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Background: Debilitated patients with chronic empyema, who are not fit enough to undergo thoracotomy and decortication due to lung entrapment, may be offered a lower-risk alternative – an open-window thoracostomy. Vacuum-assisted closure (VAC) may accelerate empyema drainage and wound closure. Methods: In this study, we compared two cohorts of patients receiving open-window thoracostomy (OWT) with or without VAC dressing. We included patients with chronic or postresectional empyema with multiple comorbidities or in poor general condition or on immunosuppression. Results: Delayed wound closure by thoracoplasty was performed in 8 (28%) patients in the OWT group and 8 (53%) patients in the OWT-VAC group (OR 2.54; 95% CI: 0.704-9.168). Time until DWC was significantly shorter (p

Surgery remains an essential element of the multimodality radical treatment of patients with early-stage nonsmall cell lung cancer. In addition, thoracic surgery is one of the key specialties involved in the lung cancer tumour board. The importance of the surgeon in the setting of a multidisciplinary panel is ever-increasing in light of the crucial concept of resectability, which is at the base of patient selection for neoadjuvant/adjuvant treatments within trials and in real-world practice. This review covers some of the topics which are relevant in the daily practice of a thoracic oncological surgeon and should also be known by the nonsurgical members of the tumour board. It covers the following topics: the pre-operative selection of the surgical candidate in terms of fitness in light of the ever-improving nonsurgical treatment alternatives unfit patients may benefit from; the definition of resectability, which is so important to include patients into trials and to select the most appropriate radical treatment; the impact of surgical access and surgical extension with the evolving role of minimally invasive surgery, sublobar resections and parenchymal-sparing sleeve resections to avoid pneumonectomy.

Izhodišča: Presaditev pljuč je zahtevna metoda zdravljenja za izbrane bolnike z napredovalo pljučno boleznijo. Naraščanje števila primernih kandidatov in standarizacija posega sta v letu 2018 omogočila vzpostavitev transplantacijskega centra v UKC Ljubljana. Prispevek poroča o prvih rezultatih. Metode: Opravili smo analizo lastnega registra bolnikov. Rezultate smo primerjali s skupino bolnikov, ki so jim pred tem opravili presaditev v AKH Dunaj. Rezultati: Med 15. 9. 2018 in 15. 9. 2021 smo opravili 37 presaditev pljuč (od tega pri 13 ženskah). Indikacije so bile KOPB (n = 13, 35 %), pljučne fibroze (n = 7, 19 %), cistična fibroza (n = 5, 14 %), kovidna pljučnica (n = 4, 11 %), bronhiektazije (n = 3, 8 %), pljučna hipertenzija (n = 2, 5 %), limfangioleiomiomatoza (n = 1, 3 %), pomanjkanje alfa-1-antitripsina (n = 1, 3 %) in bronhiolitis (n = 1, 3 %). V primerjavi s prejšnjo skupino bolnikov, napotenih v AKH Dunaj (71 bolnikov, od tega 35 žensk), je bil delež bolnikov s KOPB višji (35 % in 16 %, p = 0,019), bolniki pa so bili starejši (mediana [razpon], 59 [14–68] in 43 [4–58] let, p = 0,001). 76 % darovanih pljuč ni ustrezalo standardnim merilom (30 % darovalcev je bilo starejših od 55 let, 22 % jih je imelo infiltrate na rentgenogramu pljuč, 24 % pa ni izpolnjevalo enega od ostalih meril), v 43 % pa je bila potrebna redukcija velikosti, kar pa ni vplivalo na primarno odpoved presadka. Kratkoročno preživetje je bili podobno v obeh skupinah (1-letno preživetje v UKC Ljubljana 89 % [95 % CI 78–99 %] in v AKH Dunaj 83 % [95 % CI 74–92 %]). Zaključek: Prvi rezultati kažejo, da so zgodnji izidi po presaditvi pljuč primerljivi pri bolnikih, ki so imeli presaditev v UKC Ljubljana ali v AKH Dunaj.

