Computed Tomography-Guided Methylene Blue Labeling Prior to Thoracoscopic Resection of Small Deeply Placed Pulmonary Nodules. Do We Really Need Palpation?

Background Video-assisted thoracic surgery (VATS) is widely used for thoracic surgery operations, and day by day it becomes routine for the excision of undetermined pulmonary nodules. However, it is sometimes hard to reach millimetric nodules through a VATS incision. Therefore, some additional techniques were developed to reach such nodules little in size and which are settled on a challenging localization. In the literature, coils, hook wires, methylene blue, lipidol, and barium staining, and also ultrasound guidance were described for this aim. Herein we discuss our experience with CT-guided methylene blue labeling of small, deeply located pulmonary nodules just before VATS excision. Method From April 2013 to October 2016, 11 patients with millimetric pulmonary nodules (average 8, 7 mm) were evaluated in our clinic. For all these patients who had strong predisposing factors for malignancy, an 18F-FDG PET-CT scan was also performed. The patients whose nodules were decided to be excised were consulted the radiology clinic. The favorable patients were taken to CT room 2 hours prior to the operation, and CT-guided methylene blue staining were performed under sterile conditions. Results Mean nodule size of 11 patients was 8.7 mm (6, 2-12). Mean distance from the visceral pleural surface was 12.7 mm (4-29.3). Four of the nodules were located on the left (2 upper lobes, 2 lower lobes), and seven of them were on the right (four lower lobes, two upper lobes, one middle lobe). The maximum standardized uptake values (SUV max) on 18F-FDG PET/CT scan ranged between 0 and 2, 79. Conclusion CT-guided methylene blue staining of millimetric deeply located pulmonary nodules is a safe and feasible technique that helps surgeon find these undetermined nodules by VATS technique without any need of digital palpation.

Intrathoracic neurogenic tumors.

BACKGROUND: Intrathoracic neurogenic tumors are uncommon neoplasms arising from nerve tissues. This study reports on our 24-year single-center experience with intrathoracic neurogenic tumors. PATIENTS AND METHODS: We retrospectively analyzed the postoperative pathological records of 19,378 operations performed in our clinic between January 1988 and December 2011 and included cases with diagnosis of neurogenic tumors. RESULTS: The study included 149 patients (90 females and 59 males) with an average age of 24.5 years (7 months to 77 years). The study group comprised 29 infants and children, and 120 adults. Of the patients, 72 had benign schwannomas, 10 malignant schwannomas, 17 neurofibromas, 24 ganglioneuromas, 9 ganglioneuroblastomas, 4 neuroblastomas, 9 primitive neuroectodermal tumors, and 4 paragangliomas. Concerning the location of these lesions, 131 were located in the posterior mediastinum, 8 in the lung parenchyma, 5 in the chest wall, 3 in the anterior mediastinum, and 2 in the thoracic inlet. The majority of nerve cell tumors were in infants and children (79.3%), whereas the nerve sheath tumors most commonly occurred in adults (78.3%). There were 117 benign and 32 malignant tumors across all age groups. The rate of malignancy was 41.4% in infants and children, compared with 16.7% in adults. Symptoms were seen in 65% of the adult patients and 79.3% of the infant and children patients. Seven tumors were associated with von Recklinghausen's disease. In six patients (4.0%), the tumor showed an intraspinal extension. Surgical resection of the tumor was complete in 142 of 149 patients (95.3%). CONCLUSION: The treatment of choice for malignant and benign thoracic neurogenic tumors is complete resection. The objective of resection is to avoid local invasion, facilitate differential histopathological diagnosis to determine other treatment options, and to prevent malignant degeneration.

Pulmonary Langerhans cell histiocytosis; characteristics of 11 cases.

