Surgical treatment of pediatric thoracic Ewing tumors.

Background: This study aims to determine the thoracic surgery techniques, surgical indications, the role and effectiveness of surgical treatment in multimodal treatment applied to pediatric Ewing sarcoma patients. Methods: Between A pril 2004 a nd November 2020, a total of 15 pediatric patients ( 9 males, 6 females; mean age: 10.1±4.5 years; range, 3 to 18 years) who were diagnosed with primary thoracic Ewing sarcoma and operated were retrospectively analyzed. Tumor-related factors and treatment modalities for Ewing sarcoma originating from the chest wall and mediastinum were examined. Results: The most common complaint was pain in nine patients. While the tumor originated from the ribs in nine patients, it originated from the soft tissue (n=2), mediastinum (n=2), and extra-thoracic tissue (n=2) in six patients. Complete resection was achieved in 10 patients. While neoadjuvant chemotherapy was applied to eight patients, chemotherapy and radiotherapy was applied to 14 and five patients, respectively. Bone marrow transplantation was performed in one patient. The mean follow-up was 54.2±44.9 months. Recurrence was seen in six patients in a mean duration of 17.8±7.4 months. Conclusion: The most effective treatment for thoracic Ewing sarcoma is complete resection. Multimodal therapy in the form of surgical resection, chemotherapy and/or radiotherapy provides optimal efficacy and the most favorable survival. The follow-up period should be kept short, since recurrences are common.

Effects of amifostine against blunt chest trauma-induced cardiac injury in rats.

BACKGROUND: This study aimed to examine whether two different doses of dexamethasone (DXM), which is a corticosteroid, and amifostine (AMI), which reduces cumulative tissue toxicity induced by cisplatin in advanced-stage cancer patients, have ameliorative effects on pathologic changes associated with cardiac contusion (CC) induced in rats. METHODS: Forty-two Wistar albino rats were equally divided into six groups (n=7): C, CC, CC+AMI 400, CC+AMI 200, CC+AMI+DXM, and CC+DXM. Tomography images and electrocardiographic analyzes were performed, mean arterial pressure was measured from the carotid artery, and blood and tissue samples were obtained for histopathological and biochemical analyses after trauma-induced CC. RESULTS: While the total oxidant status and disulfide parameters in the cardiac tissue and serum were significantly higher (p<0.05), the total antioxidant status, total thiol, and native thiol parameters were significantly lower (p<0.01) in rats with trauma-induced CC. The most frequently observed finding in the electrocardiography analyze was ST elevation. CONCLUSION: According to evaluation based on histological, biochemical, and electrocardiographic examinations, we believe that only 400 mg/kg dose of AMI or DXM can be effective in the treatment of myocardial contusion in rats. Evaluation based on histological findings.

Comparison of Videothoracoscopy and Thoracotomy in Surgical Treatment of Pulmonary Hydatid Cyst Disease.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the outcomes of videothoracoscopic and open surgeries for pulmonary hydatid cysts. STUDY DESIGN: Descriptive study. PLACE AND DURATION OF STUDY: Department of Thoracic Surgery, Faculty of Medicine, Balikesir University, Turkey, between May 2015 and March 2020. METHODOLOGY: Patients who underwent surgery for pulmonary hydatid cysts were evaluated retrospectively, for the age, gender, symptoms, cyst size and localisation, preferred surgery, duration of surgery, the extent of the intraoperative bleeding, duration of the chest drainage, hospitalisation time, and postoperative complications. The relationship between the categorical variables was examined with the Chi-square and Fisher's exact tests and the relationship between the non-parametric data and continuous variables with the Mann-Whitney U-test. RESULTS: A total of 60 patients included in the study; 23 underwent videothoracoscopic surgery and 37 had thoracotomy. There were no statistically significant differences between groups as gender, age, location and size of cyst. The videothoracoscopic surgery has superiority to thoracotomy group in terms of lower duration of operation, less perioperative bleeding (p = 0.005), early chest tube removal and lower hospitalisation time (both p <0.001). But there were no statistical difference between groups in complication rates (p = 0.340). CONCLUSION: Videothoracoscopic removal of pulmonary hydatid cyst is a safe and advantageous procedure comparing to thoracotomy. There is a need for prospective studies with a larger sample size. Key Words: Hydatid cyst, Thoracoscopic surgery, Thoracotomy, VATS.