Pascal Dumont

Pleuropulmonary aspergilloma: Clinical spectrum and results of surgical treatment

From 1974 to 1991, 77 patients were admitted for pulmonary (55), pleural (16), or bronchial (6) aspergilloma. About 50% were asymptomatic. Sixty-three underwent operation. Pulmonary aspergillomas were operated on for therapeutic need in 26 and on principle in 18; the procedures were 28 lobar or segmental resections, 10 thoracoplasties, and 5 pleuropneumonectomies (1 patient had exploration only). Pleural aspergillosis was treated by operation on principle in 5 and for therapeutic need in 8 patients; 10 thoracoplasties, 1 attempt at pleuropneumonectomy, and 2 decortications were performed. All six bronchial lesions were operated on as a rule. Overall postoperative mortality was 9.5%. Major complications were bleeding (n = 37), pleural space problems (n = 24), respiratory failure (n = 6), and postpneumonectomy empyema (n = 4). All patients with pleural disease experienced complications. The outcome was better after lobar or segmental resection than after thoracoplasty (mortality, 6% versus 15%). Asymptomatic and nonsequellary pulmonary or bronchial aspergilloma also had an improved outcome. We conclude that operation is at low risk in pulmonary or bronchial locations in asymptomatic patients and in the absence of sequellae; the risk is high in symptomatic patients for whom operation is the only definite treatment. Pleuropneumonectomy should be avoided. Only symptomatic pleural aspergilloma should be operated on.

Respiratory complications after surgical treatment of esophageal cancer. A study of 309 patients according to the type of resection.

This study analyzes the respiratory complications in a retrospective study of 309 resections for esophageal cancer. We mainly performed two types of resections according to the height of the tumor: the Ivor-Lewis resection for middle thoracic lesions (182 cases), and the Akiyama resection for upper thoracic lesions (127 cases). We compared the respiratory complications occurring after these two procedures. Our overall mortality and morbidity rates were, respectively, 9% and 37%. In our series, the mortality rate was 4 times higher after the Akiyama procedure than after the Ivor-Lewis procedure, and the morbidity was twice as high. Respiratory complications accounted for 64% of the postoperative deaths. The Akiyama procedure yielded more respiratory complications, especially isolated bronchopneumonia and necrosis of the trachea or of the right or left main bronchus. Respiratory complications accounted for 53% of morbidity, mainly recurrent nerve paralysis with false passages and stasis in the transplant. Both are directly related to the surgical act and often result in bronchopneumonia. Rather than the surgical technique or the skill of the surgeon, it seems that local factors, such as the position of the tumor on the esophagus, increased the incidence of recurrent nerve paralysis following the Akiyama procedure. However, the rate of respiratory complications remained high after the Ivor-Lewis procedure. Patient history, which sometimes included a previous ENT cancer, must be taken into account, as well as the gravity of the operation and the duration of the intubation. Frequent false passages and reflux must be fought by intensive physiotherapy and, when necessary, by early tracheotomy before the patient develops postoperative acute respiratory distress syndrome.

Does a thoracoscopic approach for surgical treatment of spontaneous pneumothorax represent progress

OBJECTIVEnSurgical management is indicated in recurrent forms of pneumothorax and for failure of tube drainage. We have for several years performed pleurodesis and apical blebs stapling by axillary thoracotomy. Thoracoscopy has been a well established procedure for 70 years and recently further developed as the result of current technological progress. For 10 years thoracoscopy has been developed as an alternative to thoracotomy in several indications. Spontaneous pneumothorax is ideally suitable for thoracoscopic management. The aim of this retrospective study is to evaluate this new approach.nnnMETHODSnWe compare our results of axillary thoracotomy management of spontaneous pneumothorax in 237 patients (group 1) with those of thoracoscopic management in 101 patients (group 2). Sex distribution, average age, indications and stapling of apical blebs were comparable in both groups.nnnRESULTSnEtiologies were comparable in both groups. The average operation time was 71 min in group 1 and 57 min in group 2. The average duration of chest tube placement was 8 days in group 1 and 6.5 days in group 2. The mean hospital stay was 14 days in group 1 and 9.5 days in group 2. The overall morbidity was 16 and 11% in groups 1 and 2, respectively. The most frequent complication was early or late failure of pleurodesis which required second drainage or a subsequent operation. Late failure occurred more frequently after thoracoscopy (3 vs. 0.4%) but there was no statistically significant difference between the two groups.nnnCONCLUSIONSnThoracoscopic management of spontaneous pneumothorax is a safe procedure. Moreover, it offers the benefits of a shorter hospital stay and less postoperative pain.

