[Idiopathic Intrapulmonary Hematoma Need to Differentiate from Pulmonary Metastasis of Malignant Melanoma:Report of a Case].

A 74-year-old man had previously been treated for primary malignant melanoma of the bladder. Three years after surgery, 8 mm round nodule in the right lower lobe was found on chest computed tomography. The nodule increased to 11 mm after three months, and resected with a diagnosis of metastatic malignant melanoma. By pathology, it was diagnosed as an intrapulmonary hematoma.

[Contralateral Pneumothorax after Surgery for Idiopathic Hemopneumothorax;Report of a Case].

A 17-year-old man came to the hospital complaining of right back pain. He had a history of an emergency operation for a left idiopathic hemopneumothorax. A chest X-ray revealed right lung collapse and suggested pleural adhesion at the apex of the right lung. He was diagnosed with right spontaneous pneumothorax and the surgical treatment was performed, because pleural adhesion may cause the hemothorax. During surgery, several pleural adhesion bands were found in the thoracic cavity between the right lung apex and chest wall. Spontaneous pneumothorax with a pleural adhesion at the apex is considered to be the indication for surgery because of the risk of hemothorax.

The Utility of Indigo Carmine and Lipiodol Mixture for Preoperative Pulmonary Nodule Localization before Video-Assisted Thoracic Surgery.

PURPOSE: To evaluate the safety and efficacy of a mixture of indigo carmine and lipiodol (MIL) as a marker of pulmonary nodule before video-assisted thoracic surgery (VATS). MATERIALS AND METHODS: One hundred sixty-eight sessions of pulmonary marking were performed using MIL before VATS for 184 nodules (mean size, 1.2 ± 0.6 cm; range, 0.3-3.6 cm) on 157 patients (83 men and 74 women; median age, 66 years). The mean distance between the lung surface and the nodule was 0.8 ± 0.7 cm (range, 0-3.9 cm). MIL was injected near the nodule using a 23-gauge needle. Mean number of 1.2 ± 0.4 (range, 1-3) punctures were performed in a session for the target nodules, with mean number of 1.1 ± 0.3 (range, 1-3). Successful targeting, localization, and VATS were defined as achievement of lipiodol accumulation at the target site on computed tomography, detection of the nodule in the operative field by fluoroscopy or visualization of dye pigmentation, and complete resection of the target nodule with sufficient margin, respectively. RESULTS: The successful targeting rate was 100%, and the successful localization rate was 99.5%, with dye pigmentation for 160 nodules (87.0%) and intraoperative fluoroscopy for 23 nodules (12.5%). Successful VATS was achieved for 181 nodules (98.4%). Two nodules (1.1%) were not resectable, and surgical margin was positive in 1 nodule (0.5%). Complications requiring interventions occurred in 5 sessions (3.0%) and included pneumothorax with chest tube placement (n = 3) and aspiration (n = 2). No complication related to the injected MIL occurred. CONCLUSIONS: MIL was safe and useful for preoperative pulmonary nodule marking.

Intrapericardial Ectopic Goiter: A Very Unusual Presentation.

Mediastinal ectopic goiter is a thyroid tumor that lies entirely below a plane extending from the superior surface of the first thoracic vertebra to the suprasternal notch, and commonly lies in the vicinity of the thymus. Intrapericardial ectopic goiter is extremely rare. We present an extremely rare case of a 63-year-old woman with an intrapericardial ectopic goiter and review the pertinent literature.

Subsegmental resection preserves regional pulmonary function: A focus on thoracoscopy.

BACKGROUND: The aim of this study was to evaluate regional postoperative preserved pulmonary function (PPPF) and three-dimensional (3D) volumetric changes according to the number of resected subsegments and investigate the factors that most affected pre-/post PPPF. METHODS: Patients who underwent thoracoscopic lobectomy (n = 73), and segmentectomy (n = 87) were eligible for inclusion in the study. They were classified according to the number of resected subsegments which ranged from 1 to 10. The percentage of pre-/postoperative forced expiratory volume in 1 s (FEV1) was used for comparison. Furthermore, lung volumetric changes were calculated using 3D computed tomography (CT) volumetry. RESULTS: The percentage of pre-/postoperative EFV1 between 4 and 5-7 and between 5-7 and 10 were significant (p = 0.03 and p < 0.01, respectively), but not between 1-2 to 4 (p = 0.99). The difference between volumetric changes in the left lower lobe of patients with a number of resected subsegments was significant (p < 0.01). On univariate and multivariate analyses, chronic inflammation was significant for decrease in recovery percentages. When the PPPF was compared among resected subsegments, it gradually decreased with an increase in the number of patients without a postoperative procrastination of inflammation (p < 0.01). CONCLUSIONS: Segmentectomy is feasible and useful for PPPF. Even a relatively large-volume resection procedure where 5-7 subsegments are resected can preserve pulmonary function. Chronic inflammation was statistically identified as a risk factor for postoperative preserved pulmonary function. KEY POINTS: .

