The isolated rat phrenic nerve/diaphragm preparation has proven to be a useful tool for examining neuromuscular transmission and function in vitro. This preparation allows for the simultaneous examination of direct phrenic nerve stimulation as well as direct muscle stimulation. While the isolated phrenic nerve/diaphragm has been extensively utilized (Bulbring, 1946; Tsai, 1985; Wali et al., 198...

A raised hemidiaphragm has been reported as an uncommon complication of cardiopulmonary bypass, possibly resulting from cold injury to the phrenic nerve. At Papworth Hospital myocardial protection during cardiac arrest relies in part on irrigation of the pericardial cavity with large volumes of Hartmann's solution at 4 degrees C. Retrospective review of the chest radiographs of 100 consecutive ...

Hiccups have more than 100 etiologies. The most common etiology has gastrointestinal origins, related mainly to gastric distention and gastroesophageal reflux disease. Intractable hiccups are rare but may present as a severe symptom of various diseases. Hiccups are mostly treated with non-invasive or pharmacological therapies. If these therapies fail, invasive methods should be used. Here, we p...

Neuromuscular respiratory failure is a rare complication of systemic immunoglobulin light chain amyloidosis. We describe a case of a 70-year-old Caucasian man with multiple myeloma who presented with worsening dyspnea. The patient was diagnosed with and treated for congestive heart failure but continued to suffer from hypercapnic respiratory insufficiency. He had restrictive physiology on pulmo...

BACKGROUND The etiology of diaphragm paralysis is often elusive unless an iatrogenic or traumatic injury to the phrenic nerve can be clearly implicated. Until recently, there has been little interest in the pathophysiology of diaphragm paralysis since few treatment options existed. METHODS We present three cases of symptomatic diaphragm paralysis in which a clear clinico-pathologic diagnosis ...

Bilateral diaphragm paralysis is a rare but important complication of open heart surgery. Two cases were found among 360 prospectively studied patients undergoing open heart surgery during one year. Both patients had insulin dependent diabetes with peripheral neuropathy and this may have contributed to their diaphragm paralysis. The patients were studied postoperatively for one year with measur...

Extrapleural pneumonectomy (EPP) is an established surgical treatment for malignant mesothelioma; this operation is, however, burdened by a high rate of perioperative morbidity, mostly related to the surgical procedure. Diaphragmatic patch dehiscence is a potentially serious complication often related to the difficulty in placement of the fixing stitches, especially in the costo-phrenic angle. ...

Catheter ablation within the right atrium can be limited by proximity to phrenic nerve and potential for hemi diaphragmatic paralysis. High output pacing is frequently employed map position relative endocardium, particularly in relation superior vena cava pulmonary vein. The use of intracardiac echocardiography (ICE) correlation with lower rigorously course along has not been previously describ...

Background: It has been shown that placing local Anesthetics (LA) as far 4 mm laterally from the sheath of brachial plexus throughout US-guided ISBPB can result in beneficial analgesia for shoulder surgeries, demonstrating significance needle-nerve proximity context ISBPB. The distance to phrenic nerve is increased by this extrafascial injection, which may lessen possibility anesthetic spread w...

Objective: This study seeks to evaluate the results of surgery performed according to the etiological causes of diaphragmatic eventration or paralysis. Method: Files of 54 patients (35 males, 19 females; mean age: 39.1 ± 3.01 years) who had undergone diaphragm plication between January 2005 and June 2011 in two clinics located in Istanbul were studied in terms of pulmonary spirometry, applied s...