Major Lung Resections Using Manual Suturing Versus Staplers During Fiscal Crisis.

Unlabelled: AbstractObjective: During fiscal crisis there was a period of shortage of staplers in our hospital, which drove us to manual suturing of bronchi and pulmonary vessels during major lung resections. We present our experience during that period in comparison to a subsequent period when staplers became available again.

Methods: A total of 256 lobectomies and 78 pneumonectomies were performed using manual suturing (group A), between September 2009 and September 2010, and compared regarding surgical outcome to 248 lobectomies and 60 pneumonectomies using staplers (group B), between September 2011 and September 2012.

Smoking and atherosclerosis: mechanisms of disease and new therapeutic approaches.

It has been clear that at least 1 billion adults worldwide are smokers and at least 700 million children are passive smokers at home. Smoking exerts a detrimental effect to many organ systems and is responsible for illnesses such as lung cancer, pneumonia, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, cancer of head and neck, cancer of the urinary and gastrointestinal tract, periodontal disease, cataract and arthritis. Additionally, smoking is an important modifiable risk factor for the development of cardiovascular disease such as coronary artery disease, stable angina, acute coronary syndromes, sudden death, stroke, peripheral vascular disease, congestive heart failure, erectile dysfunction and aortic aneurysms via initiation and progression of atherosclerosis.