Mediastinal silicone lymphadenopathy revealed after thymectomy for autoimmune myasthenia gravis.

Breast reconstruction is a very popular surgical intervention performed either for cosmetic reasons or after oncological resections. Even though silicone is considered to be an inert material, there are side effects that have been reported, such as silicone lymphadenopathy. In the case reported herein, a silicone lymphadenopathy of the internal mammary and the anterior mediastinal lymph nodes were revealed after a thymectomy for autoimmune myasthenia gravis. Silicone lymphadenopathy should always be part of the differential diagnosis of enlarged lymph nodes, in patients with previous cosmetic or oncoplastic surgery with the use of silicone gel breast implants. Special attention should be paid in case of previous breast cancer in order to rule out metastasis.

Clinical significance of positive Raoultella Ornithinolytica and Staphylococcus hominis cultures in a post lobectomy patient. A case report.

Raoultella Ornithinolytica (RO) is an encapsulated, Gram- negative, nonmotile aerobic rob which was reclassified from Klepsiella genus belonging in the family of Enterobacteriaceae. It is a rare human infection and few cases have been reported in post thoracotomy patients. Here we present a case of a left lower lobectomy patient that was complicated by pleural effusion and high fever with positive sputum cultures of Raoultella Ornithinolytica and positive pleural fluid cultures of Staphylococcus hominis. It is related with aquatic life poisoning. There are few cases reported and even fewer postoperatively. The infection is rare in human therefore the bacteria is still underreported.

Occurrence of thymic pathology in two families. Is familial screening justified?

The familial occurrence of thymic pathology, even though rare, is widely reported in the literature and mainly concerns cases of familial autoimmune myasthenia gravis. Other less frequent cases of familial occurrence of thymoma, thymic carcinoid and thymic hyperplasia have been described. It seems that the familial occurrence is poorly recorded and thus its prevalence is underestimated. We report two families whose members presented different forms of thymic pathology and discuss the necessity of screening programs in family members of patients presenting a thymic lesion.

Triple valve endocarditis as an unusual complication of bacterial meningitis.

We report a case of Staphylococcus aureus endocarditis with late onset in a 39-year-old male drug abuser, who presented with bacterial meningitis. Despite resolution of the meningitis as the result of appropriate antimicrobial chemotherapy he developed triple valve endocarditis. Some striking features of this case and a comparison with other reported cases of this uncommon presentation of infective endocarditis are discussed.

Endovascular versus open repair for blunt thoracic aortic injury: short-term results.

BACKGROUND: Endovascular stent grafting has been increasingly used as an alternative treatment modality. The aim of this study is to evaluate the immediate and short-term results of endovascular stent grafting repair after blunt thoracic aortic injury due to trauma. METHODS: A review of a tertiary trauma center registry identified all patients who suffered blunt thoracic aortic injury from 2002 to 2006. All patients underwent either open repair with synthetic graft interposition or endovascular stent grafting (EVS) of the descending thoracic aorta. Type and severity of injury, concomitant injuries, clinical factors, and outcome were compared between groups. Univariate and multivariate analysis was performed. RESULTS: Endovascular stent grafting was performed in 22 patients, and 10 patients underwent open surgical repair. In the open group, the 30-day mortality rate was 10%, the paraplegia rate was 10%, and incidence of major complications was 30%, which were comparable with the incidences observed in the EVS group of 4.5%, 4.5%, and 13.6%, respectively. No statistically significant differences were demonstrated. Multivariate regression analysis identified associated thoracic injury as the main independent predictor of hospital length of stay (p = 0.03, 95% confidence interval: 0.53 to 18.85). In the EVS group, 1 patient died in the short-term follow-up period and 2 cases of endovascular leak required additional treatment. CONCLUSIONS: Although postoperative mortality and morbidity between open and endovascular repair were comparable, EVS can be considered a safe alternative treatment modality in the therapeutic algorithm of blunt thoracic aortic injury particularly for the higher risk multitrauma patients.