[Surgical treatment of chronic diaphragmatic paralysis and eventrations].
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Biomedical subjects
Publications and source records attributed to J Mouroux.
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BACKGROUND: In 9 out of 10 cases, lymphangiomas are observed during the first years of life, generally located in the neck. Rare lymphangiomas have been reported in adults, usually in an intrathoracic localization, raising the hypothesis of an acquired origin. PATIENTS AND METHODS: A retrospective analysis of patients undergoing surgery for lymphanioma of the neck or mediastinum was conducted. Pathology reports, clinical data and medical imaging (CT) were reviewed and operative and post-operative findings were analyzed in order to determine whether the cases could be divided into congenital and non-congenital forms. RESULTS: Data were obtained on 37 patients (23 men and 14 women, mean age 45 years, range 8-77). Four lesions (11%) were located in the neck: 3 in children and one in an elderly subject (77 yrs). Thirty-three tumors (89%) were located in the mediastinum. In 5 cases, the tumor was located in the phrenic nodes of the anterior mediastinum. These lymphangiomas occurred in young adults, had a CT density less than liquid with enhancement after contrast injection, and had a malformative vascular component proven anatomically and histologically (hemolymphangioma). These elements favored a congenital orgin. In 28 cases (76.6%) the tumor involved nodes in the posterior or middle mediastinum. They occurred in older adults and were purely liquid with no vascular component. These lymphangiomas were undoubtedly acquired. CONCLUSION: In children, adolescents and young adults, lymphagiomas are found in the neck or anterior mediastinum and have a tissular component. These tumors should be considered as congenital lymphangiomas. In older adults, lymphangiomas are found in the posterior or middle mediastinum and are purely liquid cysts suggesting an acquired origin.
BACKGROUND: Pain is the most distressing feature of pancreatic cancer. Thoracoscopic splanchnicectomy, first performed in 1993, has caused a resurgence of interest in surgical treatment of such excruciating pain. METHODS: Twenty patients underwent splanchnicectomy for pancreatic cancer pain over a period of 50 months. All were opiate dependent and unable to pursue normal daily life activities. We evaluated the type of splanchnicectomy performed and the long-term results procured. RESULTS: The number of splanchnicectomies was 24: unilateral videothoracoscopic splanchnicectomy, n = 11; unilateral videothoracoscopic splanchnicectomy with associated vagotomy, n = 5; and bilateral videosplanchnicectomy, n = 4. There was no postoperative complication. Pain was totally relieved and drug addiction stopped in 16 patients: 10 with unilateral videothoracoscopic splanchnicectomy, 2 with unilateral videothoracoscopic splanchnicectomy and associated vagotomy, and 4 with bilateral videosplanchnicectomy. Pain was not relieved after 4 unilateral videothoracoscopic splanchnicectomies, but bilateralization was not attempted in that subgroup. CONCLUSIONS: Unilateral videothoracoscopic splanchnicectomy is the treatment of choice of intractable pancreatic pain, affording drug cessation and recovery of daily activity in most patients. Failure may be treated secondarily by bilateralization with excellent results. Bilateral videosplanchnicectomy need not be performed by first intention.
Ciliated respiratory epithelial cells have to tolerate variations in local pH caused by the respiratory cycle and potential ventilation-perfusion mismatches. We showed previously that peripheral bronchiolar cilia beat at a lower frequency than bronchial cilia, and have now investigated whether they show differences in tolerance to changes in pH. Using the image analysis system applied in the previous study, we compared variations in the ciliary beat frequencies (CBF) of bronchi and bronchioles sampled from human lung resections at various pH in vitro. Application of nonparametric tests (the variance of samples was not similar) indicated that CBF was not significantly modified when pH was varied between 7.5 and 10.5 for bronchi, and between 5.5 and 10.5 for bronchioles. Reversible and significantly lower CBF were observed below pH 7.0 for bronchi and below pH 5.0 for bronchioles. Extreme pH values such as 11.0 or 3.0 were lethal within a few minutes. Thus, respiratory ciliary beating is able to tolerate external pH variations between 3.5 and 10.5 without permanent impairment. In addition we found that alkaline pH values are more favourable than acidic ones and that bronchiolar ciliated cells are more tolerant to acidic pH than bronchial cells.
