[Descending necrotizing mediastinitis: treatment by transcervical thoracic drainage].

We report the case of a 29-year-old man with descending necrotizing mediastinitis and subcarinal spread secondary to oropharyngeal infection. The thoracic infection was treated by placement of a transcervical thoracic drain, which was removed 15 days after surgery. The outcome was satisfactory and no further invasive treatment was required.

[Our experience in the treatment of hyperhidrosis of the upper limbs by video-assisted thoracoscopy: an analysis of our first 100 procedures].

Sympathectomy of the thoracic chain is an effective surgical procedure for treating axillary and palmar hyperhidrosis. The procedure has been performed with minimal invasion and good results in recent years through the use of videothoracoscopic surgery. This paper describes the technique and our experience with a series of 50 patients between 16 and 48 years old.

[Iatrogenic bilateral hydrothorax following the placement of a central catheter].

We present a case of bilateral hydrothorax after internal jugular vein catheterization. 60 hours after placing the catheter, the patient showed an abrupt picture of jugular ingurgitation, abolished vesicular breath sounds, and displaced cardiac tones. It was necessary to immediately drain one hemithorax to guarantee ventilation of the patient.

[Pulmonary leiomyosarcoma].

We present the case of a young patient with leiomysarcoma of the lung that was at first diagnosed as a hydatid cyst. Pathological tissue analysis was needed for firm diagnosis. This rare tumor, of which fewer than 100 cases have been reported worldwide in the literature, needs to be considered as a differential diagnosis when lung cancer is suspected, given that leiomysarcoma has a better prognosis.

Thoracoscopic pericardial fenestration: diagnostic and therapeutic aspects.

The cause of cardiac tamponade is only established in 50% of cases. This problem is most commonly treated by pericardiocentesis alone, pericardiotomy being reserved for cases of recurrence and pericardiectomy for those patients presenting with constrictive pericarditis. A series of 16 patients treated with pericardial fenestration via a thoracoscope is presented.