Background. Hydatid cyst (HC) disease is endemic in many developing countries, like Yemen, Egypt, and Saudi Arabia, especially in the rural regions. The disease has a variable clinical courses and even might be asymptomatic for many years. Objectives. In giant and large pulmonary hydatid cysts, pulmonary resection is the usual method of surgical treatment. In this study, we aimed to evaluate the lung conservative surgery in treatment of cases with giant and large hydatid lung cysts, as an effective method of management. Patients and Methods. Between January 2009 and August 2014, a total of 148 patients with pulmonary hydatid cysts were operated and their data was reviewed retrospectively and analyzed. Out of these cases, 52 (35.14%) cysts with more than 10 cm in diameter and 36 (24.32%) cysts with 5–9 cm were regarded as giant and large hydatid lung cysts, respectively. The small cysts less than 5 cm were presented in 8 (5.4%) cases only; other cases had ruptured cysts. Preservation of the lung tissues during surgery by cystotomy and Capitonnage was our conservative surgical methods of choice. Results. Eight patients developed bronchopleural fistula (BPF); of them, 4 BPFs have healed with chest tube and physiotherapy, but in the other 4 patients reoperation was done for the closure of persistent BPF. No mortality was observed in the present study. Conclusion. We conclude that conservative surgical procedure can achieve complete removal of the pulmonary hydatid cyst. Enucleation of the intact huge cysts is safe. Careful and secured closure of the bronchial communication should be done by purse string or figure-of-8 sutures, with or without Teflon pledgets. These simple procedures are safe, reliable, and successful.

Early recognition and expedient appropriate management are essential in these potentially lethal injuries. Operative management can be achieved with acceptable mortality, and conservative treatment should be considered as a valuable alternative to the well-established surgical treatment.

Splenic abscess is a well-described but rare complication of infective endocarditis. Rapid diagnosis and treatment are essential as its course can be fatal. We present three case reports that describe the management of splenic abscesses in patients initially diagnosed with infective endocarditis. In all cases, the diagnosis was based on the findings of abdominal computed tomography (CT) scan or magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). In two of the cases, splenectomy was performed before valve surgery; while in the third case, the spleen was removed after cardiac surgery. All three patients recovered fully, with satisfactory follow-up as outpatients. Immediate splenectomy, combined with appropriate antibiotics and valve replacement surgery alongside multi-disciplinary team work could be the treatment of choice in this clinical scenario.

Carcinogens in smoke increase cytochrome P450 1A1 activity, which might be considered to play a role in cigarette smoking-induced lung cancer.

There is right ventricular dysfunction early after major pulmonary resection caused by increased right ventricular afterload. This dysfunction is more present in pneumonectomy than in lobectomy. Heart rate, mean pulmonary artery pressure, pulmonary capillary wedge pressure, pulmonary vascular resistance, right ventricular ejection fraction, and right ventricular end diastolic volume index are significantly affected by pulmonary resection.

Age, history of prior heart disease, lung resection, and the extent of pulmonary resection are the main risk factors for postoperative supraventricular arrhythmia in patients undergoing major thoracic operations.

Background The timing of surgical repair of tetralogy of Fallot (TOF) is a key to alleviate complications and for long-term survival. Total correction was usually performed at the age of 6 months or older under the notion of decreasing the surgical risk. However, avoiding palliation with an aortopulmonary shunt and early correction of systemic hypoxia appear to be of more benefit than the inborn surgical risk in low body weight patients. Our objective was to assess early/midterm survival and operative complications and to analyze patients, surgical techniques, and morphological risk factors to determine their effects on outcomes. Patients and Methods We retrospectively reviewed 152 patients with TOF who were ≤60 days of age when they underwent total correction of TOF. All patients had either duct-dependent pulmonary blood flow or arterial blood oxygen saturation less than 65% on room air requiring urgent surgical correction. Exclusion criteria included TOF with pulmonary atresia, TOF with nonconfluent pulmonary arteries, TOF with multiple aortopulmonary collateral arteries, and associated complete atrioventricular septal defects. Results The mean age at repair was 34 ± 19 days, and the mean weight was 3.8 ± 0.9 kg. Before surgery, 96 patients received an infusion of prostaglandin, 45 were mechanically ventilated, and 32 required inotropic support. Right ventricular outflow tract obstruction was managed with a transannular patch in 112 patients, and all the others had a main pulmonary artery patch. Cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB) with moderate hypothermia was the standard, and the CPB time averaged 48 ± 21 minutes. The postoperative intensive care unit stay was 5.7 ± 6 days, with 2.8 ± 4 days of mechanical ventilation. Early mortality was 4.6% (7 of 152), and actuarial survival rates were 95% at 1 year and 92% at 5 years. Univariable and multivariable analyses of the patients' demographics, anatomical characteristics, and operative techniques revealed the presence of small pulmonary arteries and low body weight to be the only independent risk factors for death. Conclusion Early total correction of TOF during the first 60 days of life can be performed with low mortality and good intermediate-term survival and, from our point of view, “should be the gold standard for TOFs.”

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