The authors report two cases of pulmonary lymphangioleiomyomatosis which were diagnosed by surgical biopsies. Immunohistochemical study showed positive staining of the smooth muscle cells using antibodies directed against smooth muscle actin, specific muscle actin, HMB45 and vimentin. Ultrastructural study showed some smooth muscle differentiation features, with numerous myofilaments and some dense bodies near the plasma membrane. In one case, the patient was treated by a double-lung transplantation. LAM is a non-familial disease occurring exclusively in females. The etiology is unknown. This disease can be complicated by chronic respiratory failure. Extrapulmonary sites are not rare, particularly in the uterus. Anti-estrogen treatment can slow the course of the disease. Lung transplantation is actually the only effective treatment at the present time therapy. The differential diagnosis of this disease is discussed.
We report a case of acute respiratory insufficiency with acute cor pulmonale and a fatal outcome. Right cardiac catheterisation enabled a diagnosis of precapillary pulmonary arterial hypertension to be made with a mean pulmonary arterial pressure of 61 mmHg and a pulmonary capillary pressure of 12 mHg. An autopsy was carried out and this revealed a microscopic pulmonary tumour emboli with lymphangitis carcinomatosis. In particular, it showed an association of fibrocellular proliferation at the level of the intima in the small calibre pulmonary arteries and arterioles permitting the unusual diagnosis of thrombosing pulmonary microangiomathy due to tumour. The physiopathological mechanism of this particular form of pulmonary tumour emboli is discussed; it would be secondary to an activation of the coagulation systems by the embolic tumour cells. Once activated, it is the lesions in the intima and not the carcinoma cells which generate the pulmonary arterial hypertension by vascular obstruction.
BACKGROUND: The aim of this study was to evaluate videothoracoscopic procedures in the setting of chest trauma. METHODS: We retrospectively analyzed our experience of videothoracoscopy in patients with either blunt trauma or penetrating thoracic injuries. RESULTS: Forty-three procedures involving 42 patients were performed between July 1990 and April 1996. Indications for videothoracoscopy included suspected diaphragmatic injury (14 patients), clotted hemothorax (12), continued hemothorax (6), persistent pneumothorax (5), intrathoracic foreign body (4), posttraumatic chylothorax (1), and posttraumatic empyema (1 patient). Ten patients (24%) required conversion to thoracotomy. Two patients suffered postoperative pneumonia. There was one perioperative death. Mean hospital stay was 17 days; 21 days for patients with blunt trauma and 13 days for patients with penetrating injuries. There was no procedure-related complication. Videothoracoscopy allowed precocious discharge of patients suffering penetrating injuries and allowed faster recovery in the majority of patients suffering severe blunt trauma. CONCLUSIONS: Videothoracoscopy appears to be a safe, accurate, and useful approach in selected patients with chest trauma. It is ideal for the assessment of diaphragmatic injuries, for control of chest wall bleeding, for early removal of clotted hemothorax, for treatment of empyema, for treatment of chylothorax, for treatment of persistent pneumothorax, and for removal of intrathoracic foreign body. However, we do not recommend the use of this technique in the setting of suspected great vessel or cardiac injury.
OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to determine the efficacy and safety of videothoracoscopic lung biopsy (VTLB) in the diagnosis of infiltrative lung disease (ILD) and compare the results of VTLB with the results previously obtained in patients with open lung biopsy at the same institution. METHODS: Forty-one patients undergoing VTLB between May 1991 and December 1994 were retrospectively studied and compared with 25 patients who have undergone OLB during the period from January 1987 to April 1991. The two groups were comparable with respect to age, sex, and severity of lung disease. RESULTS: Three of 41 patients (7%) who underwent VTLB with minithoracotomy. There was no significant difference between the group of VTLB (38 patients) and the group OLB (25 patients) with regard to, the number of biopsies (VTLB 1.8 +/- 0.4 versus OLB 2 +/- 0.6), or diagnostic yield (VTLB 37/38 versus OLB 25/25). In contrast, patients who underwent VTLB demonstrated a significant reduction of the operative time (VTLB 45.3 +/- 12.2 min), length of chest tube drainage (3.55 +/- 1.2 days), hospital stay (5.5 +/- 1.3 days), and analgesia (buprenorphine 0.85 +/- 0.44 mg; paracetamol 5.9 +/- 2.5 g) compared to patients who underwent OLB (55.6 +/- 11.2 min, 5.2 +/- 1.5 days; 7.1 +/- 2.3 days; buprenorphine 1.17 +/- 0.5 mg, paracetamol 8.9 +/- 2.3 g). Morbidity and mortality were similar in the two groups (morbidity VTLB 10.5%, OLB 12%; mortality VTLB 5.2%, OLB 8%). Regardless of the biopsy technique, the most serious complications and deaths occurred with the same frequency in those patients with a severe underlying disease. CONCLUSIONS: VTLB is a valid alternative to OLB in most cases. Along with a comparable efficacy, VTLB has several advantages that should make it the method of choice for patients with only minimally impaired respiratory function. In contrast, the role and advantages of VTLB compared to OLB in patients with severe lung disease, require further investigation.
The aim of this study was to determine the effect of domiciliary nasal intermittent positive pressure ventilation (NIPPV) on lung function and quality of life in hypercapnic patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Fourteen hypercapnic COPD patients in a stable clinical condition were evaluated in a prospective study of domiciliary NIPPV plus long-term oxygen therapy. Baseline data obtained during a 4 week run-in period were compared with measurements at the end of the 6 month study period. Spirometric parameters, arterial blood gas tensions, and quality of life were assessed. Quality of life was measured using the St George's Respiratory Questionnaire (SGRQ) and the French version of the Nottingham Health Profile (FVNHP). All patients completed 6 months of domiciliary NIPPV. Gastro-intestinal inflation was reported by eight patients. Daytime arterial oxygen tension and arterial carbon dioxide tension, improved after therapy. During the NIPPV study period, the total SGRQ score and impacts score both improved significantly; significant improvements were also noted in the total FVNHP score and the physical mobility, emotional reactions, and energy component scores. Domiciliary nasal intermittent positive pressure ventilation combined with long-term oxygen therapy has been found to improve blood gases in spontaneous ventilation, as well as the quality of life of patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.
STUDY OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to determine the differences between ciliary beat frequencies of respiratory ciliated cells from peripheral bronchioles and from proximal bronchi in humans. DESIGN: Measurements were made from resected lungs. Ciliated cells were harvested by brushing the mucosa of each site immediately after surgery. Brushings with a cytology brush were performed on normal areas of the resected cartilaginous bronchus for proximal samplings and through a peripheral bronchiole close to the visceral pleura for peripheral samplings. For each site, at least 12 different measurements were made at 22 degrees C using an image analysis system. RESULTS: A highly significant difference between proximal bronchi (mean, 7.1 Hz; SD, 1.29) and peripheral bronchioles (mean, 4.6 Hz; SD, 1.39) (p < 0.0001) was found. CONCLUSION: Thus, cilia from peripheral bronchioles beat at a 35% lower beat frequency than cilia from proximal bronchi.
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Benign fibrous mesothelioma of the pleura is a rare tumor of mesodermal origin. We describe the MR findings in three pathologically proven cases. All three tumors were imaged by MR as well-circumscribed lesions with smooth margins in contact with the pleura, but without chest wall invasion. Their low signal intensity on T1- and T2-weighted sequences reflect their fibrous nature. In one case a pedicle connecting the tumor to the chest wall was visualized on a sagittal MR scan. In two cases gadolinium-enhanced T1-weighted gradient echo sequences revealed intense contrast uptake by the tumor correlated with the intratumoral hypervascularization noted by histologic examination. Although the number of cases presented is small, MR seems to be the most accurate imaging modality in the assessment of the diagnosis.
