Management of oesophageal anastomosis dehiscence after oesophagectomy for oesophageal cancer.

Oesophagectomy is being used in treatment of several oesophageal diseases, most commonly in treatment of oesophageal cancer. It is a major surgical procedure that may result in various complications. One of the most severe complications is anastomotic dehiscence between the gastric conduit and the oesophageal remnant. Anastomotic dehiscence after esophagectomy is directly linked to high morbidity and mortality. We propose a therapeutic algorithm of this complication based on published literature and our experience by retrospective evaluationof 164 patients who underwent oesophagectomy for oesophageal cancer. Anastomotic dehiscence was present in 29 cases.

“Maximal” minimally invasive thymectomy in patients with Nonthymomatous Myasthenia Gravis - short-term results over a 10year period - retrospective study.

INTRODUCTION: Thymectomy has always been considered an important treatment modality for patients with Myasthenia Gravis (MG). Because of the absence of randomized trials, its exact role was not clear and was even questioned by some. Indications for surgery were made on empirical basis. It was not until the results of the first randomized double- blinded multicentric study were published, where the combined surgical treatment of patients with nonthymomatous MG was proved superior to conservative treatment alone. In this study the technique of extensive thymectomy via longitudinal sternotomy was used as a mainstay of surgical treatment. In the advent of minimally invasive techniques a variety of options were presented for minimally invasive surgical treatment of thymic pathology. METHODS: The authors present a retrospective analysis of short term results using the slightly modified method of “Minimally Invasive Maximal Thymectomy” developed by Zielinski over a 10 year period (20082018). Besides the demographics, we assessed the peri- and postoperative results such as the length of surgery, blood loss, the need for conversion, learning curve impact, the lengths of drainage and hospital stay and the complication rate, both surgical and systemic. RESULTS: 48 patients underwent surgery using the above mentioned method for non-thymomatous MG. 81.25% (n=39) of patients were diagnosed with a seropositive generalized form of MG, 6 (12.5%) had seropositive ocular form and 3 patients (6.25%) had seronegative form of the disease. The sex ratio profoundly favored females (89.5%; n=43). The median value of the length of surgery was 186,5 minutes, the mean LOS and length of drainage were 4 and 3 days, respectively. CONCLUSION: According to our results and experience with Minimally Invasive Maximal Thymectomy, we found it to be an effective and safe method for MG patients after conquering the learning curve.

Complicated case of patient with cervical necrotising fasciitis and descending necrotizing mediastinitis case report.

Descending necrotizing mediastinitis is a severe, fulminant, life-threatening bacterial infection of the mediastinum. Even though improvements in diagnostics and treatment were achieved, the mortality rate remain shigh. Contrast-enhanced CT of chest and neck is the diagnostic gold standard. Radical debridement and drainage of the mediastinum should be considered the primary therapeutic target. The authors present a complicated case of a female patient with cervical necrotizing fasciitis and descending necrotizing mediastinitis. She was initially treated for a deep neck infection at the department of otorhinolaryngology. Surgical treatment, antibiotics, and intensive care became an integral part of the therapy after the transfer to the department of thoracic surgery. The authors had to face various complications with tracheostomy and extensively debrided soft tissues in the neck region. That is why the patient underwent repeated surgeries during several hospital stays, with an overall duration of treatment reaching 220 days.

Unexpected finding of an ablation catheter during thoracoscopic exploration for a spontaneous hemothorax - case report.

Varicose veins of lower extremities represent a common medical condition with minimally invasive percutaneous endovenous ablation techniques as a treatment of choice. A very rare complication is a catheter migration in the deep venous system. In the literature only 7 cases have been published so far, with only 2 cases with migration to the systemic circulation and heart involvement. In this paper we present an interesting case report from the perspective of a thoracic surgeon with the finding of a laser ablation catheter remnant in the left pleural cavity during thoracoscopic exploration for a spontaneous hemothorax in a 47-year old male patient after collapse. A similar complication affecting the pleural cavity has not been published before. In this paper we discuss possible routes of the cathether migration into the left pleural cavity, impending complications when a part of the catheter is left behind in the body and the means of prevention of these serious potentially fatal complications even after many years following the initial treatment.

[Ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS) and biopsy of the sentinel lymph node]. / DCIS a biopsia sentinelovej uzliny.

INTRODUCTION: Ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS) is the disease with increasing incidence. Nowadays, approximately 80% DCIS are diagnosed via mammography and represent more than 20% of all types of breast cancer. The acceptance of surgical procedures with this type of breast carcinoma is controversial as primary diagnosis of non-invasive carcinoma is often underestimated and in the end, histopathological examination reveals invasive carcinoma with biological potential to metastasize. In cases of "risk" patient groups with DCIS, several studies report lymph node metastases. The aim of the study has been to assess the incidence of sentinel lymph node metastatic involvement in high-risk patient group with DCIS and in ductal carcinoma in situ with microinvasion (DCISMI), to note the incidence of invasive carcinoma in definitive histopathology in patients with pre-operative diagnosis of DCIS and to analyze some predictors of invasivity. STUDY TYPE AND PATIENT GROUP: In retrospective analysis, we evaluated the setting of 119 patients who have been operated on at our Clinic from January, 1st 2008 until December, 31th 2010 for the diagnosis of DCIS. Prospectively, we have created the setting of 44 patients with high-risk DCIS with sentinel lymph node biopsy (SLNB) performed. METHODS AND RESULTS. Metastatic involvement of sentinel lymph node in high-risk DCIS has been found in 4 cases (9.0%)--in 1 patient (2.2%) with correct diagnosis of DCIS and in 3 patients (6.8%) with invasive carcinoma according to final histopathology. In the patient with DCIS, a micrometastasis of 0.4 mm was found in one sentinel lymph node. After complete axillary dissection, non-sentinel axillary lymph nodes metastatic involvement was not demonstrated (14/0). In 6 cases (5.0%), we identified DCISMI and did not find metastasis in sentinel lymph node. In the high-risk DCIS group, in 4 patients (9.0%) DCISMI and in 12 patients (27.2%) invasive carcinoma was found after definitive histopathologic examination. In this group, the overall ratio of invasive lesions was 36.2%. As for predictors of invasivity, high-grade carcinoma (OR 4.2; 95% CI 1,40-12,58) has more than 4-fold higher influence and lesion size