In 2019, the Recommendations for the management of patients with lung cancer were published bringing much-needed standardisation of diagnosis and treatment to improve survival of patients with lung cancer. Three years after the original Recommendations were published, the update of the Recommendations brings the most innovations in the chapter on systemic treatment of patients with lung cancer. This reflects the remarkable progress made in the field of understanding the oncogenesis and biology of lung cancer and thus the development of new drugs. The burden of lung cancer remains high, as lung cancer is still the most common cause of cancer related death in our country and worldwide. Lung cancer is responsible for one of five cancer-related deaths. Almost one third of patients with lung cancer do not receive any oncological treatment, either because of poor performance status, comorbidities or the extent of the disease. Half of the patients have metastatic disease at diagnosis, resulting in only small improvements in survival despite advances in the treatment of lung cancer patients. These data remind us that if we are to make major shifts in the management of lung cancer patients, we will need to take different approaches. The most promising seems to be the detection of early stages of lung cancer which offers the best treatment results. The Recommendations written here are guidelines for the management of patients with lung cancer. Only with comprehensive multidisciplinary treatment approach, the best outcome from the prognostically unfavourable disease can be offered.

Abstract Here, we present the case of a 28‐year‐old woman who developed severe and progressive thymoma‐associated constrictive bronchiolitis with bronchiectasis, despite undergoing thymectomy. The disease was further complicated by radiation‐induced organizing pneumonia (RIOP), which developed after adjuvant radiotherapy (RT) for Masaoka stage II thymoma. The patient was successfully treated with an urgent lung transplantation (LTx) for irreversible respiratory failure.

Abstract Congenital extrahepatic portocaval shunt (CEPS) is a rare condition in which a rare congenital vascular anomaly of the portal system is present. CEPS may manifest as pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH). When diagnosed and treated early, PAH can be reversible. We report a case of a previously asymptomatic woman, who manifested with severe pulmonary hypertension during pregnancy and was consequently diagnosed with CEPS. After unsuccessful medical treatment, urgent lung transplantation was done.

Ureditev prehranskega statusa je eden glavnih ciljev pri bolnikih z rakom požiralnika, saj ima pomemben vpliv na potek in uspeh zdravljenja. Zaradi pogostega pojava disfagije in oteženega uživanja hrane skozi usta je pogosto potrebno že pred pričetkom zdravljenja vzpostaviti prehransko pot. Izkazalo se je, da sta pri bolnikih na radikalnem zdravljenju, to je z namenom ozdravitve, NGS in perkutana hranilna stoma superiorni samorazteznim kovinskim opornicam. Kljub temu, da samoraztezne kovinske opornice omogočajo hitro izboljšanje disfagije, pa so zaradi pogostih, tudi življenje ogrožujočih zapletov, primerne predvsem v sklopu paliativnega zdravljenja. V prispevku je opisan primer bolnika z rakom požiralnika na predoperativnem zdravljenju in predhodno vstavljeno samoraztezno kovinsko opornico.

No abstract.

Intralobar pulmonary sequestration is a rare congenital malformation, conventionally managed by surgical resection. Recently, the endovascular embolization has been proposed for the definite treatment of this disease. Additionally, preoperative embolization of aberrant arteries to minimize the risk of serious intraoperative haemorrhage has also been described. We report the case of 43-year old female patient who presented with cough and haemoptysis, and was successfully treated with endovascular embolization followed by a Video-assisted thoracoscopic wedge resection. Keywords: Endovascular embolization, Intralobar pulmonary sequestration

Severe airway bleeding or massive hemoptysis is a rare condition that carries high mortality. Patients are at risk of life-thretening respiratory compromise due to the airways filling with blood. The main principles in the management of massive hemoptysis are: maintainance of airway patency, localization of the source of bleeding and control of the hemorrhage. Most cases of massive hemoptysis are caused by inflammatory lung diseases such as aspergiloma, tuberculosis and bronchiectasis while a severe bleeding from a malignant lung tumor is a rare find.We present a case of massive hemoptysis in a 60-year old woman, caused by the invasion of lung cancer into the left pulmonary trunk and aorta, which was successfully managed by an extended left pneumonectomy, with the resection of the proximal part of the descending thoracic aorta and interposition of a vascualar graft without extra corporeal circulation. A complete (R0) resection was also achieved.

