• Journal of Chest Surgery
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• v.28 no.3
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• pp.293-296
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• 1995

Between September, 1987 and March, 1994, 11 patients were treated for the pulmonary aspergilloma.The mean age was 59.6 years. Hemoptysis was the most common chief compliants[100% .Postoperative pathology showed bronchiectasis and tuberculosis were most common underlying diseases.Operative procedures were wedge resection in one patient, segmentectomy in 2, lobectomy in 7. One patient treated conservative.In 3 patients, the postoperative air leakage persisted longer than after other pulmonary resectional surgery.There was no postoperative death. The surgical resection is strongly recommended when the patient develops hemoptysis.

• Journal of Chest Surgery
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• v.47 no.4
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• pp.431-433
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• 2014

Aspergillus is a common saprophytic fungi of the human airways and causes a broad spectrum of diseases, ranging from aspergilloma to invasive aspergillosis. There are few reports on mediastinal aspergilloma without any underlying pulmonary disease or immunocompromise. Herein, we report a case of mediastinal aspergilloma that we experienced and treated by thoracoscopic resection and oral antifungal medication.

• Journal of Chest Surgery
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• v.23 no.5
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• pp.998-1002
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• 1990

We managed a 30 years old female pulmonary aspergillosis patient concomitant with staged pneumothorax bilaterally whose lung function decreased severely. Operative indication was fetal hemoptysis. She discharged at four weeks after left upper lobectomy in good general condition. And we .concluded that early resection should be considered in patients with pulmonary aspergilloma and coexistent pulmonary tuberculosis because those are at greater risk of fetal hemorrhage, particularly once severe hemoptysis has occurred although poor lung function in our country.

• Journal of Chest Surgery
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• v.30 no.9
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• pp.936-940
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• 1997

Pulmonary aspergilloma is potentially a life threatening disease resulting from the colonization of lung cavities by Aspergillus fumigatus. A case is reported: a 43-year-old man with symtomatic cavitary aspergilloma presenting with severe productive coughing, hemopt sis, occasional fever, and chilling. On preoperative plain chest radiograph and CT scan, we could find a rounded irregular opacity in a large pulmonary cavity. He received 2 separate operations for therapeutic need. At the first opertion, we performed cavernostomy and thoracoplasty because of severe pleural adhesions, tearing of cavity wall, and high risk of respiratory insufficiency. At the second operation, we performed myoplasty and omentoplasty for closure of remaining air space and complete wrapping of the BPF site. All symptoms of dyspnea and hemoptysis have since resolved. We believed that in the high risk patients who have severe respiratory symptoms, such as in aspergilloma and open cavity with a risk of respiratory insufficiency, cavernostomy followed by myoplasty or omentoplasty should be recommended.

• Journal of Chest Surgery
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• v.15 no.2
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• pp.148-154
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• 1982

The experience with operative treatment for peripheral situated solitary circumscribed lesions of the lung at the Department of Thorac. & Cardiovasc. Surg., Korea University Hospital during 8 years from March 1974, through April, 1982 was reviewed. Our criteria for Solitary pulmonary nodule were 1. Round or Ovoid shape 2. Surrounded by normal lung Parenchyme 3. Well circumscribed peripheral location 4. No other visible pulmonary diseases on chest X-ray except minimal atelectasis or pneumonitis 5. Largest diameter less than 8 cm Of the 55 patients reviewed, there were 69% of malignancy and 31% of benign pulmonary diseases. In malignancy 38 patients, there were 18 patients with squamous cell carcinoma, 8 patients with undifferentiated large cell carcinoma, 2 patients with undifferentiated small cell carcinoma, 10 patients with adenocarcinoma and patient with metastatic carcinoma. In benign pulmonary nodule 17 patients, here were 5 patients with tuberculoma, 5 patients with aspergilloma, 2 patients with A-V fistula, 1 patient with pulmonary blastoma, 1 patient with paragonimiasis, and 1 patient with lung abscess. Overall male to female occurrence ratio was 39:16, and most prevalent age incidence was 7th decades. Most frequent size distribution was 4-6 cm in diameter. All of benign diseases were cured by resection and 66% of malignancy performed operation and has 75% resectability.

• Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases
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• v.52 no.1
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• pp.46-53
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• 2002

Background: Pulmonary aspergilloma is relatively common in korea. It arises from the colonization and proliferation of Aspergillus in preexisting lung parenchymal cavities, in particular tuberculosis. The most common symptom in this disorder is hemoptysis, which mayor may not be massive and life threatening. A routine chest radiography and computed tomography (CT) are the most important diagnostic procedures. A surgical resection of the aspergilloma has recently been recommended, because of the relatively low incidence of postoperative complications than in the past. A more concentrated sample of patients with aspergilloma, who either underwent a thoracotomy or tested positive for aspergillus antibodies, were reviewed. Method : The medical records of twenty-two patients with aspergilloma, who had a proven thoracotomy (9 cases), or who tested positive for the diagnostic procedure and/or aspergillus antibodies (13 cases) from January 1995 to December 2000, were reviewed retrospectively. Results : The most common underlying lung disease was a current or old healed tuberculosis, and 3 patients had cultures of mycobacterium other than tuberculosis (MOTT). The mean time until the aspergilloma was detected 5.91 years in the healed tuberculosis cases. The others cases involved a lung abscess, bronchiectasis and without lung disease. The extrapulmonary disease was alcoholism and diabetes. Hemoptysis was most common in 72.7%. A computed tomography (CT) is useful for diagnosis. The right upper lobe, especially the posterior segment, is the most common location. Bronchial artery embolization is ineffective for a long term follow-up. A lobectomy is most common in a thoracotomy, and intra-operative and post-operative complications are rare. During follow-up, the mortality rate, not from the aspergilloma but from respiratory failure, was 13.6%. Conclusion : Aspergilloma is a common cavitary lung disease, It mainly arises from tuberculosis, either current or healed, but extra-pulmonary disease including alcoholism or diabetes are other possible risk factors. Their most common problem in aspergilloma is hemoptysis. Surgery has a low risk of post-operative complications and is recommended in relatively preserved lung function or healthy patients. Medical maneuvers including embolization, and the local insertion of certain materials needs to be studied more closely.

• Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases
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• v.61 no.1
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• pp.65-69
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• 2006

Behcet's disease is a systemic vasculitis of an unknown etiology involving the arteries and veins of all sizes. There are reports showing that a pulmonary artery aneurysm or thromboembolism and superior vena cava thrombosis are present in 5-10% of patients with Behcet's disease and that lung parenchymal lesions are mainly airway consolidations resulting from hemorrhage or infarction. We encountered a patient with increasing pulmonary cavitary changes and localized aspergilloma. The patient was a 43-year-old man diagnosed with Behcet's disease with a history of recurrent oro-genital ulceration and uveitis, and who was administered methotrexate, colchicines, prednisolone. During the follow up he developed progressive dyspnea upon exertion and finger clubbing. Therefore further evaluations were performed. Chest computed tomography showed more advanced consolidations and cavitations than the previous film with the previously known aspergilloma still observable. An open lung biopsy was carried out to determine the presence of malignant changes, which revealed nonspecific vasculitis. Azathioprine was added resultion in an improvement of symptoms.

• Journal of Chest Surgery
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• v.32 no.3
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• pp.318-321
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• 1999

The remaining lung infarction is a rare but life-threatening complication after a thoracic operation and trauma. We report a case of this rare complication after the left upper lobectomy due to pulmonary aspergilloma. The infarction of the remaining left lower lobe occurred due to kinking of the pulmonary vessels after the left upper lobectomy and the completion pneumonectomy was performed in the post-operative second day. Therefore, prompt diagnosis and treatment may be necessary to prevent morbidity and mortality associated with pulmonary infarction from torsion of pulmonary artery and vein.

