Segmental bronchial sleeve resection: preserving all lung parenchyma for benign/low-grade neoplasms.

Background: Bronchoplastic techniques are used commonly for the surgical treatment of benign or low-grade malignant neoplasms as a means of sparing healthy lung parenchyma. Because of technical difficulties, however, standard lobectomy or segmentectomy procedures are performed for the neoplasms localized in distally located tumors. We present the clinical and surgical data of 12 patients who underwent a unique surgical procedure, called by the authors of this article "segmental bronchial sleeve resection," without any pulmonary resection.

Anterior transmediastinal contralateral access.

Transmediastinal approach for resection of bilaterally metastatic lung tumors, bullectomy and apical pleurectomy is a technically feasible and safe method. We report herein a 40-year-old male with a 20-year history of progressive dyspnea who underwent bilateral bullae excision through a left posterolateral thoracotomy. We tried to emphasize that a transmediastinal contralateral approach may prevent a secondary operation in patients with bilateral bullous lesions.

Primary repair of a sternal cleft in an infant with autogenous tissues.

A cleft sternum is a rare congenital anomaly often diagnosed as asymptomatic at birth. Clinical outcome may be unfavorable when an associated anomaly, particularly an intracardiac anomaly coexists with the defect. Primary repair should be employed in the neonatal period because the flexibility of the chest wall is maximal and compression of underlying structures is minimal.

Comparison of mersilene mesh-methyl metacrylate sandwich and polytetrafluoroethylene grafts for chest wall reconstruction.

We report the outcomes of patients who underwent reconstruction with Mersilene mesh-methyl methacrylate (MM-MM) sandwich and polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) grafts after a large chest wall resection. Between June 1990 and September 2001, 59 consecutive patients (37 men, 22 women; mean age, 48.1 +/- 11.

Detection and typing of human papillomavirus in non-small cell lung cancer.

Background: Lung cancer is the most frequent cause of death in both men and women. Smoking is the greatest risk factor for lung cancer and the relation of human papillomavirus (HPV) infection with lung cancer has been reported. HPV can be detected in small cell lung cancer samples with the methods like in situ hybridization, polymerase chain reaction (PCR), Southern blotting, dot blotting.

Clinical predictors of surgical outcome in patients with thoracic outlet syndrome operated on via transaxillary approach.

Objectives: Although the transaxillary route appears to be the optimal approach in patients with thoracic outlet syndrome (TOS), the effect of clinical features on surgical outcome remains unclear. We conducted a study to determine the clinical predictors of surgical outcome in patients with TOS.

Methods: We examined the data charts of patients with TOS who underwent operation via transaxillary approach.

Single-stage transthoracic approach for right lung and liver hydatid disease.

Objective: Human echinococcosis remains a serious health problem for the Mediterranean countries. Synchronous pulmonary and hepatic hydatid disease may occur in 4% to 25% of cases. Our experience on simultaneous surgical treatment of right lung and liver hydatid disease in patients was reviewed.

Predictors of clinical outcome following extended thymectomy in myasthenia gravis.

Objective: Thymectomy remains as the optimal treatment of choice in patients with myasthenia gravis (MG), however, the selection criteria for surgery remains controversial.

Methods: We examined the data charts of patients with MG underwent extended thymectomy. We investigated the possible correlations between the clinicopathologic features and clinical outcomes, and analyzed the data to clarify the effect of prognostic factors on clinical outcome.

Surgical treatment of peripheral lung cancer adherent to the parietal pleura.

Objectives: The objective of this paper is to assess the results of surgical treatment retrospectively in a consecutive series of 85 patients with peripheral non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) invading parietal pleura and chest wall.

Methods: From 1994 to 1998, of the 572 patients having pulmonary resection for NSCLC, 29 patients with neoplasm involving the parietal pleura (group I) and 56 with that invading the chest wall (group II) underwent resection.

Results: The operative mortality rate was 3.