Chylothorax after abdominal surgery.

Chylothorax is usually a complication of thoracic surgery procedures. Over a 5-year period we encountered three cases of chylothorax following abdominal surgery performed in general surgery units. The initial effusions, not lactescent, were ascribed to a pleural reaction that sometimes is observed during the postoperative period after abdominal surgery.

[Management of spontaneous pneumothorax: nationwide fact-finding survey among Italian thoracic surgery units].

Spontaneous pneumothorax, in both the primary and secondary variants, is a relatively frequent disease, occurring at all ages. Management of spontaneous pneumothorax is not standardised. Furthermore, few attempts have been made in the literature to codify the diagnostic workup and treatment.

CT guided percutaneous fine needle biopsy of small lung lesions in outpatients. Safety and efficacy of the procedure compared to inpatients.

Purpose: To compare the safety and efficacy of CT-guided fine needle biopsy (FNAB) of small (<15 mm) lung lesions in inpatients and outpatients.

Materials And Methods: 108 consecutive inpatients (69 M, 39 F, mean age 56) and 121 consecutive outpatients (90 M, 31 F, mean age 50) who underwent CT-guided FNAB of small lung lesions were included. Lesion size, depth, number of needle passes, presence of emphysema were recorded.