Early and long-term results after completion pneumonectomy

From January 1, 1978 to December 31, 1992, 37 patients underwent a completion pneumonectomy after a previous lobectomy (36 men and 1 woman; mean age, 60 years; range, 41 to 77 years). These account for 4.8% of 758 pneumonectomies. The purpose of the present study was to evaluate the operative results of completion pneumonectomy and long-term survival in patients with bronchogenic cancer. The initial lung resection had been performed for primary bronchogenic cancer in 23, metastatic thyroid adenocarcinoma in 1, and benign diseases in 13 (tuberculosis in 11, aspergilloma in 1, and bronchiectasis in 1). Completion pneumonectomy was required for bronchogenic cancer in 32 (15 stage I, 6 stage II, 11 stage III). One patient had relapsing metastatic thyroid carcinoma, 2 had bronchiectasis, and 2 had a venous infarction after lobectomy. Four patients (10.8%) died perioperatively of the following causes: 1 fatal intraoperative bleeding, 1 fatal postoperative bleeding, 1 pneumonia, and 1 malignant hypercalcemia. Median operative blood loss was 1,000 mL, and 19 patients experienced bleeding exceeding 1,000 mL (51%). Six patients had intraoperative vascular injury. Nonfatal surgical complications occurred in 9 patients (24%), including 5 clotted hemothoraces, 3 empyemas, and 1 bronchopleural fistula. Four patients had medical complications (2 pulmonary edemas, 1 sinus tachycardia, and 1 unexplained fever). Twenty-three had an uneventful straightforward recovery (62%).(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Esophagopleural fistula: An early and long-term complication after pneumonectomy

Over a 14-year period, we observed eight cases of esophagopleural fistula after pneumonectomy for cancer (n = 7) or infectious lung disease (n = 1). In 2 patients, the fistula was probably related to an intraoperative esophageal injury. Two others had mediastinal cancer recurrence, whereas a fistula developed in 4 without any malignancy. Patients presented with empyema, and a contrast swallow procedure disclosed an esophagopleural fistula. Two patients with recurrent cancer were managed conservatively with chest tube insertion and died within 3 months. A patient with chronic empyema had a delayed diagnosis of esophagopleural fistula 2 years after a presumed intraoperative injury; he was managed with thoracoplasty and feeding gastrostomy and died 12 months later. Five patients had an attempt at curative treatment. A single patient underwent thoracoplasty and bipolar exclusion of the esophagus and had secondary reconstruction with a coloplasty; he died with postoperative peritonitis. Four patients underwent thoracoplasty and muscle flap repair of the esophagus. There was 1 operative death from pulmonary embolism, whereas 3 patients recovered and are well with follow-up of 18 months, 2 years, and 5 years, respectively. We conclude that the prognosis of esophagopleural fistula is ominous when associated with cancer recurrence. A curative approach should combine direct repair of the esophagus with a muscle flap and eradication of the associated empyema with thoracoplasty. This aggressive treatment is addressed to debilitated patients and carries high rates of mortality and morbidity.

Pulmonary distribution of vinorelbine in patients with non-small-cell lung cancer

Vinorelbine (Navelbine, NVB) is a new semisynthetic vinca alkaloid that is currently used in the treatment of advanced breast cancer and advanced non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC). In this study we investigated the tumoral and healthy pulmonary tissue concentrations of NVB in previously untreated NSCLC patients undergoing surgery. A total of 13 patients (mean age, 60 years; range, 42–70 years) were included and received NVB (20 mg/m2) at 1 h (mean, 1.1 h; SD, 0.2 h;n=6 patients) and 3 h (mean, 3.0 h; SD, 0.6 h;n=7 patients) before tumor resection. A tumoral and adjacent healthy lung-tissue specimen as well as simultaneously sampled serum were analyzed for NVB by high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). NVB levels were much higher in tissue than in serum (up to 300-fold). The tissue/serum ratio increased between the 1-h sampling time (range, 0.1–100) and the 3-h time point (range, 10–300). In all patients but two, NVB concentrations were lower in tumors than in healthy lung tissue. The tumor/healthy tissue ratio ranged from 0.06 to 1.3 (median, 0.09) at 1 h and from 0.18 to 1.1 (median, 0.55) at 3 h. This ratio increased between the 1-h sampling time and the 3-h time point as a consequence of increasing tumor levels (median, 50.4 ng/g at 1 h and 278 ng/g at 3 h). In four patients, concentrations could be measured in necrotic and peripheral tumor zones, showing lower values in necrotic areas. Thus, these data indicate that NVB is highly distributed in lung tissue, with the disposition rate being slower in tumor tissue than in healthy parenchyma during the first 3 h.

