Acute mediastinitis is a rare, potentially life-threatening condition that is most commonly seen as a complication of esophageal perforations or cardiac surgery. The term "descending necrotizing mediastinitis" (DNM) is used to describe oropharyngeal infections that spread to the mediastinum, most commonly following odontogenic infections, peritonsillar or retropharyngeal abscesses, cervical lym...

BACKGROUND The aim of the present study is to compare negative pressure wound therapy versus conventional treatment outcomes at postoperative mediastinitis after cardiac surgery. METHODS Between January 2000 and December 2011, after 9972 sternotomies, postoperative mediastinitis was diagnosed in 90 patients. The treatment modalities divided the patients into two groups: group 1 patients (n = ...

Purulent mediastinitis is a possible serious complication after mediastinal surgery. We report the case of a localized sternal plasmocytoma treated by sternectomy and prosthetic repair, who needed a second surgery for a fistulizing mediastinitis. Five months earlier, in another Hospital, the patient underwent sternal resection and reconstruction with a "sandwich" prosthesis (Methyl-methacrylate...

Introduction: Descending necrotizing mediastinitis is a rare complication of odontogenic infections, with a high mortality rate despite the advent of antibiotics. case report: An otherwise well 37-year-old male presented with descending necrotizing mediastinitis secondary to a mandibular second molar infection. He required prolonged targeted antibiotic treatment, extensive oral, neck and thorac...

Sclerosing mediastinitis is a rare disorder characterized by an extensive fibrotic reaction involving the mediastinum. Due to the compression or invasion of mediastinal structures, the disorder mimics neoplasia. We present three cases of superior vena cava syndrome in which sclerosing mediastinitis was confirmed. The pathophysiological process is related to enlarged mediastinal lymph nodes, fib...

FIBROSING mediastinitis is a rare disease characterized by an abnormal proliferation of fibrous tissue and acellular collagen within the mediastinum. Most cases of fibrosing mediastinitis in the United States are caused by an exaggerated granulomatous immunologic response to Histoplasma capsulatum infection. However, other possible etiologic conditions include tuberculosis, mediastinal malignan...

INTRODUCTION The aim of our study is to present our experience from the management of six patients with deep sternal wood infection and mediastinitis after aortocoronary by pass grafting. CASE SERIES Five Caucasian Greek male patients and a Caucasian Greek female were subjected to aortocoronary by pass grafting. Mean time of sternal dehiscence and mediastinitis was 9-17 (mean 11) days. We man...

Dilute povidone-iodine solution has been widely used as an irrigant for the treatment of mediastinitis. However, its use is not without adverse effects and often causes poor growth of granulation tissues. To avoid the problems seen with the use of povidone-iodine solution, we applied electrolyzed strong acid aqueous solution (ESAAS) to mediastinal irrigation in 4 patients (2 infants and 2 adult...

Mediastinitis is a rare but serious postoperative complication of cardiac surgery that increases mortality rates, hospital length of stay, and medical costs. A clinical trial was conducted to investigate whether the type of postoperative surgical dressing (silver nylon or standard gauze) affects the rate of mediastinal infections. The sample consisted of 1,600 surgical cardiac patients. Infecti...

Pulmonary hypertension (PH) is a significant and well-recognised complication of sarcoidosis that markedly increases mortality. The current European Society of Cardiology (ESC)/European Respiratory Society (ERS) guidelines classify sarcoidosis-associated PH in group 5 [1]. Indeed, the pathophysiology is poorly understood and multiple mechanisms may contribute to its pathogenesis. The extrinsic ...