Analysis of Risk Factors for Tracheal Stenosis Managed during COVID-19 Pandemic: A Retrospective, Case-Control Study from Two European Referral Centre.

Introduction: Benign subglottic/tracheal stenosis (SG/TS) is a life-threatening condition commonly caused by prolonged endotracheal intubation or tracheostomy. Invasive mechanical ventilation was frequently used to manage severe COVID-19, resulting in an increased number of patients with various degrees of residual stenosis following respiratory weaning. The aim of this study was to compare demographics, radiological characteristics, and surgical outcomes between COVID-19 and non-COVID patients treated for tracheal stenosis and investigate the potential differences between the groups.

Thymomectomy versus complete thymectomy in early-stage non-myasthenic thymomas: a multicentric propensity score-matched study.

Objectives: Thymomectomy is gaining consensus over complete thymectomy in early-stage thymoma without myasthenia gravis. This is due both to the difficulty of establishing prospective and randomized controlled studies and to the lack of well-defined selection criteria. This bicentric, retrospective propensity score-matched study aims at comparing oncological outcomes, measured in terms of overall survival and thymoma-related survival, in patients undergoing either thymomectomy or complete thymectomy.

Anatomical analysis of variations in the bronchus pattern of the left upper lobe using three-dimensional computed tomography angiography and bronchography.

Background: The number of sublobar resections performed is increasing, thoracic surgeons must be familiar with bronchus anatomy and preoperative planning plays an important role in predicting anatomical variations. However, there is few report showing anatomic variations of the left upper lobe (LUL) using three-dimensional computed tomography angiography and bronchography (3D-CTAB), and no in Chinese population. The present study aimed to use 3D-CTAB to describe variations of the pulmonary bronchus of LUL in Chinese population.

Bronchoscopic Intra-Pleural Instillation of Fibrin Glue and Autologous Blood to Manage Persistent Air Leaks after Lung Resection.

Unlabelled: Background Persistent air leak is a common complication after lung resection causing prolonged length of stay and increased healthcare costs. Surgical intervention can be an option, but other more conservative approaches should be considered first. Here, we describe the use of flexible bronchoscopy to apply fibrin glue and autologous blood sequentially to the damaged lung.

Efficacy of Intraoperative Hypertonic Glucose Solution Administration on Persistent Air Leak After Extended Pleurectomy/Decortication for Malignant Pleural Mesothelioma: A Retrospective Case-Control Study.

Background: Persistent air leak is a common complication occurring from 6% to 23% of cases after extended pleurectomy/decortication for malignant pleural mesothelioma. Treatment options for this complication after major lung resection are well documented in literature; nevertheless, lines of evidence in extended pleurectomy/decortication for malignant pleural mesothelioma are absent. The aim of the study is to evaluate the efficacy of intraoperative administration of 50% hypertonic glucose solution in reducing duration of air leak following extended pleurectomy/decortication for malignant pleural mesothelioma.

Overview of the outcomes of robotic segmentectomy and lobectomy.

Segmentectomy has gained popularity in the latest years as a valid alternative to lobectomy. Initially reserved to patient unfit for lobar lung resection, this procedure is now offered also in selected patient with <2 cm peripheral lung cancer confined to an anatomic segment with no nodal involvement on preoperative evaluation. The introduction of screening with low-dose CT chest scan allowed the identification of lung cancer at early stages, making possible to schedule a more conservative lung surgery.

Internal mammary lymph node siliconoma in absence of prosthesis rupture: a case series that raises concern for potential risk of overdiagnosis.

Background: Silicon migration after rupture is an adverse event of breast implant, whose risk increases with the aging of prosthesis. The exact prevalence of this complication remains unclear and reported data are inconsistent. In addition, microscopic diffusion of silicone gel through intact implant, known as gel bleeding, might verify thus complicating diagnosis.

Primary signet-ring cell carcinoma of the lung in an HIV-positive patient.

Primary lung signet-ring cell carcinomas are a rare entity and only a few cases of pure signet-ring cell carcinomas of the lung are reported in the English literature. They usually have an aggressive behavior and a poor prognosis because in most cases they are identified at an advanced stage. We present a unique case of primary signet-ring cell carcinoma of the lung because the patient was HIV positive, a heavy smoker, and also the tumor, discovered incidentally during chest x-ray, was a pure type of signet-ring cell carcinoma.

Pulmonary Lobectomy After COVID-19.

Concomitant coronavirus disease 19 (COVID-19) is a major risk factor for complications in any type of surgical procedure, especially in thoracic surgery, were the primary organ involved, the lung, is manipulated to perform parenchymal resection. However, it is not clear whether previous infection from severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) may lead to increased morbidity and mortality for subsequent procedures once radiologic resolution is achieved. We report a young patient with lung cancer who successfully underwent a right upper lobectomy for primary adenocarcinoma by video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery with no complication in the early postoperative phase.

Robotic segmentectomy: indication and technique.

Use of low-dose CT scan allows detection of lung cancer at early stages, enabling a more conservative surgery and a better long-term survival in those patients. In this scenario, intentional anatomical segmentectomy is gaining consent over standard lobectomy among surgeons. A minimally invasive approach such as VATS reduced invasiveness and complication rate compared to open surgery, but this technique comes also with some disadvantages in terms of dexterity and intuitiveness.

Subxiphoid completion thymectomy for refractory non-thymomatous myasthenia gravis.

Background: Completion thymectomy may be performed in patients with non-thymomatous refractory myasthenia gravis (MG) to allow a complete and definitive clearance from residual thymic tissue located in the mediastinum or in lower neck. Hereby we present our short- and long-term results of completion thymectomy using subxiphoid video-assisted thoracoscopy.

Methods: Between July 2010 and December 2017, 15 consecutive patients with refractory non-thymomatous myasthenia, 8 women and 7 men with a median age of 44 [interquartile range (IQR) 38.

Evidence for association of STAT4 and IL12RB2 variants with Myasthenia gravis susceptibility: What is the effect on gene expression in thymus?

Myasthenia gravis (MG) is an autoimmune disease mediated by the presence of autoantibodies that bind mainly to the acetylcholine receptor (AChR) in the neuromuscular junction. In our case-control association study, we analyzed common variants located in genes of the IL12/STAT4 and IL10/STAT3 signaling pathways. A total of 175 sporadic MG patients of Greek descent, positively detected with anti-AChR autoantibodies and 84 ethnically-matched, healthy volunteers were enrolled in the study.

Uniportal video-assisted thoracic surgery colorectal lung metastasectomy in non-intubated anesthesia.

Background: More than ten years ago we started a program of video-assisted thoracic surgery (VATS) lung metastasectomy in non-intubated local anesthesia. In this study we investigated the effectiveness and long term results of this combined surgical-anesthesiological technique.

Methods: Between 2005 and 2014, 48 patients (25 men and 23 women) with pulmonary oligometastases from colorectal cancer, at the first episode, underwent VATS metastasectomy under non-intubated local anesthesia.

1000 cases of tubeless video-assisted thoracic surgery at the Rome Tor Vergata University.

In the early 2000s, the 'Awake Thoracic Surgery Research Group' at Tor Vergata University began a program of thoracic operations in awake nonintubated patients. To our knowledge this was the first program created with this specific purpose. Since then over 1000 tubeless operations have been carried out successfully, making this series one of the widest in the world.