Introduction: Radiotherapy has significantly improved cancer survival rates, but it also comes with certain unavoidable complications. Breast and thoracic irradiation, for instance, can unintentionally expose the heart to radiation, leading to damage at the cellular level within the myocardial structures. Detecting and monitoring radiation-induced heart disease early on is crucial, and several radionuclide imaging techniques have shown promise in this regard.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFLeft-sided breast cancer radiotherapy can lead to late cardiovascular complications, including ischemic events. To mitigate these risks, cardiac-sparing techniques such as deep-inspiration breath-hold (DIBH) and intensity-modulated radiotherapy (IMRT) have been developed. However, recent studies have shown that mean heart dose is not a sufficient dosimetric parameter for assessing cardiac exposure.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBreast radiotherapy can lead to radiation-induced cardiac disease, particularly in left breast cancers. Recent studies have shown that subclinical cardiac lesions, such as myocardial perfusion deficits, may occur early after radiotherapy. The primary method for irradiating breast cancer, known as opposite tangential field radiotherapy, can cause the anterior interventricular coronary artery to receive a high dose of radiation during left breast irradiation.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIntroduction: It is increasingly important to identify and eliminate inefficiencies in resident education. We hypothesize that slower performance of specific operative steps in laparoscopic nephrectomy accounts for much of the slower operative speed observed in junior residents vs. their senior colleagues.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFRadiation-induced heart disease is a complication that occurs years after thoracic irradiation. Recent studies suggest that radiation-induced heart disease could be an earlier complication and that subclinical cardiac injury can be detected. The present case described an increased uptake of (F)-fluorodeoxyglucose incidentally detected on positron emission tomography after left breast irradiation with slightly reversible perfusion defect on (Tc)-tetrofosmin single photon emission computed tomography.
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