The Annals of thoracic surgery
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Comparative Study
Should orthotopic heart transplantation using marginal donors be limited to higher volume centers?
This study examined whether institutional volume impacts outcomes after orthotopic heart transplantation (OHT) utilizing marginal donors. ⋯ Consolidating the use of marginal donors to higher volume centers may be prudent in improving post-OHT outcomes in this higher risk patient subset.
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Comparative Study
Robotic anatomic segmentectomy of the lung: technical aspects and initial results.
Robotic lobectomy with radical lymph node dissection is a new frontier of minimally invasive thoracic surgery. Series of sublobar anatomic resection for primary initial lung cancers or for metastasis using video-assisted thoracic surgery have been reported but no cases have been so far reported using the robot-assisted approach. We present the technique and surgical outcome of our initial experience. ⋯ Robotic anatomic lung segmentectomy is feasible and safe procedure. Robotic system, by improving ergonomic, surgeon view and precise movements, may make minimally invasive segmentectomy easier to adopt and perform.
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Approximately 10% to 20% of children are readmitted congenital heart surgery. Readmissions are now being viewed by payers as preventable complications of the original surgery or hospitalization, and there have been proposals by insurance agencies to deny coverage of the additional expenses incurred by the readmission. With hopes to reduce the potential impact, we analyzed patients undergoing congenital heart surgery at our institution in order to identify risk factors for readmission. ⋯ Potential risk factors for readmission after congenital heart surgery have been identified. Hopefully, altering the discharge process and the early postoperative care in these high-risk patients can minimize the impact of hospital readmissions after congenital heart surgery.
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Our aim was to evaluate whether the workload of a surgeon, including number of operations, operative time, or number of rooms per day, influenced patient morbidity or mortality after pulmonary lobectomy. ⋯ The total number of hours a surgeon operates per day is independently associated with an increased risk of complications when performing pulmonary lobectomies. This could be related to surgeon fatigue associated with longer operative days. However, other patient variables are also associated with outcome. The relationship among these factors needs to be better understood with larger-scale models on a multiinstitutional level.
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We discuss 4 cases of plastic bronchitis (PB) after Fontan procedure observed at our Institution, with the aim to identify an effective treatment and possible factors favoring the onset of PB. Plastic bronchitis is an uncommon disease characterized by recurrent formation of large pale bronchial casts obstructing the tracheobronchial tree. The treatment includes inhaled or systemic steroids, aerosolized mucolytics, bronchoscopic lavage, direct bronchoscopic extraction and, in few reports, aerosolized fibrinolytic and pulmonary vasodilators. ⋯ The exact causes of PB in Fontan patients remain unknown. An early diagnosis and a multiple therapy with steroids, mucolytics, pulmonary vasodilators, and aerosolized tissue plasminogen activator may be effective.