OBJECTIVE Induction therapy for advanced lung cancer allows improvement of completeness of resection and survival. However, predictive risk factors for postoperative complications and early mortality remain controversial. We report our 14-year experience with this combined approach. METHODS One hundred and thirty-nine patients (100 males and 39 females) underwent induction therapy and surgery...

No uniform consensus has been established regarding post-pneumonectomy lung regeneration. This study was undertaken to determine whether airway-instilled lung- or bone marrow-derived cells are able to differentiate and reconstitute as lung component cells in the course of post-pneumonectomy lung growth. Bone marrow cells or lung cells obtained from C57 black (BL)/6-GFP mice were intratracheally...

In most mammals, removing one lung (pneumonectomy) results in the compensatory growth of the remaining lung. In mice, stereological observations have demonstrated an increase in the number of mature alveoli; however, anatomic evidence of the early phases of alveolar growth has remained elusive. To identify changes in the lung microstructure associated with neoalveolarization, we used tissue his...

Between 1970 and 1993, 446 patients underwent pneumonectomy. Completion pneumonectomy was performed in 37 patients (8.3%): 34 men and 3 women, with a mean age of 61 years (range 20-78 years). Indications were benign disease in 4 patients and carcinoma in 33. Of the latter, 21 patients underwent resection for metachronous lung cancer, 6 for recurrent lung cancer, 4 for previous incomplete resect...

Although blood vessel growth occurs readily in the systemic bronchial circulation, angiogenesis in the pulmonary circulation is rare. Compensatory lung growth after pneumonectomy is an experimental model with presumed alveolar capillary angiogenesis. To investigate the genes participating in murine neoalveolarization, we studied the expression of angiogenesis genes in lung endothelial cells. Af...

BACKGROUND Post-pneumonectomy syndrome (PPS) is a rare syndrome characterized by trachea-bronchial stenosis and severe dyspnea. In this study, we retrospectively evaluated the clinical outcomes in patients who underwent placement of tissue expanders for PPS. METHODS Data from patients who underwent placement of tissue expanders for PPS were analyzed for preoperative characteristics, surgical ...

The influence of pulmonary resection on functional capacity can be assessed in different ways. The aim of this study was to compare the effect of lobectomy and pneumonectomy on pulmonary function tests (PFT), exercise capacity and perception of symptoms. Sixty eight patients underwent functional assessment with PFT and exercise testing before (Preop), and 3 and 6 months after lung resection. In...

Malignant tumors associated with chronic empyema have been reported in the literature, and a majority of these tumors are lymphomas. Epithelial tumors originating from the post-pneumonectomy space in patients with chronic empyema are extremely rare. Here, we present the cases of 2 patients with squamous cell carcinoma arising from the pleural cavity after pneumonectomy for chronic empyema.

Ten years after right pneumonectomy for primary lung cancer, a 51 year old man developed a pulmonary artery stump thrombosis which produced microemboli in the remaining lung and, in turn, led to chronic pulmonary hypertension. This case strongly suggests that prolonged postoperative thromboembolic prophylaxis should be considered in patients undergoing right pneumonectomy.

Patients undergoing pneumonectomy can suffer by cardiovascular and respiratory postoperative complications that can affect patient's outcome by increasing morbidity and mortality. We describe a diaphragmatic hernia occurring after pneumonectomy. with late presentation and with epidural analgesia confusing the scenario suggesting that anesthesiologists should remain aware on this complication ev...