APENDIC-RADS: an ultrasound reporting system for the diagnosis of acute appendicitis.

Objective: Abdominal ultrasonography is widely used to evaluate suspected cases of appendicitis. Objective descriptions of the direct and indirect signs of appendicitis result in varied assessments of its likelihood. This study introduces the Appendix Imaging Reporting and Data System (APENDIC-RADS) to standardize the reporting of appendix ultrasound findings.

Minimally invasive swine spine surgery training: technical aspects, benefits, and anatomical limitations.

Objective: To describe the technical specificities and feasibility of simulation of minimally invasive spine surgery in live pigs, as well as similarities and differences in comparison to surgery in humans.

Methods: A total of 22 Large White class swine models, weighing between 60 and 80kg, were submitted to surgical simulations, performed during theoretical-practical courses for training surgical techniques (microsurgical and endoscopic lumbar decompression; percutaneous pedicular instrumentation; lateral access to the thoracic spine, and anterior and retroperitoneal to the lumbar spine, and management of complications) by 86 spine surgeons. For each surgical technique, porcine anatomy (similarities and differences in relation to human anatomy), access route, and dimensions of the instruments and implants used were evaluated.

Pleuropericardial cyst torsion: case report.

Pericardial cysts account for 12-18% of all mediastinal masses. They are usually asymptomatic and incidentally detected. However, when large, they can cause symptoms.

Guidelines for the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of compensatory hyperhidrosis.

With the objective of establishing guidelines for the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of compensatory hyperhidrosis, consensus meetings were held. Attendees included a general surgeon and thoracic surgeons affiliated with the Brazilian Society of Thoracic Surgery. The topics addressed were those that would ostensibly broaden multidisciplinary knowledge.

Thoracoscopy in the treatment of pleural empyema in pediatric patients.

Objective: To evaluate the results of thoracoscopy for the treatment of pleural empyema in pediatric patients.

Methods: A retrospective study of 117 patients who underwent mediastinoscopy or video-assisted thoracoscopy for pleural empyema treatment. General anesthesia and single-lumen oral intubation were used.

Sclerosing mediastinitis in the differential diagnosis of mediastinal tumors.

Sclerosing mediastinitis is a rare disorder characterized by an extensive fibrotic reaction involving the mediastinum. Due to the compression or invasion of mediastinal structures, the disorder mimics neoplasia. We present three cases of superior vena cava syndrome in which sclerosing mediastinitis was confirmed.