[Pulmonary epithelioid haemangioendothelioma: reports of three cases and a review of the literature]. / Hémangioendothéliome épithélioïde pulmonaire: à propos de trois cas et revue de la littérature.

INTRODUCTION: Pulmonary epithelioid haemangioendothelioma (PEH) is a rare vascular tumour of intermediate malignancy that predominantly affects women. CLINICAL CASE REPORTS: We report three cases of PEH. Though all three diagnoses were confirmed by surgical biopsy, it is notable that, in one case, a tracheal biopsy by flexible bronchoscopy was contributory. Two patients had undergone positron emission tomography, which showed the lesions to be well established. The three cases show that the evolution of this pathology can be very varied. In the first case, the disease was multifocal and needed to be treated with several pulmonary resections. In the second case no recurrence has been observed after surgery; in the third case the patient died following a haemothorax. CONCLUSION: The discovery of a PEH is usually fortuitous. The diagnosis is confirmed by immuno-chemical analysis of a lung biopsy. No standard treatment has been validated and no treatment is necessary if the disease is asymptomatic. If there is only one nodule, surgery is the treatment of choice. The prognosis is variable. Usually the evolution is slow except when the disease is complicated by haemoptysis, pleural effusion, haemothorax, mediastinal lymphadenopathy or hepatic spread.

[Traumatic pulmonary pseudocysts. Mechanisms of formation]. / Les pseudokystes pulmonaires traumatiques. Mécanismes de formation.

Pulmonary pseudocysts (PPC) classically relate to chest trauma. It is a rare entity in adults, with multiple differential diagnosis. PPC most often evolve favorably. The clinical diagnosis is difficult to assess due to the poor and non specific clinical data. Chest radiographs are usually unsufficient for the diagnosis and the imaging modality of choice is computed tomography (CT). CT patterns of PPC relate to single or numerous cavities surrounded by air space consolidations. The physiopathological mechanisms of PPC remains uncertain. The histological study of this reported case affords some worth data to highlight the pathogenesis of this acquired abnormality.

[Mediastinal neuroectodermal tumor. Apropos of a case]. / Tumeur neuroectodermique médiastinale. A propos d'un cas.

Peripheral malignant neuroectodermal tumors are rare and aggressive small-cell tumors seen predominantly in children and young adults. Mediastinal location is very uncommon. A mediastinal primitive neuroectodermal tumor was diagnosed in a 27-year-old man. Despite treatment combining surgery, radiotherapy and chemotherapy, disease recurred locally along with lungs, spinal and epidural metastases, leading to death. CT and MRI examinations show heterogeneous masses with necrosis, hemorrhage and intense enhancement after Gadolinium injection. The CT and MRI findings are not specific and the diagnosis is based on pathologic, immunohistochemical and electron microscopic features. Although uncommon, peripheral neuroectodermal tumor should be considered in the differential diagnosis of posterior mediastinal masses in children and young adults.

[Percutaneous parietal pleurectomy using video-endoscopy. Modern treatment of spontaneous recurrent pneumothorax]. / La pleurectomie pariétale percutanée par vidéo-endoscopie. Le traitement moderne du pneumothorax spontané récidivant.

The best prevention of recurrent spontaneous pneumothorax is obtained with a parietal pleurectomy, the recurrence rate being below 0.5%. The sequelae on the muscles and the aesthetic result of a thoracotomy favour a pleurodesis using a closed chest technique. Video-endoscopy enables us to perform 16 percutaneous parietal pleurectomies (PPP) without thoracotomy in 14 patients. 11 cases were idiopathic spontaneous recurrent pneumothoraces and in 3 cases the recurrent pneumothorax occurred in patients suffering from AIDS with progressive pulmonary lesions. PPP was performed under general anaesthetic with selective intubation. The posterior incision of 2-3 cm did not involve any muscular section and the dissection was performed throughout using video-endoscopy which enabled perfect control of haemostasis. PPP achieves a sub-total pleurectomy. The hospital stay was on average for five days. Those operated on did not suffer from immediate post operative pain and shoulder mobility was excellent from the moment at which the patient awoke. The advantages of PPP are: perfect haemostasis and the absence of muscular sequelae or unpleasant aesthetic sequelae. These benefits now make us consider that percutaneous parietal pleurectomy may be the treatment of choice in spontaneous recurrent pneumothoraces.

[Rectal resection with colo-anal anastomosis for ergotamine-induced rectal stenosis]. / Résection rectale avec anastomose colo-anale pour une sténose rectale secondaire à la prise de suppositoires d'ergotamine.

Anorectal ulcers due to ergotamine suppositories are extremely rare. We report the first case of rectal stenosis following regular abuse of ergotamine suppositories which required rectal resection and coloanal anastomosis, despite stopping the intoxication 1 year previously. The rectal eversion during the perineal procedure allowed a low anastomosis to be performed, on the dentate line. One year later, the functional result was considered to be good, demonstrating the place of coloanal anastomosis in benign rectal pathology.