INTRODUCTION: Pulmonary Langerhans cell histiocytosis (PLCH) is a rarely seen disease of younger population. Almost all of the patients were smoker. In this study we aimed to evaluate the characteristics, diagnosis, treatment modalities and prognosis of 11 cases with PLCH. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We retrospectively reviewed our case series of eleven patients who were pathologically diagnosed as PLCH. The median age was 35 years (19-51) and male to female ratio (M/F) was 5/6. All of the patients were symptomatic. The most common symptoms were dyspnea (81.8%) and dry cough (72.7%). Mean duration of the symptoms was 10.8 months. All patients except two of them were smoker (81.8%). All patients were also passive smokers. RESULTS: Bilateral cystic appearance (n= 9, 81.8%), interstitial findings [septal and peribronchovascular thickening (72.7%) and nodular pattern (54.5%)] were common radiological findings. Spontaneous pneumothorax was present in two cases. All patients were diagnosed with surgical biopsies (90.9%) or transbronchial parenchymal biopsy (9.1%). Smoking cessation (81.8%) and immunosupression therapy (methylprednisolone) were the treatment modalities. Mean follow-up period was 5.40 ± 1.78 years. Generally, symptoms were improved with smoking cessation or methylprednisolone therapy. One patient was readmitted to our clinic with recurrent pneumothorax. In conclusion, it should be kept in mind that passive smoking is also responsible in the pathogenesis of PLCH. CONCLUSION: Exact consensus for PLCH treatment was not present except a few recommendations. In the future, with the understanding of the pathogenesis of the disease, new therapeutic agents will be discovered for this rare condition.

[The third primary-the second metachronous lung cancer in the same patient]. / Ayni hastada üçüncü primer-ikinci metakron akciger kanseri.

Having more than one lung carcinoma in an organism is called as multiple primary lung carcinoma. The probability of having a second primary lung carcinoma in the same patient at the different times is very rare.Third primary lung carcinoma has not been reported in literature before. A sychronous mass was determined on a 67 years old man about eight years ago. The mass was localized on the left upper lobe and it's histologic type was squamous cell carcinoma/adenosquamous cell carcinoma (bronchioalveolar component). A left upper lobectmy was performed with a left thorocotomy. Thirty nine months after that operation a metachronous epidermoid carcinoma was determined on the right upper lobe, consequently a right upper lobectomy was performed to him. A squamous cell carcinoma was determined on the right intermedier bronch as a third time and second metachronous 49 months later after the first operation. After all he underwent chemotherapy. We reported this case because of a second metachronous tumour in the same patient has not been reported before and to emphasize the effects of postoperative follow up on the prognosis.

An extremely rare case of multiple calcifying tumor of the pleura.

Calcifying fibrous tumors are uncommon lesions. These lesions are made up of hyalinized collagenous fibrotic tissues interspersed with lymphoplasmacytic infiltrates and extensive dystrophic calcifications mimicking psammomatous features. Calcifying tumor of pleura is rarely presented. Multiple calcifying tumor of pleuras have been reported extremely seldom. Forty-year-old male patient was admitted to our clinic with complaints of dyspnea. Because of the multiple soft tissue formations at the pleural region with the largest diameter of 2 cm on thorax computed tomography, surgical intervention was planed. Frozen sections of pleural biopsies that were taken during video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery were reported as calcifying fibrous tumor. Because of the presence of multiple lesions and pleural adhesions, curative pleural decortication was performed. This case is presented with extremely rare entity of multiple calcifying tumor of plevras.

Small cell osteosarcoma of rib: diagnosis and treatment of the rare case.

Small cell osteosarcomas are very rare tumors which are classified as the component of Ewing's sarcoma family. Although the tumor generally is seen on long bones, short bone involvement is rare. Moreover, rib localization is quite uncommon and to the best of our knowledge, only one case has been reported so far. Herein, we described a case of rib-localized small cell osteosarcomas which was only presented with localized left sided pain. Resection surgery followed by adjuvant chemotherapy was performed. Clinico-pathological features and therapeutic approach are discussed in the light of the relevant literature.

