European journal of cardio-thoracic surgery : official journal of the European Association for Cardio-thoracic Surgery
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Eur J Cardiothorac Surg · Jun 2016
Comparative StudyLong-term survival following open versus thoracoscopic lobectomy after preoperative chemotherapy for non-small cell lung cancer.
Video-assisted thoracoscopic (VATS) lobectomy is increasingly accepted for the management of early-stage non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), but its role for locally advanced cancers has not been as well characterized. We compared outcomes of patients who received induction therapy followed by lobectomy, via VATS or thoracotomy. ⋯ VATS lobectomy in patients treated with induction therapy for locally advanced NSCLC is feasible and effective and does not appear to compromise oncologic outcomes.
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Eur J Cardiothorac Surg · Jun 2016
Stentless bioprostheses: a versatile and durable solution in extensive aortic valve endocarditis.
Infective endocarditis of the aortic valve with local aortic root destruction requires radical resection of infected tissues and subsequent reconstruction of periannular structures and the left ventricular outflow tract (LVOT). Homografts or stentless bioprostheses are recommended for use in this specific patient group. The Freestyle stentless bioprosthesis is a porcine aortic root prosthesis, which approaches the surgical versatility of the homograft, but has the advantage of ready availability and uniform quality. We assessed clinical and echocardiographic outcome following the use of this prosthesis in extensive aortic valve endocarditis. ⋯ The Freestyle stentless bioprosthesis is a valuable option to reconstruct the LVOT after debridement in extensive aortic valve endocarditis. It is readily available with a versatility and clinical outcome comparable with that of homografts. Although early mortality remains considerable in this high-risk group of patients, late survival is good with low rates of recurrence of endocarditis, immediate local control and good haemodynamic performance on echocardiography.
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Eur J Cardiothorac Surg · Jun 2016
Comparative StudyAnastomotic leak and stricture after hand-sewn versus linear-stapled intrathoracic oesophagogastric anastomosis: single-centre analysis of 415 oesophagectomies.
There seems to be a decreased anastomotic leak rate and a late stricture formation after linear-stapled (LS) cervical oesophagogastric anastomosis compared with hand-sewn (HS) technique. The aim of our study was to compare the surgical outcomes of intrathoracic side-to-side LS and end-to-end HS anastomosis after transthoracic oesophagectomy. ⋯ Our non-randomized study showed that side-to-side LS technique is the preferred method of intrathoracic oesophagogastric anastomosis due to a decreased overall anastomotic leak rate and anastomotic stricture formation compared with HS technique.
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Eur J Cardiothorac Surg · Jun 2016
Impact of patient selection and treatment strategies on outcomes after lobectomy for biopsy-proven stage IIIA pN2 non-small cell lung cancer.
We evaluated the impact of patient selection and treatment strategies on long-term outcomes of patients who had lobectomy after induction therapy for stage IIIA pN2 non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). ⋯ For patients with stage IIIA pN2 NSCLC, the VATS approach or the addition of radiation to induction therapy can be selectively employed without compromising survival. The strategy of assessing response to induction therapy with pathologic mediastinal restaging allows one to select appropriate patients for complete resection and is associated with a 5-year overall survival of 39% in this population.