Bailed out by TEVAR in a horrendous bleeding aortic arch cannulation site.

BACKGROUND: Thoracic Endovascular Aortic Repair [TEVAR] is used as a gold standard treatment for aortic disease such as Type B dissection, proximal descending thoracic aortic disruption and descending thoracic aortic fistulas. There was never a report, before this one, of TEVAR utilization for uncontrolled bleeding on the aortic arch cannulation site. CASE PRESENTATION: This case report is of a 72-year-old female patient who presented to our facility with a day history of anterior sharp pain and dyspnea. Clinical examination revealed a frail patient in distress with tachycardia, tachypnea and elevated blood pressure. The patient had an early diastolic murmur of aortic valve insufficiency. Blood investigations were all normal. Radiological investigations (chest X-ray and Computed Tomography scan) showed prominent ascending aorta, widening mediastinum and dissection affecting the ascending aorta and the root. The patient was optimized in ICU and underwent composite ascending aortic replacement with a stentless composite valve and Dacron graft. The aortic arch cannula site bled uncontrollably and was controlled with a TEVAR stent bypass, as a staged hybrid procedure. DISCUSSION: The patient had a bovine arch type B configuration, which ensured that the left common carotid artery was not occluded, when deploying the TEVAR stent. However, due to inadequate landing zone three, the left subclavian artery was over-stented and further intentionally occluded with an endovascular occluder to prevent steal phenomenon. CONCLUSION: TEVAR was a real bailout procedure in such situation. Its indication, as in this case report was never reported before; hence, it was an interesting case to write-on.

Comparison of outcomes between primary and secondary lung decortication.

BACKGROUND: With the view to compare the outcomes between primary and secondary lung decortication, we examined all the patients admitted with empyema thoracis in our unit. The primary decortication was defined as a primary procedure, without prior attempt of pleural space evacuation with either chest tube or previous decortication. Secondary decortication was defined as a failed lung re-expansion after initial pleural space drainage or failed primary decortication. Anecdotally, secondary decortication is associated with increased complications and length of hospital stay. From literature search, there is currently no study that directly compared outcomes of these two procedures; hence, the rationale to conduct this study. METHODS: All patients presented to our unit with empyema thoracis from 1st January 2011-31st December 2014, were included in a retrospective quantitative descriptive study. A total number of 160 patients were analyzed and eighty patients underwent each of the procedures (primary and secondary decortication). A comparison of prospective outcomes of the two groups was made. Fisher Exact test was used to compare percentages including the rates of complications between primary and secondary decortication. Mean values were compared using the t-test. The frequencies of other variables were also determined. RESULTS: There was significant statistical difference in the length of hospital stay (ICU and Ward) and between patients who underwent primary as opposed to secondary decortication. The frequencies of complications (chest wall abscess, recurrent empyema, wound sepsis and wound dehiscence) were higher for secondary decortication, but without statistical significance. There was significant statistical difference in terms of age, CD4 count (only for HIV patients) and Adenosine deaminase (ADA) between patients who underwent primary instead of secondary decortication. CONCLUSIONS: The patient who underwent secondary lung decortication had a more prolonged hospital stay than those who had primary decortication. There were increased frequencies of complication in secondary decortication group, though without statistical significant difference (P=0.456). The patients who underwent secondary decortication had poor nutritional state compared to those who had primary decortication, with significant statistical difference (P=0.0370).

A rare giant extraocular, anterior chest wall sebaceous carcinoma.

BACKGROUND: Sebaceous carcinoma (SC) is a rare aggressive cutaneous malignant tumour. It accounts for less than 1 % of all cutaneous malignant tumours. Sebaceous carcinomas are divided into ocular and extraocular constituting 75 % and 25 % respectively. The most common extraocular site is parotid gland. Chest wall is a rare site of this tumour. CASE PRESENTATION: In line with SCARE criteria (Agha et al., 2018 [1]), this report is a case of a 45-year-old African male patient who presented with a two-year history of a large right anterior chest wall tumour. He reported that the tumour started as a small lump, which grew gradually over a two-year period. The patient reported no history of visceral malignancy and radiation exposure. However, his risk factors were age and immunosuppression in the form of Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV). The tumour was initially diagnosed as sebaceous adenocarcinoma by incisional biopsy before the patient had been referred to the treating team a year before. Excision of the tumour with wide margins was undertaken, and histology results confirmed sebaceous carcinoma. DISCUSSION: Sebaceous carcinoma is a rare and aggressive adnexal tumour. It is categorized as ocular and extraocular. Of these two, the more common is extraocular. The chest wall is a rare site for this tumour. The definitive diagnosis of this kind of tumour is done by tissue biopsy. In dealing with this tumour, surgical excision with wide margins is the standard treatment. CONCLUSION: Sebaceous carcinoma is a rare aggressive malignant tumour originating from sebaceous gland. Early diagnosis and wide excision with negative margins improves survival.

Global Unmet Needs in Cardiac Surgery.

More than 6 billion people live outside industrialized countries and have insufficient access to cardiac surgery. Given the recently confirmed high prevailing mortality for rheumatic heart disease in many of these countries together with increasing numbers of patients needing interventions for lifestyle diseases due to an accelerating epidemiological transition, a significant need for cardiac surgery could be assumed. Yet, need estimates were largely based on extrapolated screening studies while true service levels remained unknown. A multi-author effort representing 16 high-, middle-, and low-income countries was undertaken to narrow the need assessment for cardiac surgery including rheumatic and lifestyle cardiac diseases as well as congenital heart disease on the basis of existing data deduction. Actual levels of cardiac surgery were determined in each of these countries on the basis of questionnaires, national databases, or annual reports of national societies. Need estimates range from 200 operations per million in low-income countries that are nonendemic for rheumatic heart disease to >1,000 operations per million in high-income countries representing the end of the epidemiological transition. Actually provided levels of cardiac surgery range from 0.5 per million in the assessed low- and lower-middle income countries (average 107 ± 113 per million; representing a population of 1.6 billion) to 500 in the upper-middle-income countries (average 270 ± 163 per million representing a population of 1.9 billion). By combining need estimates with the assessment of de facto provided levels of cardiac surgery, it emerged that a significant degree of underdelivery of often lifesaving open heart surgery does not only prevail in low-income countries but is also disturbingly high in middle-income countries.

Pleuropulmonary blastoma--case report of a patient presenting in a moribund state.

A 4-year-old girl presented with an intrathoracic tumour that was pleural in origin, invading the right lower lobe. The patient underwent urgent right thoracotomy and surgical excision of the tumour and right lower lobectomy as the tumour was invading that lobe. The histological report initially reported it as a rhabdomyosarcoma, embryonal type, but after consultation it was changed to type III pleuropulmonary blastoma. The patient was treated with chemotherapy but succumbed to the disease 12 months after the diagnosis. Relevant literature on pleuropulmonary blastoma is reviewed.