Search

In keeping with international trends, lung cancer incidence and mortality are increasing among the Irish population with many patients presenting with advanced disease that excludes the potential for curative management. Consequently palliative treatment options for this patient group are being increasingly explored with various degrees of success. Endobronchial stenosis represents a particularly challenging area of management among these patients and a number of techniques have been described without the identification of a single gold standard. We report our experience of the first time use of endobronchial cryotherapy in Ireland with reference to a case series, including an example of its use in the management of benign disease, in order to support patients with borderline lung function and enable definitive palliative treatment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: We describe the long-term results of partial atrioventricular septal defect (AVSD) repair in a single centre encompassing a 22-year period. Described are rates of survival, reoperation and complications., Methods: We performed a retrospective review of 556 patients undergoing AVSD repair to identify the 51 patients who underwent partial AVSD repair in Our Lady's Children's Hospital, Crumlin, Ireland, between 1993 and 2015 with long-term follow-up where available., Results: A total of 29 (56.8%) of patients were male and mean age at operation was 3.32 years. Mean weight was 13.2 kg. Trisomy 21 was present in 29 (56.8%). Five patients (9.6%) had undergone prior surgery. Mean cardiopulmonary bypass time was 89 ± 36 min and mean aortic cross-clamp time was 57 ± 28 min. One patient underwent partial AVSD repair and concomitant tracheal resection and extracorporeal membrane oxygenation decannulation. One patient was managed with suture atrial septal defect (ASD) closure, the remainder with patch repair of ASD and mitral cleft closure. The length of hospital stay was 9 ± 5 days. Median follow-up was 6.06 years (IQR, 1.65-10.2 years). There were no early mortalities. One patient died 1 year following surgery (1.9%). One patient required reoperation at an interval of 2 years for severe mitral regurgitation (1.9%)., Conclusions: Short- and long-term survival following partial AVSD repair in Ireland revealed excellent results compared with other published series. Reoperation incidence also compared excellently with other reports published in the literature.