Endobronchial ultrasound-transbronchial needle aspiration: effectiveness and accuracy in non-small cell lung cancer staging.

Introduction: Endobronchial ultrasound-transbronchial needle aspiration (EBUS-TBNA) has a cardinal role in the diagnosis and staging of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), providing an accurate nodal staging in a less invasive way than surgical biopsy. The aim of this study was to assess the diagnostic accuracy of EBUS-TBNA in the pre-operative NSCLC mediastinal staging, as well as to evaluate EBUS-TBNA specificity and sensibility in our cohort.

Methods: We retrospectively analyzed data of NSCLC patients who underwent EBUS-TBNA followed by major pulmonary resection between January 2020 and December 2022.

TNM Staging System in Thymoma: A Critical Appraisal?

Thymomas are rare tumors of the anterior mediastinum with peculiar clinical and pathological features. They have been deeply analyzed by pioneer authors, who strictly linked their name to the main pathological and staging classifications. Before the latest edition of the WHO classification of thymic epithelial tumors, the history of thymoma pathological classification inherited the name of the pathologists who systematically addressed the issue, from Levine-Rosai to Muller-Hermelink.

Unradical Surgery for Locally-Advanced Thymoma: Is it time to evolve Perspectives?

Objectives: Nearly-one-third of thymomas are locally-advanced at diagnosis. The traditional dogma that surgery is justified in case a complete resection can be achieved has remained unmovable until today. This study aimed to investigate feasibility and oncologic efficacy of incomplete resection for locally-advanced thymomas in a contest of multimodality therapy.

Intraoperative prevention and conservative management of postoperative prolonged air leak after lung resection: a systematic review.

Background: Prolonged air leak (PAL) due to an alveolar-pleural fistula (APF) is the most common complication after lung surgery. PAL is associated with an increased risk of morbidity and mortality, a longer chest tube duration, hence a prolonged hospitalization. Management of PAL may be challenging, and the thoracic surgeon should be aware of the possible therapeutic strategies.

Cold coagulation in thoracoscopic treatment of primary pneumothorax: a comparison with apicectomy.

Objectives: Primary spontaneous pneumothorax is a common disease, whose surgical treatment is still enigmatic in terms of timing and technique. Herein, we reported our experience with the parenchymal-sparing technique via cold coagulation (CC), in comparison to stapler apicectomy (SA).

Methods: We retrospectively collected data of all patients with apical blebs or <2 cm bullae treated with minimally invasive surgery for recurrent or persistent spontaneous pneumothorax, from 2010 to 2020.

An asymptomatic giant AB thymoma in a patient with Down syndrome: a case report.

Background: Mediastinal mass management may represent a real challenge for all the physicians who deal with it. Mediastinum, in fact, contains different vital structures which are often involved by growing neoplasms with increasing severity. Therefore, up to 60% of the patients with mediastinal mass are symptomatic, according to the structure involved.

New Insights in Pleural Mesothelioma Classification Update: Diagnostic Traps and Prognostic Implications.

The 2021 WHO Classification of Tumors of the Pleura has introduced significant changes in mesothelioma codification beyond the three current histological subtypes-epithelioid, sarcomatoid and biphasic. Major advances since the 2015 WHO classification include nuclear grading and the introduction of architectural patterns, cytological and stromal features for epithelioid diffuse mesothelioma. Mesothelioma in situ has been recognized as a diagnostic category.

Hyperthermic Intrathoracic Chemotherapy for Malignant Pleural Mesothelioma: The Forefront of Surgery-Based Multimodality Treatment.

Introduction: Malignant Pleural Mesothelioma (MPM) is characterized by an aggressive behavior and an inevitably fatal prognosis, whose treatment is still far from being standardized. The role of surgery is questionable since a radical resection is unattainable in most cases. Hyperthermic IntraTHOracic Chemotherapy (HITHOC) combines the advantages of antitumoral effects together with those of high temperature on the exposed tissues with the aim to improve surgical radicality.

The International Thymic Malignancy Interest Group Classification of Thymoma Recurrence: Survival Analysis and Perspectives.

Introduction: The International Thymic Malignancy Interest Group (ITMIG) classifies thymoma recurrences on the basis of the topographic location, but its effectiveness in prognosis prediction has not been well investigated yet. Aims of this study are to analyze survival outcome of patients surgically treated for thymoma recurrence according to the ITMIG recurrence classification and to investigate possible alternatives.

Methods: From January 1, 1990, to January 7, 2017, data on 135 surgically treated patients for thymoma recurrence from three high-volume centers were collected and retrospectively analyzed.

Prognostic factors for survival in advanced thymomas: The role of the number of involved structures.

