Annals of thoracic and cardiovascular surgery : official journal of the Association of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgeons of Asia
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Ann Thorac Cardiovasc Surg · Jan 2011
ReviewThoracic endovascular aortic repair--indications and evidence.
Since its introduction more than a decade ago, thoracic endovascular aortic repair (TEVAR) has shown promising results for patients with various thoracic aortic diseases. The aim of the current review is to assess the current literature to evaluate the safety and efficacy of TEVAR. ⋯ Despite numerous encouraging results from a large number of publications in recent years, there remains a lack of level 1 evidence to support an improvement of long-term overall survival for patients who underwent TEVAR when compared with traditional treatment modalities. There appears to be an urgent need to conduct well-designed randomized-controlled trials in this rapidly expanding intervention.
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Ann Thorac Cardiovasc Surg · Jan 2011
Surgery offers high cure rates in multidrug-resistant tuberculosis.
Drug resistance has become a major problem in the treatment of tuberculosis, and pulmonary resection in combination with chemotherapy appears to be an effective measure for the treatment. The purpose of this study was to investigate the results of resection for multidrug-resistant pulmonary tuberculosis (MDR-TB). ⋯ Even with high morbidity in the early post-operative period, surgery, in addition to medical therapy, offers higher cure rates than only medical therapy; however, meticulous preoperative evaluation of patients is needed.
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Ann Thorac Cardiovasc Surg · Jan 2011
Case ReportsTwo lung adenocarcinomas in the same lobe: multiple primaries or intrapulmonary metastasis?
Abnormal nodules were found in the left lung of a 52-year-old woman in segments 6 and 10 on a chest CT. These nodules showed no changes for 18 months, and we discontinued follow-up. Almost 5 years later, an abnormal shadow was found in her left lower lung field on a medical check-up chest X-ray. ⋯ Epidermal growth factor receptor gene mutations were examined, and the 2 lesions shared an L858R mutation. Although we expected EGFR gene mutation analysis would help us distinguish the 2 lesions from each other, it was of little help. Disease history can be more important in evaluating multiple pulmonary cancers.
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Ann Thorac Cardiovasc Surg · Jan 2011
Case ReportsPleomorphic adenoma of the subglottis mistreated as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, report of a case.
Upper airway obstruction due to subglottic mass can be misdiagnosed. We report the case of a 66-year-old man who was treated for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) before a diagnosis of pleomorphic adenoma of the subglottis was made. According to the history of chronic cough and exertional dyspnea, he was treated with inhaled corticosteroids for COPD. ⋯ After the excision operation, all symptoms disappeared. Histological evaluation revealed the diagnosis of pleomorphic adenoma. This case report emphasizes that not all chronic cough and dyspnea are attributable to COPD.