Kyobu geka. The Japanese journal of thoracic surgery
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The demand for outpatient management of spontaneous pneumothorax (SP) has been increased, therefore we evaluated the effectiveness of Thoracic Egg(TE), a portable thoracic drainage kit for SP. We studied 43 SP patients who had received TE treatment between May 2008 and October 2010. Ages were ranged 12~73 years (mean:29.1), with 39 males, 4 females, 25 had primary, 18 had recurrent, pneumothorax. ⋯ The average length of treatment was 8.4 days for outpatient therapy only cases. Of 25 patients who had primary SP, 18( 72%) were not required hospitalization. Outpatient therapy using TE was considered very useful for SP, especially for primary cases.
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Pneumonia in elderly people is mainly caused by silent aspiration due to an age-related impairment of cough and swallowing reflexes. Because most of the patients with lung cancer are elderly people, we hypothesized that the age-related impairment of these protective reflexes might exist or occur in patients undergoing lung surgery, and cause postoperative pneumonia. We revealed that many elderly patients showed depressed swallowing reflex even before surgery and transient attenuation of cough reflex after surgery, and that postoperative pneumonia occurred only in the patients whose cough and/or swallowing reflex was abnormal postoperatively. ⋯ Postoperative pneumonia occurred in 3 out of 76 subjects(3.9%)in 2013, and 1 out of 83(1.2%) in 2014. In 2013, 1 patient who did not receive preoperative professional oral care developed aspiration pneumonia postoperatively followed by acute exacerbation of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis and in-hospital death. We need to make an effective system to provide preoperative professional oral care by dentists especially for elderly patients and high-risk patients before lung resection.
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The thoracic wall protects the heart, great vessels, lungs, trachea, and bronchus, which are organs important for maintaining respiration/circulation, against external forces. Therefore, injury of the thoracic wall may necessitate emergency treatment. Such injury primarily consists of rib and sternal fractures. ⋯ Such thoracic injury is termed flail chest. Injury of the thoracic wall, such as flail chest, markedly influences the prognosis. Therefore, it is necessary to promptly evaluate the general condition, involving respiratory/circulatory kinetics, confirm the presence or absence of concomitant injury, such as bruises of the lungs/heart, and accurately select therapeutic strategies, including artificial respiration and surgical intervention.
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Three types of congenital diaphragmatic hernias( Bochdalek hernia, Morgagni hernia, and esophageal hiatus hernia) are described with case presentation. In the Bochdalek hernia, the most common type of congenital diaphragmatic hernia, abdominal contents pass into the thorac bia diaphragmatic defect, limiting the space available for the developing lungs. Resulting lung hypoplasia, many infants experience severe respiratory distress within minutes of birth and may require resuscitation and stabilization of cardio-pulmonary function prior to surgery. ⋯ Esophageal hiatal hernias usually produce symptoms of gastroesophageal reflux( GERD) and rarely result in incarceration of stomach or other organs. Surgical interventions for GERD, such as Nissen fundoplication, usually target neurologically impaired children in order to prevent aspiration pneumonia and improve quality of life. Laparoscopic surgery is beneficial for all types of diaphragmatic hernia, especially in older children, but careful consideration should be made based on individual patient background.
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A 59-year-old male was admitted to our hospital with an abnormal shadow on a chest X-ray. Right pneumonectomy and lymph node dissection (ND2a) were performed. A pathological examination revealed adenocarcinoma( pT3N2M0). ⋯ His performance status declined slightly, but he had no problems associated with the activities of daily life. The patient is currently alive 6 months after the 2nd operation without any sign of recurrence. ECMO is a useful technique for thoracic surgery after pneumonectomy.