Pulmonary hydatid cysts remain a significant health problem in endemic regions like Turkey. Here, we present our surgical experience in patients with pulmonary hydatid cysts. Between January 1985 and January 2001, 1118 operations were performed in 1032 patients (528 males, 504 females; mean age 32.7 years; range 1-87 years) with pulmonary hydatid cysts in our department. Posterolateral thoracotomy was performed in 1015 (98.3%), two-stage thoracotomy in 34 (3.3%), and median sternotomy in 17 (1.7%) patients. We preferred conservative surgical procedures. As a surgical procedure, cystotomy and capitonnage was performed in 626 (56%), cystotomy alone in 368 (33%), wedge resection in 81 (7%), enucleation in 29 (3%), and decortication in 11 (1%) patients. None of our patients were treated with anatomic resection. During surgery, 949 patients (92%) had unruptured and 83 patients (8%) had ruptured hydatid cyst. The morbidity ratio was 6.7%. Major complications were wound infection (2.3%), prolonged air leak (1.9%), atelectasis (1.2%), pleural effusion (0.8%), postoperative hemothorax (0.6%), and empyema (0.3%). Two patients (0.2%) died within the first month postoperatively. Mean follow-up was 31.2 months. Recurrence was detected in only 35 patients (3.3%). Treatment of pulmonary hydatid cyst is primarily surgical. Medical treatment is indicated for recurrent and multiple hydatid cysts postoperatively. Cystotomy alone, or cystotomy and capitonnage, as parenchyma-preserving surgery, is preferred. Radical surgery including pneumonectomy, lobectomy, and segmentectomy should be avoided.

Despite recent advances in thoracic surgery, the management of esophageal perforation remains problematical and controversial. Thirty-one patients were treated for an esophageal perforation between 1986 and 1998. The esophageal perforation was iatrogenic in 25 cases, spontaneous in 2, traumatic in 2, and caused by a tumor and tuberculous lymphadenitis in 2 patients. There were 10 cervical, 19 thoracic, and 2 abdominal perforations. The interval from perforation to operation was less than 24h in 12 patients and more than 24h in 19 patients. The surgical procedures included a primary repair in 12 patients, a resection in 8, and conservative treatment with minor surgical approaches in 11. The mortality rate was 20% (4/20 patients) in the surgical treatment group and 45.5% (5/11 patients) in the conservative treatment with minor surgery group. The overall mortality was 29% (9/31 patients). The prognosis is thus concluded to depend on the cause and location of the perforation, the presence of underlying esophageal diseases, and the surgical procedure chosen.

Transthoracic approach is a useful and a safe surgical management of both pulmonary and upper surface of hepatic hydatid cysts.

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Purpose Neoadjuvant chemotherapy is the standard front-line treatment modality in locally advanced breast cancer. Achieving pathological complete response (pCR) is a significant prognostic factor for prolonged disease-free and overall survival. Insulin resistance is defined as a pathological condition in which insulin effect is impaired in peripheral target tissues such as the skeletal muscle, liver, and adipose tissue. The relationship between breast cancer and insulin resistance is controversial. In this study, our aim is to evaluate the role of insulin resistance, body mass index (BMI), metabolic syndrome, and inflammation markers to predict complete response in breast cancer patients who underwent neoadjuvant treatment. Methods Data from 55 locally advanced non-diabetic breast cancer patients, treated with neoadjuvant chemotherapy between 2015 and 2017, were retrospectively evaluated. Homeostatic model assessment, IR = insulin resistance (HOMA-IR) was calculated by using the obtained insulin and fasting blood glucose values before neoadjuvant chemotherapy (fasting insulin × fasting glucose/405). We considered a cut-off of 2.5 for insulin resistance. The systemic inflammatory index (SII), neutrophil-lymphocyte ratio (NLR), and platelet-lymphocyte ratio (PLR) were calculated. Results Twenty-five patients had no insulin resistance. The most common pathologic subtype (56%) was hormone receptor (HR) positive and human epidermal growth factor receptor-2 (Her-2)-negative invasive ductal carcinoma. Sixteen (29%) patients had a pathological complete response (pCR). We found that the probability of pCR in patients with insulin resistance was 4.7 times lower than that in patients without insulin resistance [OR: 4.7 (95%CI 1.7–17.2), p = 0.01]. Conclusion Our results revealed that insulin resistance may have a negative effect on pathological complete response (pCR) following neoadjuvant therapy particularly with hormone-positive and Her-2-negative cases of non-diabetic breast cancer.