BACKGROUND Esophageal achalasia (EA) is a primary esophageal motility disorder of unclear aetiology. Standard treatments of EA are: pneumatic balloon dilation (PBD) of the lower esophageal sphyncter (LES) and surgical cleaving of the muscle by Heller myotomy. Although the treatment effectively cures dysphagia, the symptoms recur in about a half of the patients. Our point of interest was long-term effectiveness of EA treatment at our department. METHODSWe made a retrospective analysis of EA patients treated at our department of thoracic surgery during the 2000–2010 period.RESULTSIn 11 years we performed 187 PBD and 22 laparoscopic myotomies (LM) in 148 patients. Three years after the procedure 65 % of patients after PBD and 90 % of patients after LM showed no signs of disease. The risk of recurrence was 3.56-times greater (p = 0.03) after PBD (in comparison to LM), whereas patients older than 50 years bear 0.51-times lower risk (p = 0.02). The most significant complicatios were esophageal perforation in 3 patients (1.6 %) after PBD and gastroesophageal reflux in 3 patients (15 %) after LM.CONCLUSIONSPBD is a fast, simple, inexpensive and very efficient method of EA treatment, which can be safely performed in almost every patient. LM is far more expensive and a more complicated method that is more suitable for younger patients, in whom PBD is less effective.

BACKGROUND Malignant tracheoesophageal fistula is difficult to treat, and the patients’ quality of life isgenerally very poor due to suffering from dysphagia, continuous aspiration and dyspnea.Case report A case of effective closure of the fistula by double stenting (14–10 mm Dumon Y-trachealstent and 28–23 × 120 mm UltraflexTM esophageal stent) is reported. CONCLUSIONS Stenting is an effective method to close the tracheoesophageal fistula and to improve thepatients’ quality of life, although its effects are mostly short lived

BACKGROUND Tracheostomy is one of the most commonly performed procedures in ICU patients. Fourdifferent techniques of percutaneous tracheostomy (PT): Ciaglia Blue Rhino, Griggs GuideWire Dilating Forceps, PercuTwistTM and Translaryngeal Tracheostomy are now considered an excellent alternative to the surgical tracheostomy (ST). The most commonly citedadvantages of the PT are the ease of the technique, the ability to perform the procedure atthe bedside and consequently lowered costs. CONCLUSIONS Regardless of the PT technique, there is a learning curve and meticulous attention to technique and education is necessary to maintain the excellent safety record of PT – comparable to ST

BACKGROUND Intrapleural application of streptokinase (SK) is an old and somewhat forgotten method oftreatment of complicated pleural effusions. In a selected group of cases, SK can successfullyreplace more aggressive surgical procedures. METHODS A retrospective analysis of all intrapleural SK applications at our department between2004 and 2007 was performed. RESULTS 14 patients met the study inclusion criteria: 7 parapneumonic effusions, 5 residual hemothoracesand 2 loculated malignant effusions.Significant increase of the drained volume with notable radiological and clinical improvementfollowed the applications of 500,000 IU of SK in all patients and 9 patients (64 %)were spared the painful thoracotomy. CONCLUSIONS Our data supports the evidence on high efficiency of the intrapleural fibrinolysis with SK ina selected population of complicated pleural effusions

BACKGROUND Chest ultrasound (US) is well documented as a valuable tool for pleural diseases. US helpsto clarify the cause of pleural opacities, estimate the volume of pleural effusion and identifyminimal or loculated pleural effusion. US characteristics of effusion provide helpful informationregarding the nature of the effusion. Pleural diseases, such as pleural fibrosis,tumours and pneumothorax all display different diagnostic US features. Safe thoracentesisand drainage of effusion can be carried out under US guidance with a high successrate. The technique of US, which is safe and cost-effective compared to CT scanning, may belearned relatively easily by the pulmonologist and thoracic or general surgeons. CONCLUSIONS US guidance is recommended for every chest tube insertion, especially in the ICU patients.Appropriate US machine should be readily available in every trauma, ICU, pulmonologyand thoracic surgery unit

Background: Fine-needle aspiration biopsy can very reliably discriminate between benign and malignant thyroid tumors. The role of additional intraoperative frozen section to guide intraoperative management was questioned.Methods: A retrospective analysis of all thyroid resections at our department between 2000 and 2004 was performed.Results: 420 patients with benign thyroid lesions underwent surgical resections. 169 lobectomies and 251 total thyroidectomies were performed and 57 (13.5 %) thyroid cancers discovered (mostly papillary carcinomas). 54 frozen sections were performed and sensitivity rate of 11.1 % and specificity rate of 97.8 % was estimated.Conclusions: Our data supports the fact that intraoperative frozen section is not sensitive enough to substantially add to preoperative fine-needle aspiration biopsy, even with more selective use. We conclude that routine use of frozen section is not cost-effective in surgery of the benign thyroid and can therefore be abandoned.

