No abstract

Video-assisted thoracic surgery (VATS) and robotic-assisted thoracic surgery (RATS) are two different types of surgical approach for the treatment of early stage lung cancer. Technological innovations brought on the beginning of a new era in thoracic surgery in the last 20-30 years. A need for training led many thoracic surgery centers to study how the learning of these new techniques took place among their surgeons: the so-called learning curve (LC). This review aimed not only to evaluate the recent literature about the LC of these two minimally invasive techniques but also to point out what are the similarities and differences between the two techniques. We chose a total of 50 reports from papers published between 2008 and 2019: 30 about the LC of VATS lobectomy and 20 studies about the LC of RATS lobectomy. We observed a substantial overlap between the training of both techniques even though the LC of RATS appears to be shorter than VATS. There are common cornerstones in the two LCs like reduction of operating times, reduction of blood loss, more complete lymphadenectomy, conversion rate reduction; a minimum number of at least 50 cases for VATS and 20 cases for RATS are needed to overcome the initial phase of the LC. We noticed that the need for accessory thoracoscopic access is particularly reduced with experience in the LC of the single-port VATS while the evaluation of the docking time is uniquely taken into account for RATS as for the need of specific training for basic robotic skills.

Background Penetrating neck and chest trauma is a very common entity in emergency medicine that usually requires surgical treatment. Our case report illustrates the case of a 27-year-old Arabian man with hemopneumothorax associated with pneumomediastinum due to an unusual occupational injury. Case presentation A metal sliver, coming from an axe using for wood chopping, penetrated the neck of a 27-year-old Arabian man in the left supraclavicular region mimicking a gun bullet; the entrance hole was at the left pleural dome where the sliver had just penetrated the apex of the lung passing through the upper lobe of his left lung creating an exit wound in the dorsal segment of the same lobe arriving in the posterior thoracic wall. Biportal video-assisted thoracic surgery was performed to remove blood clots and the unusual foreign body. Conclusion In the literature, there are several case series about this topic, with some of them reporting unusual foreign bodies that lead to penetrating trauma. However, to the best of our knowledge, no cases like the one we have reported are described in the current literature.

The last 10 years showed a wild diffusion of mini-invasive thoracic procedures for lung and mediastinum diseases. Mediastinal goiters, ectopic thyroids and forgotten goiters represent rare thoracic diseases, treated in the past by sternotomy, thoracotomy or combined cervicosternotomy. The evolution of robotic assisted thoracic surgery seems to offer a valid therapeutic option also in patients with thoracic and cervicothoracic thyroid correlate diseases. However some contraindications and technical aspects must be taken in account to achieve the best surgical results and patients satisfaction.

The COVID-19 pandemic has had a significant impact on new cancer diagnoses. This study aims to evaluate the implications of the lockdown period on new lung cancer diagnoses in northern Italy. We compared 2020 with 2019 cancer registry data, reporting the variations by age, stage, and treatments. In 2020, 303 lung cancer cases were registered, 21 fewer than in 2019. Cases fell in men (−31 patients, 9.6%) but not in women (+10 patients, +3.1%). A significant drop in stage I from 19.8% to 12.9% (p < 0.05) and an increase in stage III (12.7% vs. 19.1%; p < 0.05) was observed. Histological confirmation dropped (70.1% vs. 60.1%; p < 0.05) while cytology increased (12% vs. 20.8%; p < 0.01). Surgery declined (28.7% vs. 21.5%; p < 0.05) but increased in stage III (19.5% vs. 25.9%; p = 0.46), while chemotherapy increased (17.6% vs. 34.3%; p < 0.01) for all stages. During the pandemic, new lung cancer diagnoses dropped only in men. The reorganization of health services has ensured a decrease in surgical interventions (due to the unavailability of operating rooms) counterbalanced by an increase in chemotherapy.

No abstract

No abstract

No abstract