Tuberculous lymphadenopathy of superior mediastinum causing vocal cord paralysis.

Vocal cord paralysis because of involvement of recurrent laryngeal nerve by benign and acute inflammatory lymphadenopathy is a rare condition. Presented here is a case of tuberculous lymphadenopathy of superior mediastinum causing left recurrent laryngeal nerve paralysis, which was successfully treated by antituberculosis treatment, with complete recovery of vocal cord function.

Current surgical therapy for bronchiectasis.

The ideal classification system for bronchiectasis continues to be debated. As an alternative to the present morphologic classification, a hemodynamic-based functional classification is proposed. This study examines the rationale for and outcome of surgery based on this classification in patients with unilateral or bilateral bronchiectasis. Between July 1987 and January 1997 the morphologic and hemodynamic features in 85 bronchiectatic patients were examined: 18 with bilateral bronchiectasis and 67 with unilateral disease. A policy of unilateral lung resection of the nonperfused bronchiectasis and preservation of the perfused type was adopted in all patients. The mean age at operation was 29.4 +/- 9.7 years (range 6-55 years) with a mean follow-up period of 45.2 +/- 21.0 months (range 2-120 months). Left-sided predominance of bronchiectasis was evident in this series both in frequency and severity. In those with unilateral disease, bronchiectasis was left-sided in 49 (73.1%) patients and right-sided in 18 (26.9%). The left lung was totally bronchiectatic in 11 (16.4%) patients and the right in 3 (4.4%). Moreover, among the patients with bilateral bronchiectasis, 14 of 18 (77.7%) patients had the left lung more severely involved. Based on the morphologic and hemodynamic features in the investigated patients, two types of bronchiectasis were recognized: a perfused type with intact pulmonary artery flow and a nonperfused type with absent pulmonary artery flow. Lobectomy was performed in 55 patients, basal segmentectomy and preservation of the apical segment in 16, and pneumonectomy in 14. There was no mortality in this series. Altogether 63 patients (74.1%) achieved excellent results, 19 (22.4%) scored good results, and 3 (3.5%) patients had not benefited from surgery at last follow-up. In the face of the general criticism of the traditional morphologic classification, the proposed classification not only predicts whether the involved lung will have a measure of respiratory function with regard to gas exchange but reflects the degree of severity of the disease process. Thus the question of which side to resect and which to preserve is defined more precisely. This classification was found to be logical, physiologically sound, and of proven benefit.

Surgery for postintubation tracheal and tracheosubglottic stenotic lesions.

Postintubation tracheal stenosis is a recognized problem. Although its incidence has recently decreases, it is still a difficult complication to treat. We have reviewed our experience with 10 patients with tracheal stenosis over the last five years between 1990 and 1995. There were seven male and three female patients with an average age of 14.2 +/- 4 years (range 6 to 48 years). Resection and reconstruction with primary anastomosis was performed in seven patients, while conservative treatment with dilatation was performed in two patients. One patient refused surgery. Operations performed included resection of tracheocricoid segment with tracheothyroid anastomosis (N=3) and tracheal resection with end-to-end anastomosis (N=4). The resected airway segment ranged from 3 cm to 6 cm. In view of the intense inflammatory and fibrotic process in and around the stenotic segment, the practice of tracheostomy for the relief of postintubation acute tracheal obstruction should not be taken lightly, as it adds not only to the severity of the inflammatory process, but also increases the length of the tracheal segment to be resected. Postoperatively, all patients were extubated; this was accomplished by the end of surgery in six patients, while the seventh patient was extubated three weeks later. There was no mortality in this series. When normal functional activity and airway patency were taken as two parameters to judge the outcome of surgery, results were good in six (86%) patients and satisfactory in one. These results support the validity of one-stage reconstruction approach as one alternative for the treatment of postintubation tracheal and tracheosubglottic stenotic lesions.