditional chest drainage systems

Background: In patients submitted to major pulmonary resection, the postoperative length of stay is mainly influenced by the duration of air leaks and chest tube removal. The measurement of air leaks largely relies on traditional chest drainage systems which are prone to subjective interpretation. Difficulty in differentiating between active air leaks and bubbles due to a pleural space effect may also lead to tentative drain clamping and prolonged time for chest drain removal. New digital systems allow continuous monitoring of air leaks, identifying subtle leakage that may be not visible during daily patient evaluation. Moreover, an objective assessment of air leaks may lead to a reduced interobserver variability and to an optimized timing for chest tube removal.Methods: This study is a prospective randomized, interventional, multicenter trial designed to compare an electronic chest drainage system (Drentech (TM) Palm Evo) with a traditional system (Drentech (TM) Compact) in a cohort of patients undergoing pulmonary lobectomy through a standard three-port video-assisted thoracic surgery approach for both benign and malignant disease. The study will enroll 382 patients in three Italian centers. The duration of chest drainage and the length of hospital stay will be evaluated in the two groups. Moreover, the study will evaluate whether the use of a digital chest system compared with a traditional system reduces the interobserver variability. Finally, it will evaluate whether the digital drain system may help in distinguishing an active air leak from a pleural space effect, by the digital assessment of intrapleural differential pressure, and in identifying potential predictors of prolonged air leaks.Discussion: To date, few studies have been performed to evaluate the clinical impact of digital drainage systems. The proposed prospective randomized trial will provide new knowledge to this research area by investigating and comparing the difference between digital and traditional chest drain systems. In particular, the objectives of this project are to evaluate the feasibility and usefulness of digital chest drainages and to provide new tools to identify patients at higher risk of developing prolonged air leaks