Tomohisa Yasukawa

Smoking before surgery predicts poor long-term survival in patients with stage I non-small-cell lung carcinomas.

PURPOSE The majority of lung carcinoma patients requiring resection have smoking habits prior to surgical treatment, and the correlation of smoking with postoperative complications is well known. However, few studies have investigated the correlation between long-term survival and cigarette smoking in patients with primary, resected lung carcinoma. We analyzed the relationship between clinical factors, including cigarette smoking before surgery, and 10-year survival in stage I non-small-cell lung carcinoma (NSCLC). PATIENTS AND METHODS Cigarette smoking habit and other factors influencing either the overall survival or the disease-specific survival rates of patients with stage I primary, resected NSCLC were evaluated according to the Cox proportional hazards model using a total of 369 patients with stage I-NSCLC. RESULTS Comparison of the cause of death in patients with 30 or more pack-years and patients with less than 30 pack-years showed significant differences in the prevalence of recurrent disease and onset of nonmalignant disease. Multivariate analysis demonstrated significant correlations between overall survival and age and pack-years. Disease-specific survival showed significant correlations with age, tumor classification, and visceral pleural invasion. CONCLUSION Smoking pack-years is an important clinical prognostic factor in evaluating overall long-term survival in patients with stage I primary, resected NSCLC.

Video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery does not deteriorate postoperative pulmonary gas exchange in spontaneous pneumothorax patients

Objectives: Video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery (VATS) is generally recognized as a less invasive method than thoracotomy. However, the influence of VATS on postoperative pulmonary gas exchange has yet to be evaluated. Methods: Thirty eight patients with spontaneous pneumothorax were randomized into bullectomy by VATS (na 20) or axillary thoracotomy (na 18). Gas exchange was assessed by using hot wire mass spectrometer, and blood gas analysis preoperatively and postoperatively at 1, 3, 6, 12, 24, and 48 h and on days 4 and 6. Post operative pain control was managed by continuous epidural morphine injection and administration of diclofenac sodium orally or suppository. Postoperative atelectasis was assessed by daily chest roentgenograms. Results: VATS patients had continuously higher PaO2 than axillary thoracotomy at 12, 48 h and day 4 postoperatively (P , 0:05). Alveolar-arterial oxygen tension gradient in VATS patients was significantly less than that in patients with axillary thoracotomy from the 6th h throughout to the 4th day postoperatively (P , 0:01). Use of postoperative analgesics and the incidence of peripheral atelectasis were more frequent in patients with axillary thoracotomy. Conclusions: Bullectomy via VATS was less deleterious to pulmonary gas exchange. Axillary thoracotomy caused worsening of gas exchange postoperatively due to incisional pain, chest wall deformity, and peripheral atelectasis. q 1999 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.

Successful resection of a primary liposarcoma in the anterior mediastinum in a child: report of a case.

Abstract Primary liposarcomas of the mediastinum are very rare. We report on a 13-year-old girl who presented with a huge mediastinal tumor. The tumor was extirpated by a median sternotomy with a right thoracotomy. The tumor included the superior vena cava in the anterior mediastinum. It therefore probably originated from the anterior mediastinal fat tissue, possibly from the thymus. A pathological examination revealed myxoid liposarcoma. At 35 months postoperatively, the patient has not shown any recurrence.

Mucoepidermoid carcinoma of the thymus

Mucoepidermoid carcinoma of the thymus is a rare carcinoma and there is little agreement about the treatment of this tumor. According to the analysis of previously reported tumors, biologic behavior of the tumor correlated with the spread of the lesion and degree of differentiation. We report a case of this tumor in a 31-year-old man. Resection of the tumor included the left upper lobe of the lung, the phrenic nerve, pericardium and disseminations in the pleura. The clinicopathological feature of this case was high-stage disease and low-grade histology. Postoperative chemotherapy and radiotherapy were performed, and the patient is alive without recurrence 14 months after surgery.

Evaluation of pulmonary gas exchange after lobectomy and simple thoracotomy.

Postoperative influence of simple thoracotomy and lobectomy on pulmonary gas exchange was investigated in 10 patients undergoing thoracotomy and lobectomy (L group) and 10 patients with simple thoracotomy (ST group). Gas exchange was assessed with hot-wire mass spectrometry and blood gas analyses preoperatively and postoperatively at 1, 3, 6, 12, 24 and 48 h and on days 4, 6 and 13. The preoperative values of alveolar-arterial oxygen tension gradient (AaDO2), ventilation-perfusion mismatch (V(A)/Q) and circulatory shunt (Qs/Qt) were maintained in the ST group. In the L group, however, AaDO2 and Qs/Qt showed good maintenance of gas exchange for only 6-12h after lobectomy and then deteriorated because of peripheral atelectasis, resulting in poorer values than those in the ST group on days 4 and 13. Careful postoperative management, including pulmonary toilet, is essential for maintenance of gas exchange and prevention of pulmonary complications.