BACKGROUND: This study was designed to identify any clinical, histologic, and prognostic features specific to cavitated bronchopulmonary tumors. METHODS: A total of 353 patients with lung cancer were categorized in two groups on the basis of chest radiograph and computed tomographic findings: 35 patients with cavitated cancers (group I) and 318 patients with noncavitated neoplasms (group II). Cavitation was defined as the presence of air in the tumor at the time of diagnosis and before any treatment or aspiration biopsy. The two groups were compared. RESULTS: There was no significant difference between the two groups concerning age, smoking history, or the interval to diagnosis, but diabetes (14.3% versus 5%) and fever (28.6% versus 13.5%) were significantly more frequent in group I than in group II. No statistically significant difference was observed between the two groups in tumor site or endoscopic appearance. Cavitated tumors were 1.5 times larger than the noncavitated lesions. Squamous cell carcinoma was significantly more frequent in group I than in group II (82.8% versus 61%). Survival at 1, 3, and 5 years was, respectively, 58.6%, 36.1%, and 22.2% in group I versus 48.2%, 35%, and 23.8% in group II. CONCLUSIONS: Despite several specific features, there appears to be no justification for considering cavitated neoplasms separately from other forms of lung cancer.
In contrast to the large thoracotomy incisions required by standard surgical techniques for repair of diaphragmatic eventration, the procedure we developed can be performed by video-assisted thoracoscopy, thus offering patients the advantages of a minimally invasive operation. Using two superposed series of transverse back-and-forth continuous sutures, the diaphragm is invaginated, then stretched. The first suture line holds the diaphragm down and maintains the excess within the abdomen; the second suture line places the desired tension on the diaphragmatic dome. Successful repair of 3 cases by this technique is described.
OBJECTIVE: This article describes the technique and results for an initial series of 100 pneumothoraces treated by video-assisted thoracoscopy. METHODS: From May 1991 to November 1994, 97 patients (78 male and 19 female patients) aged 37.2 +/- 17 years (range 14 to 92 years) underwent video-assisted thoracoscopy for treatment of spontaneous pneumothorax (primary in 75 patients, secondary in 22 patients). RESULTS: The procedure was unilateral in 94 patients and bilateral in three patients (total 100 cases). Pleural bullae were resected with an endoscopic linear stapler; a lung biopsy was performed in the absence of any identifiable lesion. Pleurodesis was achieved by electrocoagulation of the pleura (n = 3), "patch" pleurectomy (n = 3), subtotal pleurectomy (n = 20), or pleural abrasion (n = 74), including conversion to standard thoracotomy in five. One of these five patients had primary pneumothorax and four had secondary pneumothorax. There were no postoperative deaths. A complication developed in 10 patients: five patients with a primary pneumothorax (6.6%) and five with a secondary pneumothorax (27.7%). The mean postoperative hospital stay was 8.25 +/- 3.2 days. Mean follow-up is 30 months (range 7 to 49 months). Pneumothorax recurred in 3% of patients, all of whom were operated on at the start of our experience. Three percent of the patients had chronic postoperative chest pain. CONCLUSIONS: Video-assisted thoracoscopy is a valid alternative to open thoracotomy for the treatment of spontaneous primary pneumothorax. Its role for the management of secondary pneumothorax remains to be defined. In the long term, the efficacy of video-assisted thoracoscopic pleurodesis and surgeon experience should yield the same results as standard operative therapy.
