Total Arch Replacement with Stented Elephant Trunk in DeBakey Type I Acute Aortic Dissection

A 67-year-old female patient was treated with conventional total arch replacement and insertion of a stented elephant trunk (SET) graft into the descending thoracic aorta for acute DeBakey type I aortic dissection at one time. She had been treated with right coronary artery stent insertion for acute myocardial infarct 4 days earlier, and at that time, she was diagnosed with acute DeBakey type I aortic dissection from the ascending aorta to the suprarenal artery based on trans-esophageal echocardiography and aorta computed tomography. Through a median sternotomy, we inserted the SET graft through the opened aorta to the descending aorta. We also performed anastomosis between the proximal stented graft and the distal aortic arch, and then performed total arch replacement. For acute DeBakey type I aortic dissection, we report total arch replacement with insertion of a SET graft as a combination of conventional surgery and the interventional technique.

Pneumothorax due to Metastasis of Angiosarcoma to the Lung / 대한흉부외과학회지

An 80 year-old male with a medical history of angiosarcoma of the scalp visited the Emergency Department complaining of dyspnea, and the chest X-ray revealed pneumothorax. He has undergone scalp resection and radiotherapy three years ago due to angiosarcoma. Due to a persistent air leak, he underwent wedge resection of the lung and was pathologically diagnosed with metastatic angiosarcoma to the lung. He underwent radiotherapy following the lung resection, but he died from his disease at 15 month following surgery due to further aggravation of the lung metastasis. Angiosarcoma is a highly malignant tumor and it frequently occurs on the scalp and face in elderly patients. Angiosarcoma frequently metastasizes to the lung and it may cause pneumothorax as a consequence of a ruptured cavitary lesion. We report here on a case of pneumothorax that was caused by lung metastasis in an elderly patient with a history of angiosarcoma of the scalp.

Clinical Features and Treatment of Cervical Tuberculous Lymphadenitis / 대한흉부외과학회지

BACKGROUND: Cervical tuberculous lymphadenitis is the most common form of peripheral tuberculous lymphadenitis. The American Thoracic Society recommends 6 months of isoniazid, rifampin, ethambutol and pyrazinamide for treatment of peripheral tuberculous lymphadenitis, but even with this recommended treatment, frequent relapse occurs in actual clinical situations. MATERIAL AND METHOD: The medical records of 38 patients diagnosed and treated for cervical tuberculous lymphadenitis between February 1997 and February 2007 were retrospectively reviewed. RESULT: The study included 14 males (36.8%) and 24 females (63.2%), with a mean age of 36.9+/-16.3 years. The most frequent symptom was palpable neck mass in 24 patients (63.2%); 10 patients (26.3%) complained of fever or chills. Only nine patients (23.7%) had radiologic abnormalities. All patients received anti-tuberculous medications for at least 7 months, with isoniazid, rifampin, ethambutol and pyrazinamide for the first 2 months, and then isoniazid, rifampin and ethambutol given for more than 5 months. Relapse occurred in 7 patients (21.2%). CONCLUSION: Since many patients with cervical tuberculous lymphadenitis have no symptoms and show no radiologic abnormalities, diagnosis and treatment tend to be delayed. Considering the high relapse rate, the anti-tuberculous medication period should be longer than 6 months and this is recommended by the American Thoracic Society.

Hand-assisted Laparoscopic Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm Repair Through a 6 cm Incision / 대한흉부외과학회지

We performed hand-assisted laparoscopic surgery for a 67-year-old male with a 5.6 cm sized abdominal aortic aneurysm. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report in Korea. After an initial hand dissection of the abdominal aorta under laparoscopy, we performed proximal anastomosis and distal abdominal aorta suture ligation through a 6 cm abdominal incision. Distal anastomosis was done at the bilateral common femoral arteries. He resumed his oral intake 6 hours after the surgery and discharged at the 4th postoperative day.