Single versus multiple video-assisted thoracocopic lung biopsy for suspected interstitial lung disease: a perspective on diagnostic efficacy and length of hospital stay.

Background: Nearly one-third of the patients with interstitial lung disease (ILD) require surgical biopsy for a definite diagnosis. Video-assisted thoracoscopic surgical (VATS) biopsy has replaced open lung biopsy, but the number of biopsy required to achieve an accurate diagnose is controversial. Objectives: Our study aims to show that a well-planned single VATS biopsy is as effective as multiple biopsies for the accurate diagnosis of ILD by reduced days of hospital stay. Methods: We included 111 patients with suspected ILD who underwent VATS biopsy in our study. Patients were separated into three groups according to the number of biopsies obtained. The differences between groups for diagnostic yield, mean time for chest tube removal, perioperative complications, and approximate volume per biopsy were analyzed statistically. Results: Eighteen single, 74 double, and 19 triple biopsies were made. Mean times of chest tube removal and hospital stay for single, double, and triple biopsy were 3.5, 4.8, and 6.1 days respectively. The number of biopsy and length of hospital stay was strongly related (p = 0.02), but there was no difference for diagnostic yield between single and multiple biopsy groups (p > 0.05). There was no intraoperative complication or perioperative mortality. In postoperative period, eight patients with multiple biopsies had prolonged air leak. Conclusion: Although classical knowledge suggests multiple biopsies from different locations of the lung are essential, recent reports have shown that the site and the number of biopsy are not as effective as previously thought in achieving the diagnosis for ILD. Our results show that a "single" biopsy, decided with multidisciplinary evaluation, is an effective and safe diagnostic tool, with lesser days of hospital stay. Main novel aspects: 1. The classical knowledge that multiple biopsies should be taken from different regions of the lung in the diagnosis of interstitial lung diseases has changed over time.2. Diagnostic concordance between multiple biopsy specimens is above 85%.3. A "single" biopsy, decided with multidisciplinary evaluation, is an effective and safe diagnostic tool with lower days of hospital stay.

A rare case of pulmonary lymphomatoid granulomatosis complicated with venous thrombosis.

Lymphomatoid granulomatosis (LG) is Epstein-Barr virus associated and aggressive B cell lymphoproliferative disease. The most common sites of involvement are lungs, skin, kidneys, liver and central nervous system. The clinical presentation of pulmonary LG may mimic infectious diseases, malignancies or vasculitis. While treatment approach of low grade disease is watch and wait, patients with advanced stage require aggressive treatment with chemotherapy. Patients with hematological malignancy as well as solid tumors are at increased risk of venous thromboembolic events (VTE). We reported here in a case of pulmonary LG who was complicated with VTE during treatment with chemo-immunotherapy After 4 cycles of R-CHOP, she achieved complete remission for LG and was followed up without relapse for 2 years. She was anticoagulated with Low-Molecular-Weight Heparin (LMWH) during chemotherapy period, and the thrombus improved over the next several weeks. While on this paper written, patient completed her pregnancy successfully under anticoagulation prophylaxis.

Sleeve resections for squamous cell carcinoma of the lung.

BACKGROUND: Sleeve resection is an advanced technique that was developed as an alternative to pneumonectomy. This study evaluated our cases of sleeve resection for squamous cell carcinoma of the lung and compared the outcomes with the literature reports. METHODS: In total, 26 bronchial, 5 bronchovascular, and 3 vascular sleeve lobectomies were performed between January 2000 and July 2005 in our clinic. Age, gender, operations, postoperative diagnosis and staging, and postoperative morbidity and mortality were evaluated. RESULTS: Sleeve resections were performed in 34 patients. All patients were male, with a mean age of 59.4 years. The operations consisted of 16 right upper, 14 left upper, and 1 left lower sleeve lobectomies and 3 superior sleeve bilobectomies. The most common postoperative pathological staging group was stage IIb (32.3%). Operative mortality was 5.9% (n=2). Postoperative morbidity was 20.5% (n=7), including 4 prolonged air leaks plus empyema, 1 prolonged air leak, 1 postoperative bleeding needing revision, and 1 severe bronchostenosis; of these, 6 had persistent atelectasis. The local tumour recurrence rate was 11.7% (n=4). The median survival time and 5-year survival were 36 months and 42%, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: Sleeve resection proved to be good therapy for lung cancer and has a lower morbidity and mortality than standard pneumonectomies and results in better lung function and quality of life. The anastomosis-related complications are experience-related technical complications and training thoracic surgeons to perform SRs at experienced centres will reduce the morbidity associated with SRs.

