Technetium and methylene blue guided pulmonary nodules resections: preliminary British experience.

Background: Subcentimetre pulmonary nodules can be challenging to locate either during video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery (VATS) or by open techniques. In an era of increasing computed tomography scan availability the number of nodules that are identified that are suspicious for malignancy is rising, and thoracic surgeons require a reliable method to locate these nodules intraoperatively.

Methods: Our aim was to evaluate, for the first time in the UK, resection of pulmonary nodules using radioactive dye labelling.

Robotic right middle lobectomy with a subxiphoid utility port.

We present the case of a 74-year-old man with Stage IIa pulmonary adenocarcinoma, for which he underwent a robotic right middle lobectomy. A 4-armed, 5-port approach was used. Four intercostal ports were created above the ninth rib using the Cerfolio's technique.

Hiatal hernia causing extrapericardial tamponade after coronary bypass surgery.

Cardiac tamponade is defined as compression of the heart due to accumulation of fluid in the pericardial sac, leading to raised pericardial pressures with haemodynamic compromise. We describe the case of a 76-year old female patient who underwent a routine off-pump coronary artery bypass graft operation and within 48 h developed classic signs of cardiac tamponade. The perioperative echocardiogram and operative findings at re-exploration revealed no clots or fluid collection.

Discoid lupus and pulmonary blastoma in an elderly patient.

Discoid lupus is an autosomal disease that has not been found to predispose to cancer. Pulmonary blastoma is a rare primary lung tumor with a poor prognosis, which commonly presents at a younger age than non-small-cell lung carcinoma. We report a rare case of pulmonary blastoma in a 62-year-old man with discoid lupus who presented with chronic cough and pleuritic pain.

Low-pressure pulmonary artery aneurysm presenting with pulmonary embolism: a case series.

Introduction: Pulmonary artery aneurysm is an uncommon disorder with severe complications. The diagnosis is often difficult, since the clinical manifestations are non-specific and the treatment is controversial, as the natural history of the disease is not completely understood.

Case Presentation: We describe the cases of two patients with pulmonary artery aneurysms.

The role of ascorbic acid in the prevention of atrial fibrillation after elective on-pump myocardial revascularization surgery: a single-center experience--a pilot study.

Atrial fibrillation (AF) is a common arrhythmia that occurs postoperatively in cardiac surgery. There is evidence for the role of oxidative stress in the etiology of AF. In our study, we examined whether antioxidant ascorbic acid (vitamin C), could help in the reduction of the incidence of postoperative AF.

Endovascular repair of traumatic aortic transection.

The present study reports a single center experience and mid-term results of endovascular repair of acute aortic traumatic transection on an emergency basis, instead of open surgical management. From January 2005 to December 2008, 13 cases of traumatic aortic transection with serious comorbidities, which underwent repair with thoracic stent grafts at our institution, were reviewed. The mean patient age was 32.