J Cardiovasc Surg
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Video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery (VATS) has been recently utilised in the diagnosis and management of thoracic diseases. In this article we report our series of patients with established indications for VATS treatment. ⋯ VATS is worth considering and has been established as procedure of choice, with exceptional results in various chest diseases such as undiagnosed pleural effusions, recurrent, post-traumatic or complicated spontaneous pneumothorax, stage II empyema, accurate staging for lung cancer in the resection of peripheral solitary pulmonary nodule less than 3 cm, and lung biopsy for pulmonary diffuse disease.
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In the assessment of fluid status after cardiac surgery, we applied bioelectrical impedance analysis (BIA) to measure the total body water (TBW), extracellular fluid (ECF), and intracellular fluid (ICF), and evaluated its validity. ⋯ It was considered that BIA was useful for evaluating the relative changes in TBW and fluid distribution, and ECF/ICF might be a new parameter for abnormal water metabolism after cardiac surgery.
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A man presented with acute chest and back pain with loss of consciousness. CT scan showed a mass in the arch that extended into the descending aorta. A diagnosis of type I aortic dissection was ultimately made by echocardiography. At surgery there was a circumferential intimal tear in the aortic root, and an intussuscepted dissection flap was retrieved from the arch and descending aorta.
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Comparative Study
Usefulness of transesophageal echocardiography during open heart surgery of mitral stenosis.
The aim of this study was to verify if the use of intraoperative transesophageal echocardiography (TEE), by detecting mitral insufficiency or residual stenosis during surgery, may improve medium term results in patients with severe mitral stenosis who undergo open heart valvuloplasty. ⋯ Intraoperative TEE may guide the surgeon in the assessment of valvuloplasty. However the absence of mitral regurgitation after repair and at discharge cannot predict the medium term results, which are related to the degree of the disease of the mitral valve.
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Major vascular injuries in the region of the neck are most frequently the result of penetrating trauma. Evaluation and management of patients with injury to Zone II of the neck remains highly controversial. Most studies involve small number of patients with a lack of standardization of the nature of the injury in reporting outcome. It is the purpose of this study to propose a grading scale for vascular injuries in the neck that would allow for more uniform reporting of such injuries. ⋯ Carotid artery injuries occur in about 17% of patients with penetrating neck trauma. Data regarding management and prognosis in these patients are at best concflicting, in part, due to lack of a standardized classification system. The proposed grading scale is designed to overcome this problem.