Surgical treatment of bronchiectasis: Our 23 years of experience.

BACKGROUND: In this study, we aimed to evaluate the success of surgery and a complete resection for bronchiectasis treatment and to present our 23 years of surgical experience. METHODS: Between January 1991 and December 2013, a total of 1,357 patients (667 males, 690 females; mean age 30.5±14.3 years; range, 3 to 73 years) with the diagnosis of bronchiectasis who underwent pulmonary resection in our clinic were retrospectively analyzed. Demographic and clinical characteristics of the patients, etiologies, symptoms, localizations, surgical procedures, and long-term follow-up results were evaluated. RESULTS: There were 1,394 surgeries, as 37 (2.7%) patients had bilateral disease. The surgical procedures included lobectomy (n=702, 50.3%), pneumonectomy (n=183, 13.1%), segmental resections (n=114, 8.2%), bilobectomy (n=83, 6.0%), and lobectomy + segmentectomy (n=312, 22.4%). During the postoperative period, 1,269 (93.5%) patients were followed at a mean duration of 51.6 (range, 1 to 120) months. After surgery, 774 (61%) patients were asymptomatic, 456 (35.9%) showed an improvement, and 39 (3.1%) had no response or deterioration. CONCLUSION: The surgical treatment plays an important role in the clinical and symptomatic improvement of patients with bronchiectasis. Surgery reduces the morbidity and mortality rates with careful preoperative preparation and appropriately selected cases.

Waxing and waning pulmonary nodules and myelodysplastic syndrome.

A 53-year-old diabetic woman with the diagnosis of myelodysplastic syndrome was admitted to our hospital with symptoms of anorexia, malaise, fatigue, night sweats, and weight loss. The radiological evaluation revealed waxing and waning pulmonary nodules. A diagnosis of pulmonary tuberculosis was reached by pathologic examination of a wedge biopsy. We did not find a similar case in the literature. Clinicians should keep tuberculosis in mind as a possible etiology of waxing and waning pulmonary nodules.

First experiences and complications in video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery lobectomy at a thoracic surgery center.

BACKGROUND: This study aims to report the difficulties and complications we experienced in video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery lobectomies performed at our thoracic surgery center. METHODS: A total of 76 patients (54 males, 22 females; mean age 48.3 years; range 9 to 83 years) who underwent video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery lobectomy between January 2012 and June 2016 were retrospectively reviewed. Preoperative patient characteristics such as additional diseases or tuberculosis history, stage for malignant diseases, surgical characteristics such as port properties and amount of bleeding, postoperative characteristics such as amount, time and duration of drainage, air leakage, and discharge time, morbidity and mortality rates, and their causes were evaluated. RESULTS: Of the patients, 35 were evaluated due to benign pulmonary diseases and 41 due to malignant pulmonary diseases. Postoperative prolonged air leakage developed in 14 patients. Of these patients, one was administered thoracotomy and primary repair, three were administered pleurodesis, and three were administered secondary pleurocan catheter, while the air leakage ended spontaneously in seven patients. Due to bleeding, one patient was treated with revision video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery on the same day postoperatively. One patient developed chylothorax and one patient developed pneumonia, which caused respiratory failure. CONCLUSION: Video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery lobectomy is a safe thoracic procedure, which is used for both oncologic and non-oncologic diseases of the lung. Video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery may be performed by all thoracic surgeons experienced in open thoracic surgery. Thanks to the gained experiences, the rates of video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery lobectomy may improve in all centers.

