Accidental compression of the thoracic wall. Mechanical asphyxia rather than trauma is the main culprit.

We present three cases of traumatic asphyxia after thoracic compression. All victims were Caucasian males aged 22-50 years. One man was crushed by a truck trailer, another was crushed by an overturned vehicle, and the last was crushed by a large heavy stone slab. None of the patients survived the accident. There was no evidence of trauma or only minor trauma from the bones or vital organs of the thoracic cavity and abdomen.

When to anatomically excise a benign lung tumor-correspondence regarding the article: "large mesenchymal cystic and chondroid pulmonary hamartoma mimicking lung cancer: case report".

The decision of whether to perform a large anatomic resection for a lung mass that is not definitely malignant comes often forward in the everyday practice of the thoracic surgeon. The general characteristics of the tumor as well as of the patient and the instinct and experience of the surgeon are the ones that dictate the final choice. Such a decision was made in the case of a large pulmonary hamartoma where a right middle lobectomy was performed with the postoperative course justifying the surgeons' choice.