Association of bronchial and pharyngo-laryngeal malignancies : A reappraisal

OBJECTIVEnThe purpose of this study was to re-evaluate operative risk and probability for survival patients with a history of upper aerodigestive cancer, who underwent thoracotomy for presumed primary bronchogenic cancer. Our hypothesis was to consider any isolated lung opacity as a primary bronchogenic cancer.nnnMETHODSnThe cohort under investigation included 114 consecutive patients. Histology of bronchial cancer was squamous cell carcinoma in 98 patients (86%), adenocarcinoma in 14 (12%) and large cell carcinoma in 2 (2%). Exploratory thoracotomy was performed in 5 patients (4%); the remaining 109 patients underwent a potentially curative resection, including 25 pneumonectomies (22%) and 84 conservative resections (74%). Pathological staging was as follows: 66 stage I (58%), 20 II (17.5%), 20 IIIa (17.5%), 6 stage IIIb (5%), and 2 stage IV (2%).nnnRESULTSnFour patients died post-operatively (3.5%). Non-fatal morbidity concerned 32 patients (28.1%) and was dominated by respiratory superinfections. Incidence of respiratory infections was increased after voice-sparing resections (chi 2 = 4.311, P < 0.05), and more particularly after transmaxillary buccopharyngectomy (chi 2 = 12.224; P < 0.01). Estimated 5-year survival was 28.7% (33.3% in stage I, 19.2% in stage II, and 30.2% in stage III). There was no difference in survival with reference to the location of head and neck cancer (chi 2 = 3.412; 0.05 < P < 0.1) or chronology (chi 2 = 0.005; P > 0.9).nnnCONCLUSIONSnWe conclude that isolated lung opacities in patients with previous or simultaneous head and neck cancer are most likely primary bronchogenic cancers. The acceptable operative mortality legitimizes surgical treatment despite an impaired 5-year survival; patients with a previous voice-sparing operation are at increased risk for respiratory complications and should be managed carefully.

Are bilobectomies acceptable procedures

BACKGROUNDnControversy about operative morbidity and oncologic value of bilobectomy has led to a review of our experience over the past 12 years.nnnMETHODSnThe charts of 112 patients (100 men and 12 women with a mean age of 63 years) were reviewed for operative mortality and morbidity and long-term survival. Survival of patients with stage I or stage II disease was compared with that of stage-matched and age-matched groups having right pneumonectomy.nnnRESULTSnFour patients (3.5%) died postoperatively. Nonfatal complications occurred in 55 patients (49%); the most frequent problem was pleural space disease (34%). Survival studies focused on the 96 patients with nonsmall cell bronchogenic cancer (44 in stage I, 32 in stage II, and 20 in stage IIIA). The overall 5-year survival rate was 40%; the 5-year survival rate was similar for stage I and stage II (41% for stage I, 50% for stage II, and 17% for stage IIIA). The incidence of local recurrence was significantly increased after bilobectomy for stage I cancer (chi 2 = 5.066; p < 0.05) compared with pneumonectomy but did not affect 5-year survival. Local recurrence and survival were similar after bilobectomy and pneumonectomy in stage II.nnnCONCLUSIONSnThese data demonstrate an increased morbidity after bilobectomy. Survival studies demonstrate an increased risk of local recurrence in patients with stage I disease, which might be partly explained by understaging.

Immunotherapy as an adjuvant to surgery in carcinoma of bronchus. Results in three randomised trials.

The results of non-specific immunotherapy adjuvant to surgery in the treatment of non-small cell lung cancer were studied in three separate randomised clinical trials involving 344 patients. The first study involved 126 patients. In 73, intrapleural BCG was given according to McKneallys technique. They were compared to a control group of 63 patients. In the second trial, levamisole was administered to 43 patients who, in addition to surgery, also had radiotherapy. These were compared with 43 control patients. In the third study, 60 patients underwent surgical operation for limited lesions and in addition received Isoprinosine. These were compared with a control group of 60 patients. All patients in the control groups of the three studies had similar surgical operations to their treated counterpart. The overall results showed no difference between those who received immunotherapy and the control groups of patients and that the use of these agents did not alter either the course of the disease or the incidence of its recurrence.