Mediastinal epithelioid angiosarcoma arising in schwannoma: The first case in the literature.

Angiosarcoma arising in a long-standing schwannoma is extremely rare and only a few cases were reported in the English literature. Besides tumors arising from vagus, sciatic or adrenal nerves, tumors growing on neck, foot or kidney were also described. To the best of our knowledge, in this article, we report the first mediastinal case occurring in longstanding schwannoma in a 53-year-old female patient. The patient was admitted to our clinic with severe dyspnea and palpitation. Her medical history showed a progressive right-sided paramediastinal mass which was first diagnosed in 2002. Three transthoracic needle biopsies performed in 2002, 2015 and 2016 were all non-diagnostic. An operation was suggested since 2002, but the patient has not accepted. Thorax computed tomography and magnetic resonance imaging revealed a huge mediastinal mass nearly fulfilling the right hemithorax. A diagnosis of "malign spindle cell tumor" was established with the last transthoracic biopsy and total surgical resection via posterolateral throcatomy was performed. Microscopically, tumor was composed of two components: a benign schwannoma and an epithelioid angiosarcoma. Endothelial and neural cell differentiations were confirmed immunohistochemically.

Basaloid squamous cell carcinoma of the lung: a rare tumour with a rare clinical presentation.

Basaloid squamous cell carcinoma of the lung, an uncommon subtype of non-small cell carcinomas was introduced as a distinct entity in the recently revised World Health Organization (WHO) classification of lung tumours. This rare tumour most commonly develops in males older than 60 years. We report a 23-years-old female patient with basaloid squamous cell carcinoma of the lung who was stage IIB post-operatively. The patient is still alive and healthy 18 months after the operation. This is one of the youngest patient reported with this rare type of tumour.

Surgical management of bronchiectasis in childhood.

OBJECTIVE: Though there is a gradual decrease in the prevalence of bronchiectasis, it is still a cause of mortality and morbidity among children in developing countries such as Turkey. We reviewed the morbidity and mortality rates and the outcome of surgical treatment for childhood bronchiectasis. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Age, sex, etiological factors, symptoms, radiological examinations, surgical procedures, postoperative morbidity and mortality in patients aged 16 years and younger, operated for bronchiectasis between January 1991 and April 2006 in the Thoracic Surgery Clinic of Atatürk Training and Research Hospital for Chest Disease and Chest Surgery were reviewed retrospectively. RESULTS: Between January 1991 and April 2006, 176 cases aged 16 and younger were operated for bronchiectasis. There were 95 females (54%) and 81 males (46%), with a mean age of 12.3 years (range: 3.4-16 years). The most common cause of bronchiectasis was lung infection (n: 87, 49.4%). Main symptoms were coughing (n: 167, 94.9%), sputum (n: 139, 79%), hemoptysis (n: 78, 44.3%), and fever (n: 77, 43.7%). Mean duration of the symptoms in patients who were operated was 3.8 years (range: 0-7.6 years). Cases underwent a total of 201 operations: 19 cases had bilateral surgical resection and 6 cases had completion pneumonectomy. Majority of cases had complete resection (n: 165, 93.75%) while only 11 cases (6.25%) had incomplete resection. Mean duration of hospitalization was 8.9 days (range: 5-39 days). The outcome, based on the responses of patients postoperatively, was 'perfect' in 129 cases (73.3%), 'improved' in 41 cases (23.3%), and 'no changes' in 6 cases (3.4%). The mean follow-up after surgery was 4.3 years (range: 14 months to 7.2 years), mortality was 0% and morbidity was 13% (n: 23). CONCLUSION: With acceptable mortality and morbidity rates and high chance of cure after complete resection, surgical treatment is a successful and reliable method of treatment in childhood bronchiectasis that yields marked improvement in the quality of life.

