A Gauze-Pad Wrapping of the Heart Can Save a Patient's Life.

We describe one case of iatrogenic rupture of the left ventricle after mitral valve replacement and myectomy of the outflow tract. The cause and site of the rupture could not be identified, neither from the internal nor from the external examination. After unsuccessful use of hemostatic patches in the surface of the ruptured area, wrapping of the ventricles with a surgical gauze pad controlled the hemorrhage, hence saving the patient's life.

Diaphragmmatic eventration: long-term follow-up and results of open-chest plicature.

Objective: Diaphragmmatic eventration is a relatively uncommon entity with a simple surgical correction technique--plication of the diaphragm. This study aims to assess the clinical and ventilatory impact of this technique.

Materials: From April 1988 to February 2007, we operated on 20 patients (12 men) with diaphragmmatic eventration using the postero-lateral approach and correction by radial plication.

Lung metastases from colorectal cancer: surgical resection and prognostic factors.

Objective: To analyse our experience with excision of lung metastases from colorectal carcinoma (CRC), and to evaluate clinically relevant prognostic factors, identifying the cluster of patients who would benefit from this procedure.

Methods: Sixty-one patients, 42 men (69%), with primary CRC who underwent 94 curative resections of pulmonary metastases were retrospectively reviewed. Age was 30-80 years (mean 61.

Diagnostic value of surgical lung biopsy: comparison with clinical and radiological diagnosis.

Objective: To determine overall and disease-related accuracy of the clinical/imagiological evaluation for pulmonary infiltrates of unknown aetiology, compared with the pathological result of the surgical lung biopsy (SLB) and to evaluate the need for the latter in this setting.

Methods: We conducted a retrospective review of the experiences of SLB in 366 consecutive patients during the past 5 years. The presumptive diagnosis was based on clinical, imagiological and non-invasive or minimally invasive diagnostic procedures and compared with the gold standard of histological diagnosis by SLB.