Study of pathogenic T-helper cell subsets in Asian Indian patients with Takayasu arteritis.

The relapses and refractory disease are a challenge in the management of patients with Takayasu arteritis (TAK). We quantified pathogenic CD4 + memory T helper cells bearing surface markers CD161 and/or p-glycoprotein (MDR1) in patients with TAK. Peripheral blood mononuclear cells of 21 patients with TAK and 16 age-matched controls were stained with anti-CD3, anti-CD4, anti-CD45RA, anti-CD161 and anti-p-glycoprotein antibodies and subjected to flow cytometry by FACS ARIAIII. Eighteen patients underwent follow-up immunophenotyping. Intracellular staining for interleukin-17 and interferon-γ was performed for 18 patients and 11 controls. Surgical arterial biopsies of 6 TAK and 5 non-inflammatory controls were subjected to immunohistochemistry with anti-CD161 and anti-p-glycoprotein. At baseline the frequency of MDR1 + CD4 + and CD161 + MDR1 + CD4 + memory T cells was higher in TAK than controls (p = 0.002 and 0.01, respectively). After stimulation, the frequency of IFN-y + CD161 + cells was higher in TAK than controls (p = 0.028). Modal fluorescence intensity of CD161 + MDR1 + CD45RA - CD4 + cells was higher in active as compared with stable disease (p = 0.041). At 6 months, MDR1 + and CD161 + MDR1 + memory CD4 + T cells decreased significantly only in patients who had complete/partial response to treatment (p = 0.047 and 0.02, respectively). To conclude, MDR1 + and MDR1 + CD161 + CD4 + memory T-helper cells are increased in patients with TAK. These cells decreased only in patients with response to treatment during subsequent follow-up.

Surgical management of sternal tumours-a decade of experience from a tertiary care centre in India.

Tumours of the sternum can be either primary or secondary with malignancy being the most common etiology. Wide local excision of these tumours results in a midline defect which pose a unique challenge for reconstruction. As limited data on the management of these tumours exists in the literature, we hereby report 14 consecutive patients who were treated at our institute between January 2009 to December 2020. Most of them were malignant with majority of them, 11 (78%) patients, with manubrial involvement requiring partial sternectomy. Overall, the average defect size was 75 cm2. Reconstruction of the chest wall defect was done using a semi-rigid fixation: mesh and suture stabilization in 3 (21%) or suture stabilization in 7 (50%) and without mesh or suture stabilization in 3 (21%) patients. Rigid fixation with polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA) was done for one patient (7%). Pectoralis major advancement flap was most commonly used for soft tissue reconstruction with flap necrosis noted in one patient (7%). There was no peri-operative mortality and one patient required prolonged post-operative ventilation. On a median follow-up of 37.5 months, one patient (7%) had a recurrence. Sternal defects after surgical resection reconstructed with semi-rigid fixation and suture stabilization render acceptable post-operative outcomes.

Left middle lobectomy in a patient with Kartagener's syndrome.

The middle lobe is usually a part of the right lung as it is tri-lobar in normal anatomy. In patients with Kartagener's syndrome, the middle lobe belongs to the left lung due to situs inversus. They are prone to develop bronchiectasis due to ciliary dyskinesia and bronchial anatomy of the middle lobe. We hereby report an interesting case of left middle lobectomy done in a patient with Kartagener's syndrome with bronchiectasis.

Primary idiopathic chylopericardium managed by uniportal VATS.

Chylopericardium is very rarely encountered in clinical practice. The common causes are post cardiac or thoracic surgery and neoplasms of the mediastinum. Most of the time, no cause is attributed and it is labelled as primary idiopathic chylopericardium. Conservative management is usually not successful and definitive surgery is required. The recommended surgery is creation of a pericardio-pleural window and thoracic duct ligation. We demonstrate that this procedure can be easily accomplished by uniportal video-assisted thoracic surgery (U-VATS).

Rib malignancies masquerading as benign mediastinal tumours.

Mediastinal tumours are commonly encountered in general thoracic surgery practice. Benign tumours like thymoma and teratoma often need direct surgical resection if resectable. Pre-operative biopsy is not recommended. We report 2 cases which were radiologically diagnosed as thymoma and teratoma turned out to be Ewing sarcoma and chondrosarcoma respectively after surgical excision. This has challenged the notion whether biopsy is really not needed. More elaborate studies are needed to find out tumour characteristics which would warrant a biopsy even if they are resectable. In our cases, pre-operative biopsy would have changed the line of management in both patients. This has led to a change in institutional protocol that now, we do biopsy for any mediastinal tumour more than 8 cm and abutting the chest wall.

An overview on the principles of management of haemoptysis.

Haemoptysis is a frequently encountered presentation in thoracic surgery practice. Most of the patients present with chronic haemoptysis while 5% of them will present with life-threatening acute haemoptysis. Emergency surgery used to be the first-line management in acute life-threatening haemoptysis which resulted in significant morbidity and mortality. With advancements in interventional procedures, most of these acute presentations are now being managed conservatively by interventionists. In a country like India with a high incidence of tuberculosis and other infectious diseases of the lungs, haemoptysis is even more common. While interventional procedures help to tide over the crisis and earn valuable time to stabilise a haemorrhaging patient, surgical resection is the definitive management most of the time. This review will endeavour to establish the definition, aetiology, emergency, and definitive management of a patient who presents with haemoptysis.

Aspergilloma in a hydatid cavity.

