Not only acute respiratory failure: COVID-19 and the post-intubation/tracheostomy upper airways lesions.

Background: An increasing number of patients have been subjected to prolonged invasive mechanical ventilation due to COVID-19 infection, leading to a significant number of post-intubation/tracheostomy (PI/T) upper airways lesions. The purpose of this study is to report our early experience in endoscopic and/or surgical management of PI/T upper airways injuries of patients surviving COVID-19 critical illness.

Materials And Methods: We prospectively collected data from patients referred to our Thoracic Surgery Unit from March 2020 to February 2022.

Multidisciplinary Approach in the Treatment of Descending Necrotizing Mediastinitis: Twenty-Year Single-Center Experience.

Descending necrotizing mediastinitis (DNM) is an acute, rare, severe condition with high mortality, but the optimal management protocol is still controversial. We retrospectively analyzed the results of multidisciplinary management in patients treated for DNM at our center over the last twenty years. Fifteen male patients, mean age 49.

Endoscopic removal of tracheobronchial foreign bodies: results on a series of 51 pediatric patients.

Purpose: Rigid bronchoscopy (RB) is still considered the gold standard approach for the removal of airway foreign bodies (FBs) in children; however, flexible bronchoscopy (FOB) has recently been proposed both as diagnostic and therapeutic means. Our purpose was to evaluate the outcomes of FOB, associated with the Dormia basket, for the removal of FBs.

Methods: Retrospective data about 124 children who underwent bronchoscopy for the suspicion of a FB aspiration between January 2008 and January 2019 in our department were collected.

Pulmonary and mediastinal paragangliomas: rare endothoracic malignancies with challenging diagnosis and treatment.

Background: Pulmonary and mediastinal paragangliomas are rare tumors that may have neuroendocrine activity or be non-functional, incidental, in asymptomatic patients, or causing mass effect symptoms. Although being low-grade tumors, they can display an aggressive behaviour, developing local infiltration and distant metastases. We report our experience with three endothoracic paragangliomas and a Literature review, to point out diagnostic difficulties and problems related to surgical treatment.