Effectiveness of Surgeon-Performed Paravertebral Block Analgesia for Minimally Invasive Thoracic Surgery: A Randomized Clinical Trial.

Importance: In minimally invasive thoracic surgery, paravertebral block (PVB) using ultrasound (US)-guided technique is an efficient postoperative analgesia. However, it is an operator-dependent process depending on experience and local resources. Because pain-control failure is highly detrimental, surgeons may consider other locoregional analgesic options. Objective: To demonstrate the noninferiority of PVB performed by surgeons under video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery (VATS), hereafter referred to as PVB-VATS, as the experimental group compared with PVB performed by anesthesiologists using US-guided technique (PVB-US) as the control group. Design, Setting, and Participants: In this single-center, noninferiority, patient-blinded, randomized clinical trial conducted from September 8, 2020, to December 8, 2021, patients older than 18 years who were undergoing a scheduled minimally invasive thoracic surgery with lung resection including video-assisted or robotic approaches were included. Exclusion criteria included scheduled open surgery, any antalgic World Health Organization level greater than 2 before surgery, or a medical history of homolateral thoracic surgery. Patients were randomly assigned (1:1) to an intervention group after general anesthesia. They received single-injection PVB before the first incision was made in the control group (PVB-US) or after 1 incision was made under thoracoscopic vision in the experimental group (PVB-VATS). Interventions: PVB-VATS or PVB-US. Main Outcomes and Measures: The primary end point was mean 48-hour post-PVB opioid consumption considering a noninferiority range of less than 7.5 mg of opioid consumption between groups. Secondary outcomes included time of anesthesia, surgery, and operating room occupancy; 48-hour pain visual analog scale score at rest and while coughing; and 30-day postoperative complications. Results: A total of 196 patients were randomly assigned to intervention groups: 98 in the PVB-VATS group (mean [SD] age, 64.6 [9.5] years; 53 female [54.1%]) and 98 in the PVB-US group (mean [SD] age, 65.8 [11.5] years; 62 male [63.3%]). The mean (SD) of 48-hour opioid consumption in the PVB-VATS group (33.9 [19.8] mg; 95% CI, 30.0-37.9 mg) was noninferior to that measured in the PVB-US group (28.5 [18.2] mg; 95% CI, 24.8-32.2 mg; difference: -5.4 mg; 95% CI, -∞ to -0.93; noninferiority Welsh test, P ≤ .001). Pain score at rest and while coughing after surgery, overall time, and postoperative complications did not differ between groups. Conclusions and Relevance: PVB placed by a surgeon during thoracoscopy was noninferior to PVB placed by an anesthesiologist using ultrasonography before incision in terms of opioid consumption during the first 48 hours. Trial Registration: ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT04579276.

Outcomes after pulmonary lobectomy in patients with history of head and neck carcinoma.

BACKGROUND: We aimed to determine whether video assisted thoracic surgery (VATS) was associated with better short-term outcomes compared to open approach and to determine factors affecting long term survival after lobectomy in patients with history of head and neck carcinoma (HNC). METHODS: We performed a retrospective monocentric analysis of consecutive standard lobectomies performed for lung cancer in patients with history of HNC between 2010 and 2017. Patients' characteristics, surgical approach, lung tumor histology, in-hospital and 90-days morbi-mortality and long term survival were analyzed; VATS and open lobectomy groups were compared. RESULTS: Among 85 patients, 52 underwent an open lobectomy and 33 a VATS lobectomy. There was no significant difference between the two groups regarding age, preoperative characteristics, pathology and stage of lung cancer (All p = NS). In the VATS group, there was a significant decrease in proportion of in-hospital postoperative life-threatening complications requiring hospitalization in intensive care unit (12/52 vs. 1/33, p = 0.01). The 90-days postoperative comprehensive complication index was significantly increased in the open thoracotomy group (median (interquartile range):33.5 (0-53.5) vs. 8.7 (0-34.1), p = 0.018). Long term survival was not significantly different between the 2 groups - Log-rank test comparison, p = NS). Patients with squamous cell histology presented a significantly poorer survival (both Log-rank test comparison, p < 0.01). CONCLUSIONS: Minimally invasive approach improved in-hospital and 90-days outcomes compared to open surgery for lung cancer resection in patients with history of HNC. The poor long-term results in patients with squamous cell carcinoma highlight the need to improve therapeutic strategies for this subset of patients.

Superior vena cava prosthetic replacement for non-small cell lung cancer: is it worthwhile?

