Middle lobe suffering due to malposition and 180° tilt of the 2 remaining lobes after right upper lobectomy.

Middle lobe (ML) suffering after right upper lobectomy (RUL) is rare but represents a major complication usually due to lobar torsion. We report 3 atypical consecutive cases of ML suffering due to malposition of the 2 remaining right lobes with a 180° tilt. All 3 female patients had surgery for non-small-cell carcinoma including RUL associated with radical hilar and mediastinal lymph node removal. Postoperative chest X-ray abnormalities appeared at days 1-3 respectively. The diagnosis of malposition of the 2 lobes was done on contrast-enhanced chest CT scan at days 7, 7 and 6, respectively. A reoperation for suspected ML torsion was required in all patients. Three repositionings of the 2 lobes and 1 middle lobectomy were performed. The postoperative courses were then uneventful, and the 3 patients were alive at a mean follow-up of 12 months. Before thoracic approach closure after RUL, systematic check of good positioning of the 2 reinflated remaining lobes is indispensable. It may prevent ML suffering secondary to 180° lobar tilt leading to whole pulmonary malposition.

The role of donor-recipient gender matching in lung transplantation: a systematic review.

INTRODUCTION: Donor to recipient (D-R) matching in lung transplantation (LTx) is firstly directed by blood group (identity or compatibility), immunological status and morphological criteria. Sex matching is ignored and impact on outcome less investigated. EVIDENCE ACQUISITION: Systematic review of English literature using PubMed (1990-2019) was performed to evaluate the potential role of D-R matching in determining long-term outcome in patients after LTx. Search terms included (LTx) AND (sex) OR (gender) OR (matching) OR (mismatch) OR (donor characteristics) and were restricted to articles' title. Only articles directly reporting LTx survival outcome according to gender match/mismatch and D-R gender combination in LTx were included. Two authors independently extracted articles using predefined data fields, including study quality indicators. MOOSE Guidelines for Meta-Analyses and Systematic Reviews of Observational Studies applied. EVIDENCE SYNTHESIS: Nine articles were analyzed and included into this study. All studies analyzed the effect of the different D-R gender combinations on survival while seven of them investigated exclusively the role of sex matching on LTx outcome. In this latter group two out of seven showed a trend towards an overall survival advantage for sex matching LTx combination. The worst survival results were reported for F to M gender combination in 3 studies and for M to F gender combination by 1 study. No differences were reported in remaining 4 studies. CONCLUSIONS: This systematic review suggests that sex matching and several gender combinations could play a role in determining overall survival rate after LTx. Data deriving from unbiased studies supported that matching female-female (F-F) and male-male (M-M) could improve LTx outcome while FD-MR combination should be avoided. Unfortunately, a good part of the analyzed data are affected by bias due to confounding factors. Up-to-date immunological, hormonal and morphological factors could explain the gender-based difference in LTx outcome. Further investigations should clarify their role and importance to define the effects of gender combinations on survival.

Maintaining Surgical Treatment of Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer During the COVID-19 Pandemic in Paris.

BACKGROUND: The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) outbreak was officially declared in France on March 14, 2020. The objective of this study is to report the incidence and outcome of COVID-19 after surgical resection of non-small cell lung cancer in Paris Public Hospitals during the pandemic. METHODS: We retrospective analyzed a prospective database including all patients who underwent non-small cell lung cancer resection between March 14, 2020, and May 11, 2020, in the 5 thoracic surgery units of Paris Public Hospitals. The primary endpoint was the occurrence of SARS-CoV-2 infection during the first 30 days after surgery. RESULTS: Study group included 115 patients (male 57%, age 64.6 ± 10.7 years, adenocarcinoma 66%, cT1 62%, cN0 82%). During the first month after surgery, 6 patients (5%) were diagnosed with COVID-19. As compared with COVID-negative patients, COVID-positive patients were more likely to be operated on during the first month of the pandemic (100% vs 54%, P = .03) and to be on corticosteroids preoperatively (33% vs 4%, P = .03). Postoperative COVID-19 was associated with an increased rate of readmission (50% vs 5%, P = .004), but no difference in 30-day morbidity (for the study group: grade 2, 24%; grade 3, 7%; grade 4, 1%) or mortality (n = 1 COVID-negative patient, 0.9%). Immediate oncologic outcomes did not differ significantly between groups (R0 resection 99%, nodal upstaging 14%, adjuvant chemotherapy 29%). CONCLUSIONS: During the COVID-19 pandemic, surgical treatment of non-small cell lung cancer was associated with a rate of postoperative COVID-19 of 5% with a significant impact on readmissions but not on other outcomes studied.