Fungal colonization by aspergillus usually occurs in pre-existing lung cavities mostly due to post-tubercular sequelae. Colonization of a hydatid cavity is very rare. We hereby report this unusual co-infection in a 55 years old diabetic male patient who was diagnosed pre-operatively and was managed with surgery, anti-fungal agents, and anthelminthics. The possibility of this co-infection should make clinicians more vigilant in managing hydatid cysts in diabetics and immunocompromised, as they may have concomitant fungal infestation of the hydatid cavity.

Thoracic hydatid cysts: an analysis of surgical management in a tertiary care centre in India.

INTRODUCTION AND PURPOSE: Though hydatidosis is a ubiquitous zoonosis endemic to India, there is a dearth of literature regarding the management of thoracic hydatid disease (THD) in India. There are no surgical guidelines available. The aim of this study is to analyse the details of THD operated upon in a tertiary care hospital in India and propose a protocol for its management. METHODS: The case files of all adult patients operated upon for THD in our institution between 2009 and 2019 were retrieved and a retrospective study done. RESULTS: A total of 186 patients, 103 (55.4%) males and 83 (44.6%) females, with a mean age of 34.2 years were studied. The commonest symptom was cough as in 83 (44.6%) patients. Complications were seen in 22 (11.8%) patients. Computerized tomogram (CT) was confirmatory in most patients. Isolated pulmonary disease was seen in 135 (72.6%) patients with 153 (82.3%) uni-lobar involvement. Right lower lobe was most frequently involved as in 56 (30.1%). Extra-pulmonary, intra-thoracic involvement was seen in 6 (3.2%) and synchronous extra-thoracic disease in 45 (24.2%) patients. All patients were initiated on anthelmintics. Postero-lateral thoracotomy was the commonest surgical approach. Twenty (10.7%) patients required lung resections. The mean hospital stay was 5.9 days. Air leak, seen in 10 (5.4%) patients, was the commonest post-operative complication. There was single in-hospital mortality. Age, diabetes mellitus, secondary bacterial infection of the cyst and cyst characteristics were found to significantly affect the surgical outcomes. CONCLUSION: Surgery, the treatment of choice for THD, can be done with negligible morbidity and mortality and should be expedited to prevent complications. Risk factors should be identified pre-operatively for better decision-making. Adequate concurrent medical therapy may prevent recurrences. Prolonged follow-up is mandatory to detect late recurrences.

Surgical management of pulmonary aspergilloma-12 years' experience from a tertiary care centre in India.

INTRODUCTION AND PURPOSE: Pulmonary aspergilloma is the formation of saprophytic colonies of fungus in pre-existing pulmonary cavities. They may cause life-threatening haemoptysis. As medical treatment often fails, surgery is the mainstay of treatment in symptomatic patients. Earlier studies had reported high levels of mortality and morbidity with surgery while more recent studies have shown better results. Hence, being in a large tertiary care centre in India, we decided to analyse the details of our own experience in the surgical management of pulmonary aspergilloma. METHODS: Details of all adult patients treated surgically for pulmonary aspergilloma, between the years 2009 and 2020, maintained in a live database in our institute, were retrieved and analysed. RESULTS: There were 102 patients in the study. The average age was 40 years. There was a male (M: F, 3:1) and right side preponderance. Pulmonary tuberculosis (TB) was the commonest cause for cavities in which aspergilloma developed as identified in 84 (82%) patients and diabetes mellitus, the commonest comorbidity present in 28 (27.5%) patients. Parenchyma-preserving lung resections (PPLRs) were feasible in 8 (44%) of the non-tubercular patients, but only in 14 (17%) of the TB patients. Post-operative complications (11.7%) were higher among the patients with TB. There were 2 (1.9%) post-operative mortalities. CONCLUSION: Though surgery is technically complex in the presence of pulmonary aspergilloma, it is yielding better results with improvements in treatment strategies. Surgery for aspergilloma in patients with prior or current pulmonary TB has more morbidity and mortality when compared to the non-TB patients.

Surgical management of empyema thoracis - experience of a decade in a tertiary care centre in India.

INTRODUCTION AND PURPOSE: Empyema thoracis (ET) is defined as the accumulation of pus in the pleural cavity. Early stages of ET are treated medically and the late stages surgically. Decortication, thoracoplasty, window procedure (Eloesser flap procedure) and rib resections are the open surgical procedures executed. There are no strict guidelines available in developing nations to guide surgical decision-making, as to which procedure is to be followed. METHODS: Details of all adult patients treated surgically for ET, between the years 2009 and 2019, and maintained in a live database in our institute, were retrieved and analysed. Medically managed patients were excluded. RESULTS: There were 437 patients in the study. The average age was 38 years. There was right side preponderance with a male:female ratio of 5:1. Tuberculosis was the commonest aetiology identified in 248 (57%) patients and diabetes was the commonest co-morbidity present in 97 (22%) patients. There was a higher incidence of a window procedure (WP) in tubercular patients 145 (59%). Only 26 (14%) of the non-tubercular patients underwent a WP. Post-operative complications were persistent air leak in 12 (6%) patients and premature closure of a window in 7 (4%) patients. There were 4 (0.9%) post-operative mortalities. CONCLUSION: Surgical management of late stages of ET provides good results with minimal morbidity and mortality. In developing nations like India, the high incidence of tuberculosis and late presentations make the surgical management difficult and the strategies different from those in developed nations. No clear guidelines exist for the surgical management of ET in developing nations. There is a need for a consensus on the surgical management of empyema in such countries.