OBJECTIVES: Direct involvement of the superior vena cava (SVC) by non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) requires en-bloc tumour resection with complete vascular clamping and prosthetic replacement. We report the outcomes of this highly demanding procedure in the largest patient cohort to date. METHODS: We searched our institution's database for patients who underwent complete en-bloc resection of NSCLC invading the SVC followed by prosthetic SVC replacement, between 1980 and 2018. Patients with cN2, cN3 or distant metastases were not eligible. RESULTS: We identified 48 patients (38 males, 10 females; mean age of 57 years; tumour size, 1.9-17 cm). Neoadjuvant therapy was administered to 17 and adjuvant therapy to 31 patients. R0 resection was achieved in 41 (85%) patients; lymph node involvement was pN0 in 8, pN1 in 23, pN2 in 14 and pN3 in 3 patients. Five patients died within 30 days of surgery. Right pneumonectomy was significantly associated with postoperative death (P = 0.02). Postoperative complications developed in 13 other patients. No neurologic events related to SVC clamping occurred. Graft thrombosis developed in 2 patients. Median survival was 24 months; 3-, 5- and 10-year survival rates were 45%, 40% and 35%, respectively; and corresponding disease-free survival rates were 37%, 37% and 30%, respectively. By univariable analysis, only margin-free (R0) resection was associated with better survival (P = 0.02). CONCLUSIONS: In highly selected patients with NSCLC involving the SVC, mortality is acceptable after complete en-bloc resection and prosthetic replacement done in an expert centre. SVC involvement should not preclude consideration of curative resection in selected patients.

Intent-to-cure surgery for small-cell lung cancer in the era of contemporary screening and staging methods.

OBJECTIVES: Our goal was to report on the contemporaneous single-centre experience of patients with small-cell lung cancer (SCLC) who had lung resection with curative intent. METHODS: Between 2005 and 2018, 31 patients were operated on for SCLC with curative intent. There were 11 women and 20 men whose ages averaged 63 ± 10 years. The clinical diagnosis was incidental in 16 patients (51.6%). All patients were screened with high-resolution computed tomography, positron emission tomography and brain imaging. Eight patients (25.8%) had invasive mediastinal lymph node staging. RESULTS: Preoperative tissue diagnosis was unknown or erroneous in 26 patients (83.9%). Lung resections comprised mainly lobectomies (n = 23; 74.2%). Lymphadenectomies harvested a mean of 16.3 ± 3 lymph nodes, leading to upstaging in 38.7% of the cases. An R0 resection was achieved in 28 patients (90.3%). Pathological analysis disclosed pure small cell histological specimens in 24 patients (77.4%). There were no 90-day deaths. Perioperative platinum-based chemotherapy was performed in 27 patients (87.1%); adjuvant thoracic irradiation, in 7 (50%) of the 14 N+ patients; and prophylactic cranial irradiation, in 8 (29.6%) of the 27 potential candidates. Overall, disease-free and disease-specific survival rates at 5 years were 32.9 ± 10%, 35.2 ± 10% and 44.1 ± 11.3%, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: Despite the use of contemporary screening and staging methods, selection of SCLC candidates for surgery remained haphazard, surgery was typically performed in ignorance of the actual histological and adherence to treatment guidelines was inconsistent. Nevertheless, one-third of patients with SCLC who were operated on were cured, even in cases of regional or oligometastatic disease.

A ruptured penetrating atherosclerotic ulcer of the ascending aorta: a case report of an endovascular repair with extending the length of the aortic coverage by debranching the innominate artery.

BACKGROUND: An endovascular approach to the management of a ruptured plaque in the ascending aorta may be an alternative to open surgery in high-risk patients. This option may become inevitable due to the number of elderly patients unfit for open cardiac surgery. There are very few stent grafts able to fit the ascending aorta and in emergency cases, most medical teams have been limited to current thoracic aortic endografts, the shortest of which measure 10 cm. CASE SUMMARY: We report a case of an endovascular repair of a ruptured penetrating atherosclerotic ulcer of the ascending aorta. The patient was considered for open cardiac surgery but was evaluated at a high mortality risk based on his age, his medical history, and significant calcifications on his aorta. Our vascular surgical team decided then to perform an endovascular repair with extending the length of the aortic coverage by debranching the innominate artery. DISCUSSION: Endovascular treatment of an acute ruptured aorta is feasible in high-risk patients with thoracic endovascular stent grafts and coverage of the innominate artery. Endovascular treatment of the ascending aorta is at its infancy and in need of further research. New stent grafts designed for the ascending aorta are in progress and should increase the numbers of interventions in the years to come.