Symptomatic giant thymolipoma in a child.

Thymolipomas are slow-growing benign tumors arising from the thymus. They are rare in children, are usually asymptomatic, and can attain enormous size at diagnosis. Contrast-enhanced computerized tomography (CECT) scan characterizes the thymolipomas as a fat-attenuating lesions in the anterior mediastinum.

Unilobar re-expansion pulmonary oedema following removal of a large intra-thoracic mass.

Re-expansion pulmonary oedema (RPE) is not so rare complication associated with sudden expansion of a collapsed lung. RPE has been most frequently reported following rapid drainage of a large pneumothorax or chronic pleural effusion. Development of RPE following removal of a large intrathoracic mass is not commonly recognised, though sporadic reports exist in the literature.

Primary endobronchial myxoid leiomyoma in a child: An unusual case report and review of literature.

Primary leiomyomas are rare benign tumors of the lung and only 25 cases have been documented in children, most of which are endobronchial. Leiomyomas are benign smooth muscle neoplasms, usually diagnosed on morphological characteristics. However, immunohistochemistry plays a crucial role in the lineage differentiation when these are encountered at unusual sites or with unexpected morphological features.

Management of a patient with unstable angina, left main coronary artery disease, and respiratory insufficiency due to eventration of the diaphragm.

The incidence of eventration of diaphragm before cardiac surgery is rare. We describe the management of a patient with eventration of the diaphragm who underwent a coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) for left main coronary artery disease followed by left diaphragm plication with video-assisted thoracic surgery (VATS) for the postoperative respiratory insufficiency.

End-of-life decisions in an Indian intensive care unit.

Background: There is a paucity of data on end-of-life decisions (EOLD) for patients in Indian intensive care units (ICUs).

Objective: To document the end-of-life and full-support (FS) decisions among patients dying in an ICU, to compare the respective patient characteristics and to describe the process of decision-making.

Design: Retrospective, observational.

Molecular profiling of genes in squamous cell lung carcinoma in Asian Indians.

Early metastasis and a poor five-year survival make lung cancer the leading cause of cancer related deaths worldwide. The clinical profile of lung cancer patients in India differs from the West as they present earlier, with squamous cell carcinoma being the commonest histological type. We compared gene expression profiles in primary lung squamous cell carcinoma (LSCC) and matched normal lung tissues in Asian Indians.

A randomized comparison of the early outcome of stapled and unstapled techniques of laparoscopic total extraperitoneal inguinal hernia repair.

Objective: The need for stapling is a relative drawback of laparoscopic hernia repairs because it adds to the complications and costs. The safety of unstapled repairs as a viable alternative lacks validation, due to the dearth of analogous comparative trials.

Methods: Patients were randomized to undergo either stapled or unstapled total extraperitoneal hernia repairs.

Chemotherapy alone vs. chemotherapy plus high dose multiple antioxidants in patients with advanced non small cell lung cancer.

Objective: In vitro and animal studies suggest that antitumor effect of chemotherapeutic agents may be enhanced by antioxidants. Therefore, we initiated a clinical study to test the efficacy of high-dose multiple antioxidants (vitamins C, E and beta carotene) as an adjunct to chemotherapy (paclitaxel and carboplatin) in non-small-cell lung cancer.

Methods: 136 patients of stage IIIb and stage IV NSCLC were randomized to receive chemotherapy (paclitaxel and carboplatin) alone (chemotherapy arm, n = 72) or chemotherapy in combination with ascorbic acid 6100 mg/day, dl-alpha-tocopherol (vitamin E) 1050 mg/day and beta-carotene 60 mg/day (combination arm, n = 64).

The increase in body mass index observed after lung volume reduction may act as surrogate marker of improved health status.

Objective: To assess the effects of lung volume reduction surgery (LVRS) on body mass index (BMI).

Methods: Prospective data was collected on a series of 63 patients undergoing LVRS (bilateral in 22 patients, unilateral in 41 patients). Median age was 58 (41-70) years.

Characterization of apoptosis-related molecular changes in a desmoid tumor of the chest wall: report of a case.

Desmoid tumors are uncommon benign tumors composed of fibrous tissue, which originate from aponeuroses. Little is known about their molecular pathogenesis and the reason that they recur. We report the case of a 20-year-old man with a recurrent desmoid tumor of the chest wall, focusing on our analysis of the apoptosis and its related molecular events.