A Case of Metachronous Metastasis to the Breast from Non-Small Cell Lung Carcinoma / Journal of the Korean Cancer Association, 대한암학회지

Breast metastases from an extramammary primary tumor are very rare and the prognosis for such patients is generally poor. We report here on a case of a 42-year-old female with metastasis of non-small cell lung cancer to the breast, and she is now being followed up on an outpatient basis. In 2004, she presented with a solitary pulmonary nodule in the left lung, and this lesion had been noted to have gradually increased in size over time. The final pathological diagnosis was adenocarcinoma, and the diagnosis was made by performing percutaneous needle aspiration and lobectomy of the left upper lobe. Adjuvant chemotherapy and radiotherapy were given. Unfortunately, a nodule in the left breast was noted three years later, and metastatic non-small-cell lung cancer to the breast was diagnosed by excisional biopsy. Making the correct diagnosis to distinguish a primary breast carcinoma from a metastatic one is important, because the therapeutic plan and outcome for these two types of cancer are quite different.

Priamry Pulmonary Meningioma: A Case Reprot / 대한흉부외과학회지

Primary pulmonary meningioma is an extremely rare disease. It is mostly benign and asymptomatic. This tumor shows the same cytohigstologic appearance as brain or spinal cord meninioma. It can be diagnosed as a primary pulmonary meningioma only if there is no evidence of metastasis from the brain or spinal cord meningioma. We experienced a case of primary pulmonary meningioma in a 60-year-old woman who had asymptomatic 2 cm-sized solitary pulmonary tumor in the right lower lobe. It is rather peripherally located. Fine needle aspiration cytology has suggested the possibility of either well-differentiated epithelial malignancy such as papillary adenocarcinoma or mucoepidermoid carcinoma or metastatic carcinoma such as from ductal carcinoma of the breast. Right lower lobectomy was performed. The tumor was bilobated and soild with yellowish color. pathologically it proved to be a primary pulmonary and solid with yellowish color. Pathologically it proved to be a primary pulmonary meningioma because there was no evidance of brain or spinal cord tumor. To the best of our knowledge this is the first case reported in Korea. We report this case with review of the literature.

Aprotinin Therapy for Cardiac Operation in Adult -Full dose regimen / 대한흉부외과학회지

BACKGROUND: Recently, many cardiac centers have been using aprotinin to reduce operative bleeding in cardiac operations using cardiopulmonary bypass. A variety of reports have confirmed the effectiveness of the drug in cardiac operations. In addition to the operations which could be considered to cause severe operative bleeding such as redo operation, long cardiopulmonary bypass operation and etc, the use of aprotinin is increasing in the field of primary cardiac operations. Varying doses of regimen have been introduced since the first report by Royston et al, and also various opinions on the effectiveness and safeness of the each regimen have been reported. We reviewed our own experience of the full dose aprotinin regimen(Hammersmith regimen) retrospectively. MATERIAL AND METHOD: From October 1994 to February 1998, 40 cases of cardiac operative patients were randomized into two groups: aprotinin group(20 patients) which received a full dose aprotinin regimen and control group(20 patients) which did not receive aprotinin. To evaluate the degree of bleeding decrease, we analysed and compared the amount of postoperative 6 hours and 24 hours bleeding in the each group. To confirm the renal dysfunction, we measured the postoperative creatinine level. RESULT: In the amount of postoperative 6 hours bleeding, a statistically significant bleeding decrease was demonstrated in the aprotinin group compared to the control group(aprotinin group: 186+/-40cc, control group:409+/-69cc, P=0.010). Similar result was observed in the postoperative 24 hours(aprotinin group:317+/-53cc, control group: 671+/-133cc, P=0.024). CONCLUSION: We concluded that full dose regimen of aprotinin can remarkably reduce postoperative bleeding in cardiac operations without significant renal dysfunctions.

Surgical Management of Malignant Mesenchymoma of the Lung in an Adult: A Case Report / 대한흉부외과학회지

Malignant mesenchymoma is a very rare tumor presented during the embryonic and infant period and malignant mesenchymoma in the adult is extremely rare. Tumor is composed of two or more unrelated mesenchymal derivatives apart from fibrous tissue. These tumors are thought to be originated from embryonic mesenchyme capable of differentiating into any type of connective tissue. A 61 years old man with complaints of cough and copious sputum of onset of two months was admitted after initial examinations, showing a very huge mass over the right upper lobe. Right pneumonectomy with partial rib resection of 3rd, 4th, and 5th ribs was performed due to the initial diagnostic impression of squamous cell carcinoma by the fine needle aspiration biopsy. The operative field presented a mass locating across the interlobal fissure with severe adhesions to the chest wall. Postoperatively, the patient received 5,000 rads of radiotherapy and presently, 6 months later, has shown no signs of recurrence.

Primary Sternal Tuberculosis with Spontaneous Fracture Treated by Resection and Reconstruction: A Case Report / 대한흉부외과학회지

We experienced a case of primary sternal tuberculosis with destroyed midsternum and bony defect. An 22-year-old female was admitted to our hospital two times for severe sternal pain and spontaneous fracture without history of trauma. On hospital admission, chest X-ray and chest CT showed destruction of midsternum and soft tissue swelling. Fine needle aspiration cytology revealed tuberculous osteomyelitis with cold abscess. And the patient was treated with usual anti-tubeculosis medication for preoperative preparation. At operation, we confirmed midsternal destruction with cold abscess and multiple sinus tracts. After removal of diseased sternal segment and cold abscess, we performed sternal reconstruction with autologus iliac bone graft. The pathologic report was compatible with tuberculous osteomyelitis and caseous necrosis.

The Management of Spontaneous Pneumothorax: Clinical Review in 451 Cases / 대한흉부외과학회지

From March 1985 to June 1997, 451 patients of spontaneous pneumothorax treated at Kangbuk Samsung Hospital were reviewed retrospectively. Most of the patients were male (male to female ratio, 8.2:1). The mean age of the primary spontaneous pneumothorax (PSP) was 26.8 years, and that of secondary spontaneous pneumothorax (SSP) was 53.1 years. 330 out of 451 patients (73%) were PSP. The causes of the SSP were mostly pulmonary tuberculosis and COPD: 87 patients (72%), and 24 patients (19.2%), respectively. All the patient were treated by one of the following modalities: 1)rest and oxygen therapy in 42 patients, 2) closed thoracostomy in 208 patients, 3) thoracotomy in 156 patients, 4) VATS bullectomy in 45 patients. The mean duration of postoperative chest tube drainage was as following: thoracotomy 8.3 days, VATS bullectomy 4.7 days. For recent 3 consecutive years, VATS bullectomy has become the more frequently applied operative procedure than thoracotomy in the treatment of surgically indicated PSP, from 33% in 1994 to 78% in 1996. With the minimally invasive thoracoscopic surgery being more prevalent, VATS bullectomy will be able to be the 1st choice of treatment not only for the recurrent pneumothoracies but also for the some selected cases of the 1st episode pneumothoracies. To verify this approach as clinically acceptable one in terms of cost-effectiveness, recurrence rate, etc, a large scale of multi-institutional clinical study will be needed in a sooner time.