Interactive cardiovascular and thoracic surgery
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Interact Cardiovasc Thorac Surg · Nov 2014
Thoracic epidural anaesthesia for awake thoracic surgery in severely dyspnoeic patients excluded from general anaesthesia.
General anaesthesia (GA) carries high risks of ventilator dependency with increased morbidity and mortality in patients with severe respiratory disease. It also presents an ethical dilemma if surgery remains the only treatment option for patients with advanced terminal chronic respiratory disease. Thoracic epidural anaesthesia for awake thoracic surgery (TEATS) in high-risk patients with dyspnoea at rest could avoid ventilator dependency and speed up recovery even in patients with severe dyspnoea. This retrospective observational study analysed indications, management and outcome of patients contraindicated to GA undergoing awake thoracic surgery with thoracic epidural anaesthesia. ⋯ TEATS with/without sedation was an alternative to GA for thoracotomy/thoracoscopy in severely dyspnoeic patients (MMRC grade 4, ASA 4) without postoperative sequelae.
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Interact Cardiovasc Thorac Surg · Nov 2014
Case ReportsMetal splinter ejected by circular saw into the left ventricle.
We report a case of a metal splinter ejected by a circular saw tooth from a wooden board into the left ventricle of the heart. A 35-year old man was admitted second day after accident attributed to work complaining about general weakness. ⋯ CT scan showed a metal wire entrapped inside his heart. Successful removal was done during surgery.
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Interact Cardiovasc Thorac Surg · Nov 2014
A structured blood conservation programme reduces transfusions and costs in cardiac surgery.
Transfusions of blood products can be lifesaving, but they are also associated with considerable risks and adverse effects, including immune response and infections. In cardiac surgery, transfusions have also been associated with increased mortality. We prospectively studied the effects of a structured programme to reduce transfusions and transfusion-associated costs in cardiac surgery. ⋯ A structured blood conservation programme reduces transfusions and costs for blood products in cardiac surgery, without any signs of compromised medical safety. The effects of introducing such a programme are maintained over at least 3 years.
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Interact Cardiovasc Thorac Surg · Nov 2014
Case ReportsCombined operative technique with anterior surgical approach and video-assisted thoracoscopic surgical lobectomy for anterior superior sulcus tumours.
Video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery (VATS) has been widely used, but surgical resections of superior sulcus tumours remain challenging because of their anatomical location. For such cases, less-invasive procedures, such as the anterior transcervical-thoracic and transmanubrial approaches, have been widely performed because of their excellent visualization of the subclavian vessels. Recently, a combined operative technique with an anterior surgical approach and VATS for anterior superior sulcus tumours has been introduced. ⋯ Subsequently, dissections of the anterior inlet of the tumours were performed using the transmanubrial approach in two patients and the anterior trans-cervical-thoracic approach in one patient. Both approaches provided excellent access to the anterior inlet of the tumour and exposure of the subclavian vessels, resulting in radical resection of the tumour with concomitant resection of the surrounding anatomical structures, including the chest wall and vessels. In conclusion, VATS lobectomy combined with the anterior surgical approach might be an excellent procedure for the resection of anterior superior sulcus tumours.