[A case of bronchial mucous gland adenoma: A rare diagnosis that should not be mistaken!].

We report the case of a 32-year-old man, who was admitted for a recurrent pneumopathy. The thoracic computed tomography revealed a small well-circumscribed lesion of the lower right lobe of the lung. Microscopic examination from the biopsy material of the endoscopy concluded a mucoepidermoid carcinoma.

Beyond aesthetic consequences: congestive hepatopathy caused by pectus excavatum.

Pectus excavatum can lead to right ventricle compression. Although extremely rare, congestive hepatopathy should be considered when patients with severe pectus excavatum present with cardiovascular involvement.

[Neurogenic spindle-cell tumors of the mediastinum: two cases].

Introduction: Neurogenic tumors can develop from neural cells in any location. They are commonly found, however, in the mediastinum, most often in its posterior compartment. Neurogenic tumors can be benign or malignant.

[Combined traumatic rupture of the bladder and ileum].

Intraperitoneal bladder rupture represents 2% of all abdominal lesions requiring surgical exploration. It has a poor prognosis due to the frequent associated lesions, particularly involving abdominal and retroperitoneal organs. An associated small bowel injury is rarely reported in the literature.

Thoracoscopic renal denervation for intractable autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease-related pain.

The authors report a case of intractable autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease-related pain associated with normal renal function, treated with renal denervation. Renal denervation was performed via a thoracoscopic approach. The good medium-term result suggests that thoracoscopic sympatho-splanchnicectomy would be an attractive procedure for pain management in autosomal polycystic kidney disease.

Malignant "Triton" tumor of the posterior mediastinum: prolonged survival after staged resection.

Malignant "Triton" tumor is a rare subtype of malignant peripheral nerve sheath tumor showing rhabdomyoblastic differentiation. We report the case of a 22-year-old patient who had excision of such a tumor by video-assisted thoracic surgery. He was reoperated on by thoracotomy 2 months later and received adjuvant radiation, with prolonged survival.

Videothoracoscopic bleb excision and pleural abrasion for the treatment of primary spontaneous pneumothorax: long-term results.

Background: The goal of this study was to evaluate the long-term efficiency of videothoracoscopic bleb excision and pleural abrasion for the treatment of primary spontaneous pneumothorax.

Methods: From July 1991 to December 1997, 182 patients with primary spontaneous pneumothorax were treated by a single technique at our institution. Seven patients had single-stage bilateral procedures and 11 other patients had staged bilateral procedures.

Videothoracoscopic resection of neurogenic tumors of the superior sulcus using the harmonic scalpel.

Resection of neurogenic tumors located in the paravertebral sulcus carries a risk of injury to the adjacent nervous structures and also to critical intercostal arteries supplying the anterior spinal artery. To avoid such complications, we have used the Harmonic Scalpel (Ethicon Endo-Surgery, Cincinnati, OH) for the dissection of neurogenic tumors in 2 consecutive patients operated on by videothoracoscopy. The Harmonic Scalpel functions with ultrasonic energy, producing less heat than a regular electrocautery and allows a safer dissection of tumors located in the posterior mediastinum, particularly those located in the superior paravertebral sulcus.

Traumatic extrathoracic lung herniation.

Traumatic extrathoracic lung herniation is an exceptional complication of blunt chest trauma. We report the case of a 46-year-old man who was involved in a motorcycle accident and who suffered a left clavicle fracture-dislocation associated with multiple rib fractures and massive herniation of the left upper lobe through an upper anterior chest wall defect. Immediate surgical repair through an atypical transcostal vertical thoracotomy resulted in full recovery of pulmonary function at 1 year.

Management of superior sulcus tumors: experience with 139 cases treated by surgical resection.

Background: The management of non-small cell carcinomas of the lung involving the superior sulcus remains controversial. The goal of this retrospective study was to evaluate the role of surgery, radiotherapy, and chemotherapy for the treatment of superior sulcus tumors, to define the best surgical approach for radical resection, and to identify factors influencing long-term survival.

Methods: Between 1983 and 1999, 139 patients underwent surgical resection of superior sulcus tumors in seven thoracic surgery centers.