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Abstract Background The prolonged air leak is probably the most common complication following lung resections. Around 10–20% of the patients who undergo a lung resection will eventually develop a prolonged air leak. The definition of a prolonged air leak varies between an air leak, which is evident after the fifth, seventh or even tenth postoperative day to every air leak that prolongs the hospital stay. However, the postoperative hospital stay following a thoracoscopic lobectomy can be as short as 2 days, making the above definitions sound outdated. The treatment of these air leaks is also very versatile. One of the broadly accepted treatment options is the autologous blood pleurodesis or “blood patch”. The purpose of this trial is to investigate the impact of a prophylactic autologous blood pleurodesis on reducing the duration of the postoperative air leak and therefore prevent the air leak from becoming prolonged. Methods Patients undergoing an elective thoracoscopic anatomic lung resection for primary lung cancer or metastatic disease will be eligible for recruitment. Patients with an air leak of > 100 ml/min within 6 h prior to the morning round on the second postoperative day will be eligible for inclusion in the study and randomization. Patients will be randomized to either blood pleurodesis or watchful waiting. The primary endpoint is the time to drain removal measured in full days. The trial ends on the seventh postoperative day. Discussion The early autologous blood pleurodesis could lead to a faster cessation of the air leak and therefore to a faster removal of the drain. A faster removal of the drain would relieve the patient from all the well-known drain-associated complications (longer hospital stay, stronger postoperative pain, risk of drain-associated infection, etc.). From the economical point of view, faster drain removal would reduce the hospital costs as well as the costs associated with the care of a patient with a chest drain in an outpatient setting. Trial registration German Clinical Trials Register (DRKS) DRKS00030810. 27 December 2022

Copyright of Onkologija is the property of Institute of Oncology Ljubljana and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Abstract Background Transverse sternal nonunion is a rare but disabling complication of chest trauma or a transverse sternotomy. Fixation methods, mainly used to manage the more common longitudinal sternal nonunion, often fail, leaving the surgical treatment of transverse nonunion to be a challenge. Case presentation We present a case of a highly-disabling, postoperative chest wall defect resulting from transverse sternal nonunion after a transverse thoracosternotomy (clamshell incision) and a concomitant rib resection. Following unsuccessful surgical attempts, the sternal nonunion was fixed with a tibial locking plate and bone grafted, while the post-rib resection chest defect was reconstructed with a Gore-Tex dual mesh membrane. Adequate chest stability was achieved, enabling complete healing of the sternal nonunion and the patient’s complete recovery. Conclusion We believe it is important to address both in the rare case of combined postoperative transverse sternal nonunion and the chest wall defect after rib resection. A good outcome was achieved in our patient by fixing the nonunion with an appropriately sized and shaped locking plate with bone grafting and covering the chest defect with a dual mesh membrane.

Objective: A small but relevant proportion of patients with cystic fibrosis develop severely asymmetric chest cavities during the course of their disease. For these patients, the best surgical approach for lung transplantation (LTx) and optimal size matching strategies are controversial. Methods: All cystic fibrosis patients with asymmetric chest cavities who underwent LTx at the Medical University of Vienna between 2003 and 2017 were identified (n = 13). Patients were grouped according to different surgical strategies: unilateral full-size and contralateral lobar transplantation (n = 4), standard double LTx after mobilization/repositioning of the mediastinum (n = 3), oversized single LTx followed by pneumonectomy on the smaller contralateral side (n = 4), and single LTx after a remote contralateral pneumonectomy (n = 2). Results: Compared with cystic fibrosis patients with symmetric chests (n = 276, control group), the perioperative management of patients with asymmetric chests was often more complicated. Consequently, 90-day mortality was heightened (23.1% vs 6.5%). Despite this, long-term survival was good with a 5-year survival rate of 69% compared with 78%. Of note, outcome seemed superior for patients who surgery was undertaken with a bilateral compared with a unilateral approach. Conclusions: Severely asymmetric chest cavities present challenges in regard to the surgical strategy, size matching, and postoperative management. However, in carefully selected patients, LTx provides an adequate long-term outcome.