Two cases of combined thoracoscopy and open chest surgery for locally advanced lung carcinoma.

Thoracoscopic surgery is becoming more widely used in thoracic surgery and has an increasingly important role to play. However, its use for locally advanced carcinoma (clinical stage T3-4) remains controversial. We adapted our procedure by combining thoracoscopy and open chest surgery (combination surgery) with the aim of reducing invasiveness while ensuring that the operation is safe and curative. Here we describe our experience. Case 1 was a man in his 60s who underwent induction chemoradiotherapy (cisplatin plus vinorelbine plus 40 Gy radiotherapy) followed by radical surgery for a left apical lung carcinoma with chest wall invasion. Case 2 was a woman in her 70s who repeatedly had pneumonia and who underwent radical surgery for left apical adenocarcinoma that was expected to have strong adhesions to the thoracic wall. A thoracotomy incision may be required in cases of stage T3-4 lung cancer to access the hilar region and dissect the resected tumor and surrounding organs. In such cases, adding thoracoscopy to either one of these procedures may enable the use of a smaller incision in the chest wall. In both cases, complete resection with no residual tumor or complications was achieved, with the patients being discharged 3-8 days postoperatively. Cases 1 and 2 both remain recurrence free after 1.5 and 3 years, respectively). This suggests that having a thorough understanding of the features of both thoracoscopic and open chest surgery and integrating the two may enable surgery to be safely and less invasively performed while ensuring a curative effect.

Higher frequency of occult lymph node metastasis in clinical N0 pulmonary adenocarcinoma with ALK rearrangement.

OBJECTIVES: There have been few studies that have fully elucidated the relationship between genomic mutations in pulmonary adenocarcinomas and occult lymph node (LN) metastases (pN1-2) despite a preoperative clinical N0 stage (cN0). It is well known that anaplastic lymphoma kinase (ALK) rearrangements are more likely to occur in younger patients with high grade tumors. The aim of this study was to investigate the genomic status, examine the clinicopathologic features, and evaluate whether ALK mutations are associated with occult LN metastases. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We retrospectively evaluated 459 Japanese patients who underwent pulmonary resection of cN0 adenocarcinomas between January 2012 and December 2015. The clinicopathologic characteristics, including age, sex, smoking index, tumor maximum diameter and consolidation/tumor ratio on computed tomography (CT), maximum standardized uptake value on positron emission tomography (PET) and gene mutations (epidermal growth factor receptor [EGFR], ALK, and kirsten ras genes (KRAS), were evaluated. RESULTS: ALK and EGFR and KRAS mutations were all mutually exclusive. Among 324 patients found to have mutations, ALK was involved in 19 (5.9%), EGFR in 266 (82.1%), and KRAS in 39 (12.0%). The incidence of occult LN metastases did not differ significantly between those with or without mutations (p=0.27). On univariate and multivariate analyses, tumors with ALK were more likely to have occult LN metastases (p=0.03). In cN0 tumors with ALK, pN1 was diagnosed in 26.3% and pN2 in 10.5%, whereas pN1 or pN2 stage was found in <10.0% in those with EGFR or KRAS mutations or with no mutations at all. No significant difference was found in the 2-year disease-free survival among those with gene mutations (p=0.08). CONCLUSION: This study highlights the frequency of PET- and CT-negative occult LN metastases in resected adenocarcinomas with ALK rearrangement. Our multivariate analysis showed that ALK rearrangements were associated with a significantly higher incidence of occult LN metastasis compared with ALK-negative adenocarcinomas.

A case of second primary lung cancer diagnosed by surgical resection at salvage setting.

We report a case of metachronous second primary lung cancer; it was initially clinically favored as progression of primary disease and finally diagnosed as a second primary lung cancer by surgical resection at salvage setting. A 73-year-old man was diagnosed with stage IV lung adenocarcinoma at initial presentation. He underwent two lines of chemotherapy, and the tumors regressed dramatically. However, the residual lung mass shadow expanded after 22 months. We performed resection at salvage setting. The gene status and histological subtype were not identical with that of the primary tumor, suggesting this to be a second primary lung cancer.