• Journal of Chest Surgery
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• v.34 no.9
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• pp.729-732
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• 2001

A 49-year-old male patient was admitted with chief complaint of hemoptysis. Preoperative chest PA and CT scan revealed air-filled large cavitary lesion at the right upper lobe with typical meniscus sign. Serum anti-fungus antibody for Aspergillus was positive and he was diagnosed as aspergilloma. We planned RULobectomy but it was impossible due to severe pleural adhesion in apex and mediastinal pleura. Therefore, we performed a cavernostomy and serratus anterior muscle flap transposition in one stage. The patient recovered without complication and was followed up for 8 months without recurrence of hemoptysis.

• Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases
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• v.44 no.6
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• pp.1308-1317
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• 1997

Background : Pulmonary aspergillomas usually arise from colonization and proliferation of Aspergillus in preexisting cavitary lung disease of any cause. About 15% of patients with tuberculous pulmonary cavities were found to have aspergilloma. We analyzed the clinical features and course of 91 patients with pulmonary aspergilloma. Method : During the ten-year period from June 1986 to May 1996, 91 patients whose condition was diagnosed as pulmonary aspergilloma at 4 university hospitals in Taegu city were reviewed. All patients fulfilled one of the following criteria : 1) histologic evidence of aspergilloma within abnormal air space in tissue sections, or 2) a positive Aspergillus serum precipitin test with the radiologic finding of a fungus ball. The histological diagno-sis was established in 81 patients(89.0%) and clinical diagnosis in 10 patients(11.0%). Results : 1) The age range was 22 to 65 years, with an average of 45 years. A male and female ratio was 1.7 : 1 (57 men and 34 women). 2) Hemoptysis was far the most frequent symptom(89%), followed by cough, dyspnea, weakness, weight loss, fever, chest pain. 3) In all but 14 cases(15.4%) there had been associated conditions. Pulmonary tuberculosis was far the most frequent underlying condition found(74.7%), followed by bronchiectasis (6.6%), cavitary neoplasm(2.2%), pulmonary sequestration(1.1%). 4) The involved area was usually in the upper lobes; the right upper lobe was involved in 39(42.9%), the left upper lobe in 31(34.1%), the left lower lobe in 13(14.3%), the right lower lobe in 7(7.7%), and the right middle lobe in 1(1.1%). 5) On standard chest roent geno gram the classic "bell-like" image of a fungus ball was found in 62.6% of the subjects. On CT scan, 88.1% of the subjects in which they were done. 6) The surgical therapy was undertaken in 76 patients, and medical therapy in 15 patients, including 4 patients with intracavitary instillation of amphotericin B. 7) The surgical modality was lobectomy in 55 patients(72.4%), segmentectomy in 16 patients(21.1%), pneumonectomy in 4 patients(5.3%), wedge resection in 1 patient(1.3%). The mortality rate was 3.9% (3 patients) ; 2 patients died of sepsis and 1 died of hemoptysis. The postoperative complications were encountered in 6 patients (7.9%), including each one patient with respiratory failure, bleeding, bronchopleural fistula, empyema, and vocal cord paralysis. 8) In the follow-up cases, each 2 patients of 71 patients with surgical treatment and 10 patients with medical treatment had recurrent hemoptysis. Conclusion : During follow-up of the chronic pulmonary disease with abnormal air space, if the standard chest roentgenograms are insufficient to detect a fungus ball, computed tomographic scan and serum precipitin test are likely to aid the diagnosis of patients with suspected pulmonary aspergilloma. A reasonable recommendation for management of a patient with aspergilloma would be to reserve surgical resection for those patients who have had severe, recurrent hemoptysis. And a well controlled cooperative study to the medical treatment such as intracavitary antifungal therapy is further needed.