To define the current indications for surgical management of pleuropulmonary tuberculosis and analyze the results of operative procedures, the records of 59 patients operated on between January 1987 and December 1993 were reviewed. Three patient categories were defined. Group I patients (n = 25) underwent operation for diagnostic purposes: solitary mediastinal node or mediastinal adenopathy associated with pulmonary lesions (n = 10), pulmonary infiltrates (n = 4), pulmonary nodules or masses (n = 10), or chronic pleurisy (n = 1). Postoperative mortality and morbidity rates in this group were both 4%. Group II patients (n = 18) underwent operation for active lesions: intrapulmonary cavity (n = 6), destroyed lung parenchyma (n = 6), or chronic loculated pleural effusion (n = 6). Postoperative morbidity and mortality rates were 16.6% and 5.5%, respectively. Group III patients (n = 16) underwent operation for a complication of therapy or for sequelae of previously "cured" tuberculosis: calcified pyothorax (n = 8), empyema (n = 2), fistulized nodes (n = 2), bronchiectasis (n = 3), or aspergilloma (n = 1). Morbidity and mortality rates in this group were 31.25% and 12.5%, respectively. Surgery continues to have both diagnostic and therapeutic indications for management of pleuropulmonary tuberculosis, despite the morbidity and mortality rates associated with operative procedures.
STUDY OBJECTIVE: To determine the indications and limitations of surgical videothoracoscopy for management of pleural effusion, an infrequent and often recurring complication of cirrhotic ascites whose pathogenesis involves direct passage of ascitic fluid into the pleural space through minute defects in the diaphragm. DESIGN/SETTING/PATIENTS/INTERVENTIONS: Eight cirrhotic patients with ascites and recurrent pleural effusion underwent surgical videothoracoscopy to localize and close any diaphragmatic defects and to achieve pleurodesis by application of talc. MEASUREMENTS AND RESULTS: Diaphragmatic defects were localized and closed in six patients; postoperative mean volume and duration of drainage were, respectively, 0.408 +/- 0.157 mL and 7.6 +/- 1.75 days. None of these six patients developed recurrent pleural effusion (follow-up, 7 to 36 months). In the 2 patients in whom no defect was found, drainage had to be maintained for 15 days and 18 days (drainage volumes, 3 and 4 L). At hospital discharge, both patients had a stable recurrent effusion occupying the lower third of the cavity. CONCLUSIONS: Utilization of videothoracoscopy appears particularly indicated for these fragile patients when medical therapy fails. The procedure's efficacy is immediate and durable once defects are identified and closed. If the technique proves unsuccessful, it does not hinder subsequent use of other methods.
From January 1979 to May 1995, 18 patients (4 men, 14 women) with a mean age of 75.4 +/- 12.5 yr underwent surgery for a complicated paraesophageal hiatus hernia. In 5 patients, the complication was the first sign of the diagnosis. Thirteen patients had a history of digestive, respiratory, or cardiac symptoms (mean duration of symptoms 74 mo.; range 2-240 mo.); 9 of them were aware that they had a hiatus hernia. Ten patients presented with acute obstruction (associated with a perforation in 1 case, jaundice in 1 case, and righy lower lobe pneumonia in 1 case). Hemorrhage occurred in 6 patients (hematemesis 4 cases, melena 2 cases). One patient had a perforation and another had an abscess of the lower right lobe. Surgery was performed via a transabdominal approach in all cases (5 times as an emergency, 12 times as a delayed emergency procedure, and once as an elective procedure). The procedure was delayed in 13 cases because of successful nasogastric decompression. All patients underwent reintegration of the stomach, diaphragmatic repair and gastropexy. An antireflux procedure was performed in 14 cases. Seven patients had an ancillary procedure (including one splenectomy following decapsulation). There were no postoperative deaths. Two patients who underwent emergency surgery developed a benign complication. The outcome of 17 patients is known; none of them developed a recurrence. One patient who did not undergo an antireflux procedure presented with gastroesophageal reflux; another experienced pain during eructation. In conclusion, nearly two-thirds of all patients who present with an acute complication can benefit from medical preparation before surgery, a strategy that improves results.