Extended resection of non-small cell lung cancer invading the left atrium, is it worth the risk?

Only few reports of surgical approach to T4 lung carcinoma invading the heart have been reported in the medical literature. It is also controversial if such cancer should be treated by surgery. The aim of this review is to assess the current risk/benefit ratio of the surgical management of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) invading the left atrium, especially in the light of a multidisciplinary approach.

Prophylactic tracheotomy and lung cancer resection in patient with low predictive pulmonary function: a randomized clinical trials.

Background: Whether prophylactic tracheotomy can shorten the duration of mechanical ventilation (MV) in high risk patients eligible for lung cancer resection. The objective was to compare duration of MV and outcome in 39 patients randomly assigned to prophylactic tracheotomy or control.

Methods: Prospective randomized controlled, single-center trial (ClinicalTrials.

Left atrial resection for T4 lung cancer without cardiopulmonary bypass: technical aspects and outcomes.

Background: Extended resection for lung cancer may improve survival of selected patients. Left-atrial resection is infrequently performed and surgical techniques are rarely reported; thus, oncologic results and survival rates remain uncertain. Our study describes surgical techniques, postoperative outcomes, and oncologic results of patients who received a combined multimodality treatment.

Anatomical bases of the surgical dissection of the interatrial septum: a morphological and histological study.

Background: The interatrial septum (IAS) can be dissected to resect pulmonary tumors invading the left atrium. The aim of this study was to describe the dissected structures, and to expose the benefits, the limits, and the embryologic reasons of such dissection.

Methods: We dissected the IAS of 11 fresh, non-embalmed human hearts.