Surgical treatment of pulmonary arteriovenous malformations.

BACKGROUND/AIM: Pulmonary arteriovenous malformations (PAVMs) are direct communications between the branches of pulmonary arteries and veins. This study evaluates surgically treated cases of pulmonary arteriovenous malformations. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We retrospectively examined 41 cases of PAVM that were operated in our clinic between 1995 and 2012. We obtained the clinical, radiological, and surgical data of the patients from their files. RESULTS: The 41 cases comprised 27 males and 14 females. Their mean age at diagnosis was 39.8 years (range: 9-71). The symptoms were hemoptysis in 28 cases, dyspnea in five, cough in three, and epistaxis in two; three patients were asymptomatic. Twenty-three right and 19 left posterolateral thoracotomies were performed, including one case which was operated bilaterally. Lower lobectomy was performed in 17 patients, lower lobectomy and lingulectomy in two, upper lobectomy in ten, middle lobectomy in two, segmentectomy in seven, and wedge resection in four. Postoperative histopathology was arteriovenous malformation in all cases. CONCLUSION: PAVMs are rare clinical conditions. Surgery remains the first choice when embolization treatment cannot be performed or is not successful, in symptomatic and complicated patients with PAVM, and/or in cases where the PAVM diagnosis cannot be established.

Surgical management of large-cell neuroendocrinelung carcinoma: an analysis of 25 cases.

BACKGROUND/AIM: Large-cell neuroendocrine carcinoma (LCNEC) of the lung is a relatively uncommon and aggressive subset of pulmonary neuroendocrine tumors, which include typical and atypical carcinoid, and small-cell lung cancer. LCNEC of the lung accounts for no more than 1% of all lung cancers. LCNECs show features of high-grade neuroendocrine tumors and patients with LCNEC have a very poor prognosis. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Twenty-five patients (22 males and 3 females; mean years 60.7; range 48 to 77 years) who underwent pulmonary resection for large-cell neuroendocrine carcinoma between January 2004 and December 2014 were investigated retrospectively. RESULTS: Type of surgery, pathologic TNM stage, adjuvant chemotherapy, time of recurrence, site of recurrence, response to treatment, and long-term results were evaluated. The longest patient follow-up period was 83 months. One-, two-, and three-year survival rates of these patients were, respectively, 80.95%, 76.47%, and 50%. CONCLUSION: Complete surgical resection is the treatment of choice for early-stage LCNEC and chemotherapy after radical surgical treatment improves survival. Follow-up periods after surgery adjuvant chemotherapy will prevent recurrence and patients may survive for many years if complete surgical resection and adjuvant chemotherapy are possible.

Video-assisted thoracic surgery for pulmonary sequestration.

Bronchopulmonary sequestration is a rare developmental abnormality. Most cases are asymptomatic and found incidentally. The definitive treatment for bronchopulmonary sequestration is surgical excision. An 18-year-old man was admitted to our clinic with longstanding cough, fever, and dense sputum. Chest computed tomography identified cystic bronchiectasis in common areas of the left lower lobe, and parenchymal destruction with air-fluid levels. A left lower lobectomy was performed via a video-thoracoscopic approach.

Schwannoma arising in a bronchogenic cyst wall.

Bronchogenic cysts are congenital malformations thought to originate from the primitive ventral foregut, and they are the most common type of mediastinal cystic lesion. The clinical presentation of a bronchogenic cyst is variable, from respiratory distress at birth to late appearance of symptoms. Most bronchogenic cysts originate in the mediastinum, and 15% to 20% occur in the lung parenchyma. Various malignant transformations have been reported in the literature. In this report, we describe a case of schwannoma in an intrapulmonary bronchogenic cyst wall in a 38-year-old man, which was found incidentally during a routine examination.