Background And Objectives: The Masoka-Koga and tumor node metastases staging systems for thymoma are based on structures involved, but the prognostic role of the number of infiltrated/involved structures is still debated. We analyzed the prognostic role of involved structures and their combinations in locally advanced thymomas patients.

Methods: Data on 174 surgically treated locally advanced thymoma patients from 1/01/1990 to 31/12/2015 were reviewed.

Thymectomy in Myasthenic Patients With Thymoma: Killing Two Birds With One Stone.

Background: Thymoma and myasthenia gravis share several pathogenetic aspects including the role of surgery as a therapeutic option. Extended thymectomy is associated with excellent survival and good local control, especially in early stages, and its role for the neurologic disease has been recently validated. The aim of this study is evaluating oncologic and neurologic outcomes of myasthenic patients with thymoma who underwent extended thymectomy.

Surgical treatment of pleural recurrence of thymoma: is hyperthermic intrathoracic chemotherapy worthwhile?

Objectives: Recurrence of thymoma is described in 10-30% of cases after surgical resection. Iterative surgery for thymoma pleural relapses (TPRs) is often part of a multimodal treatment. Hyperthermic intrathoracic chemotherapy (HITHOC) following macroscopic radical surgery is an option that combines the effects of mild hyperthermia with those of chemotherapeutic agents.

Chest wall reconstruction with a novel titanium mesh after partial sternectomy for chondrosarcoma.

Primitive malignant sternal tumours are extremely rare and represent less than 1% of all chest wall tumours. A combination of radical surgery and accurate reconstruction is mandatory to ensure adequate stability and to reduce paradoxical movement. To date, this is one of the few reports on a successful sternal reconstruction using a rigid titanium mesh to restore the skeletal integrity, which was then covered by bilateral muscular flaps.

Nerve-Sparing Surgery in Advanced Stage Thymomas.

Background: Phrenic nerve infiltration has been described in as many as 33% of advanced thymomas; en bloc resection causes diaphragmatic loss of function, with detrimental effects on pulmonary function. We report the outcomes of selected patients operated on for invasive thymoma with a nerve-sparing technique.

Methods: From 1990 to 2015 we used nerve-sparing surgery with the intention to treat all patients with advanced stage thymomas without preoperative evidence of hemidiaphragmatic palsy, but with macroscopic evidence of phrenic nerve involvement.

N2 lung cancer is not all the same: an analysis of different prognostic groups.

Objectives: The International Association for the Study of Lung Cancer (IASLC) recently proposed a change in the staging system for N2, based on the metastatic station number: N2a1 (a single metastatic station with no hilar involvement), N2a2 (a single metastatic station with hilar involvement) and N2b (multiple metastatic stations). The aim of our study was to validate the IASLC proposal in a cohort of patients with pathological N2 disease.

Methods: All patients with pathological T1-T2 N2 non-small-cell lung cancer who were operated on between 2006 and 2010 in our department were enrolled.

Diaphragm and lung-preserving surgery with hyperthermic chemotherapy for malignant pleural mesothelioma: A 10-year experience.

Background: The best surgical treatment for malignant pleural mesothelioma is still under a debate, but recent evidence points toward a less-invasive approach to reduce morbidity and mortality. We reported our 10-year experience of a limited surgical approach associated with hyperthermic intrathoracic chemotherapy (HITHOC).

Material And Methods: Between 2005 and 2014, patients with epithelioid or biphasic malignant pleural mesothelioma were treated with lung-diaphragm-pericardium-sparing pleurectomy associated with double-drug HITHOC; at least 3 cycles of adjuvant chemotherapy were then administered.

Is less also better? A single-institution experience on treatment of early stage Malignant Pleural Mesothelioma.

Objectives: No clear evidence of which surgical procedure should be performed for early stage mesothelioma is available to date. We analyzed our 10-year experience in the treatment of early stage mesothelioma with surgery and Hyperthermic IntraTHOracic Chemotherapy.

Methods: We retrospectively analyzed all cases of histologically proven epithelioid or biphasic IMIG stage I and II mesothelioma that we operated between 2005 and 2014.

Lymph node dissection after pulmonary resection for lung cancer: a mini review.

An accurate staging of a malignant disease is imperative in order to plan pre- and post-operative therapy, define prognosis and compare studies. According to the European Society of Thoracic Surgeons (ESTS) guidelines a systematic lymph node (LN) dissection is recommended in all cases of pulmonary resection for non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). The current lung cancer staging system considers the lymphatic stations involved but not the number of LNs.

A Novel Technique for Laryngotracheal Reconstruction for Idiopathic Subglottic Stenosis.

Idiopathic subglottic stenosis is the most challenging condition in the field of upper airway reconstruction. We describe a successful novel technique for enlarging the airway space at the site of the laryngotracheal anastomosis in very high-level reconstructions.