BACKGROUND There are no data comparing patient attitudes to sternotomy and thoracotomy scars following surgery for congenital heart disease (CHD). METHODS Two hundred and one patients with a scar from CHD surgery (105 sternotomy, 36 thoracotomy, and 60 both scars) had a structured interview to explore attitudes to their scar. RESULTS Comparable proportions of each group reported that they d...

AIMS To gather data on the clinical presentation of parapneumonic effusion and empyema and to examine the effect of different management strategies on short term outcomes. METHODS Retrospective case note review of 48 children admitted to a tertiary unit between January 1998 and March 2001. Effusions were classified into three stages dependent on ultrasound findings. RESULTS The stage of eff...

A right-sided aortic arch with an aneurysm of the aberrant subclavian artery is a rare disease. We report a case of Kommerell's diverticulum of an aberrant left subclavian artery in a patient with a right-sided aortic arch. Fewer than 50 cases have been reported in the literature. A number of operative strategies are described. Right thoracotomy provides good exposure and avoids the morbidity a...

OBJECTIVE The European Society of Thoracic Surgeons (ESTS) has proposed preoperative lymph-node staging guidelines (LNSGs) for non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) based on the introduction of new staging modalities into clinical practice. The validity of these guidelines was assessed. METHODS Among the patients (n=185) with histologically confirmed NSCLC diagnosed between 2007 and 2009, who we...

Background Nonthoracotomy-implantable cardioverter/defibrillator (ICD) systems may represent a significant advance in the treatment of patients with life-threatening ventricular arrhythmias, but their merits relative to those of the wellestablished thoracotomy systems remain largely unknown. The objective of this study was to compare the shortand long-term clinical outcomes after attempted ICD ...

BACKGROUND The aim of the study was to analyze the influence of lymph nodes in conversion thoracotomy and its measurements. METHOD Between September 2006 to April 2013, 1006 patients (545 men, 461 women, median age 60 years, range: 13 to 86 years) received a complete thoracoscopic lobectomy. The main procedure was complete video-assisted anatomical lobectomy with mediastinal lymphadenectomy. ...

OBJECTIVE Left internal mammary artery harvesting through a mini-thoracotomy makes gaining the proximal portion of this vessel very difficult and exposes the patient to the risk of chest wall trauma due to excessive spreading of the ribs. The adoption of video thoracoscopic assistance can give several advantages to the procedure. METHODS With the patient in a 30 degrees left-side-up thoracoto...

We report the case of posterior mediastinal myxoid liposarcoma with right intra-pleural development operated through thoracotomy. observed a significant invasion segment descending aorta though there was no evidence tumor infiltration in preoperative imaging

A pain after thoracotomy may result in a postoperative hypoventilation and lead to atelectases and pneumonia. This study was aimed to compare two analgesic regimens after posterolateral thoracotomy. 80 patients (40-70 years) undergoing thoracotomy were randomized to intercostal catheter analgesia (group A, n = 40) and intercostal nerve block (group B, n = 40). Patients in group A were given 20 ...

BACKGROUND Reoperation of cardiac surgery via median sternotomy can be associated with significant complications. Thoracotomy is expected to reduce the risk of reoperation and to enhance the surgical outcomes. We retrospectively analyzed two operative approaches (thoracotomy vs. sternotomy) in cardiac reoperation. MATERIALS AND METHODS From September 2007 to December 2010, 35 patients who req...