TLR2 and TLR4 expression on blood monocytes and granulocytes of cardiac surgical patients is not affected by the use of cardiopulmonary bypass.

Cardiac surgery is inseparably linked to the activation of innate immunity cells recognizing danger signals of both endogenous and exogenous origin via pattern recognition receptors such as TLR receptors. Therefore, we followed by flow cytometry TLR2 and TLR4 expression on blood monocytes and granulocytes of patients who underwent coronary artery bypass grafting using beating heart surgery (off-pump, n = 34), with use of standard cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB), (on-pump, n = 30), and miniinvasive CPB (mini on-pump, n = 25), respectively, before, during surgery, and up to 7th postoperative day. TLR2 and TLR4 expression both on monocytes and granulocytes was significantly diminished already at the end of CPB being highly significantly decreased at the end of surgery in all patients' groups.

Controlled hemostasis in thoracic surgery using drugs with oxidized cellulose.

The authors demonstrate the possibility of improving surgical results by the reduction of perioperative bleeding in thoracic surgery associated with extended resection procedures. We focused on patients in whom the expected perioperative blood loss was greater than 500 ml. The first group consisted of patients with lung cancer stage III A after neoadjuvant chemotherapy had been indicated to extend the resection procedure.

Chylothorax--a rare complication after cardiac surgery (a case report).

Chylothorax is a rare but severe complication of cardiac surgery. The authors present the case of a 76-year-old woman suffering from ischemic heart disease, after coronary artery bypass grafting that included a left internal mammary artery pedicle graft. On the ninth postoperative day the left-sided fluidothorax developed.

[Monitoring the effectiveness of surgical treatment of malignant pleural effusions].

Backgrounds: Recurrent pleural effusion occured in 10% of cancer patients. Repeated thoracocentesis or drainage may be complicated by pneumothorax, haemothorax or pleural cavity infection. Thoracoscopic talc poudrage is one of the most effective pleurodesis technique in patients with malignant pleural effusions.

The expression of CD38 ADP-ribosyl cyclase ectoenzyme in immune cells of cardiac surgical patients.

Background: This study was aimed at following the changes in the expression of CD38 ADP-ribosyl cyclase ectoenzyme on peripheral blood immune cells of patients undergoing cardiac surgical operations.

Patients And Methods: The expression of CD38 on lymphoid and myeloid cells was determined by immunofluorescence and flow cytometry in forty cardiac surgical patients assigned to surgery either using ("on-pump", n=20) or without the use ("off-pump", n=20) of cardiopulmonary bypass.

Results: There was a very rapid upregulation of CD38 expression in "on-pump" patients, becoming significant at declamping of aorta (p<0.