EUS-FNA sensitivity depends on the localisation of the primary tumour, and extent and location of mediastinal disease. For left-sided tumours, EUS-FNA improves mediastinal staging by assessing stations 5 and 6 inaccessible to conventional mediastinoscopy. For extended mediastinal disease, mediastinoscopy can be avoided or spared for restaging after neoadjuvant therapy. Exclusion of mediastinal involvement requires mediastinoscopy or open lymphadenectomy. Beyond mediastinal nodal staging, EUS-FNA may detect T4 and M1 situations. Thus, EUS-FNA is a useful supplement to and not the replacement of mediastinoscopy.
Glomus tumors are neoplasms arising from modified smooth muscle cells surrounding arteriovenous anastomosis in the dermis and subcutaneous tissues, which are contributing to blood flow regulation and temperature control on the skin surface. Glomus cells are sparse or absent in visceral organs, making extracutaneous presentation of glomus tumors an extremely rare finding. We briefly report histological considerations on glomus tumors of the trachea and sum the multidisciplinary aspects of their staged endoscopic and surgical management using the example of a rare case presentation.
Training of European thoracic surgeons is subject to huge variations in terms of length of training, content of training and operative experience during training. Harmonization of training outcomes has been approached by creating the European Board of Thoracic Surgery, which has been accredited by the European Union of Medical Specialists (UEMS); however, a clear description of the content of training is lacking. Building on their recognized experience with curriculum building, task forces of the European Respiratory Society and the European Society of Thoracic Surgery agreed on a joint task force on training in thoracic surgery. The goal of this study is to report on the mission statement developed from the UEMS-driven survey, describe the Delphi method and the observed results and present the first large consensus-based syllabus. The working group is currently working on a description of the curriculum and assessment of learning outcomes.
This paper describes a prospective, observational, single-centre study of 20 consecutive patients with clinical stage I lung carcinoma undergoing anatomical sublobar resections using complete video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery (cVATS). Thirteen male and seven female patients with a median age of 68 (range 57-84) years and a median of four (range 0-9) relevant comorbid conditions presented with five right-sided and 15 left-sided tumours, with a median diameter of 2.3 (range 1.0-5.2) cm. Thirteen segmentectomies, three bisegmentectomies and four trisegmentectomies with lymphadenectomy of the N1 stations and the mediastinum were performed, with a median duration of 212 (range 91-397) min, a conversion rate to open surgery of 20% and conversion to lobectomy of 10%. In five patients, we noted 10 postoperative adverse events but no transfusions, no readmissions and zero mortality. Median drainage time was six days, with a median hospital stay of 8.5 days. According to the pTNM classification, 10, three, one, and six patients were staged as Ia, Ib, IIb and IIIa, respectively. The distance between the tumour and the parenchymal stapling line exceeded the tumour diameter in 56%, 0% and 0% of T1a, T1b and T2 tumours, respectively. To conclude, cVATS anatomical sublobar resections are technically feasible. We observed a favourable postoperative course in 20 multimorbid or aged patients. In patients fit for lobectomy, the tumour diameter should not exceed 2 cm.
Compared with thoracotomy access, the VATS approach to segmentectomy was associated with less postoperative morbidity and a 25% decrease in median hospital stay, despite a conversion rate of 30% due to the inclusion of atypical segmentectomies, higher tumour stages and patients with critical function for single lung ventilation. Five-year survival estimates suggested a small but significant overall survival benefit and a 10% difference of recurrence-free survival in favour of VATS. Although not fully conclusive, long-term results indicate that the thoracoscopic access to segmentectomy is probably not inferior to the thoracotomy approach. Confirmation by a larger number of risk-adjusted outcome data is required.
Objective The aim of this study was to identify resorption, clinical performance, and safety of cotton-derived oxidized cellulose gauze applied as a hemostat in minimally invasive oncologic thoracic surgery. Methods This is a pilot prospective noncomparative observational human in vivo study. A piece of cotton-derived oxidized cellulose gauze measuring 5 × 20 cm was inserted into the subcarinal space of patients with potentially resectable lung carcinoma at the time of video-assisted mediastinoscopic lymphadenectomy and reexamined several days later for macroscopic and histologic evaluation at the time of subsequent lung resection. The primary endpoint was the local situation at the implantation site described by cellulose remnants, fluid collections, and adhesions. The secondary endpoint was safety, described by the number of adverse events and surgical reinterventions. Results Twenty-five consecutive eligible patients with potentially resectable lung carcinoma were included. The desired hemostatic effect was achieved in all cases. No adverse events were observed. At re-exploration 10.5 (5–28) days later, the cellulose gauze was found to lose its solid structure from the fifth day on. Remnants were last detected 14 days after insertion. The implantation site exhibited no inflammatory changes and a remarkable small amount of fluid collections and adhesions. Conclusions Mediastinal application of cotton-derived oxidized cellulose is safe and effective. A piece of gauze measuring 5 × 20 cm seems to be absorbed completely within 15 days, thus precluding any interference with oncologic restaging and follow-up. The absence of relevant adhesions facilitates further surgical procedures. Larger comparative confirmatory studies are required. For large-scale resorption studies, our clinical model should be translated into a porcine model.
Left upper lobectomy might be an overtreatment for selected cases of lung carcinoma whose resection by a split-lobe procedure produces adequate margins and a complete lymphadenectomy. Tumour diameters exceeding 2 cm, nodal involvement and previous neoadjuvant treatment do not necessarily exclude this option for selected patients under the condition of a meticulous nodal dissection. In this context, we would like to suggest a translational research of the split-lobe concept to other large pulmonary lobes.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.