• Journal of Chest Surgery
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• v.49 no.6
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• pp.461-464
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• 2016

Coronary artery disease has historically been a contraindication to lung transplantation. We report a successful combined bilateral lung transplantation and off-pump coronary artery bypass in a 62-year-old man. The patient had a progressive decline in lung function due to idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis and a history of severe occlusive coronary artery disease.

• Journal of Veterinary Clinics
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• v.34 no.1
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• pp.50-53
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• 2017

Two dogs presented to our facility were each diagnosed with a thoracic mass. Radiography and computed tomography revealed isolated primary lung tumors. Partial lung lobectomy was applied in Case 1 and total lung lobectomy in Case 2, using a thoracoabdominal stapler. No complications were observed after surgery in either dog. The outcome of these cases indicates that use of a thoracoabdominal stapler in partial and total lung lobectomy may be recommended for small-breed dogs.

• Journal of Chest Surgery
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• v.51 no.4
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• pp.280-282
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• 2018

Unilateral absence of a pulmonary artery (UAPA) is a rare congenital anomaly that may present with various symptoms, depending on the nature and severity of other cardiovascular anomalies. Furthermore, contralateral lung surgery in patients with UAPA is extremely rare, and clinical experience is limited. This report describes a case of surgical treatment of contralateral primary lung cancer in a patient with isolated UAPA. A 56-year-old man was diagnosed with primary lung cancer accompanied by isolated UAPA on the contralateral side. He underwent meticulous cardiorespiratory function tests preoperatively. We performed a right lower lobectomy. Although in the immediate postoperative period, the patient suffered from a mild decline in his respiratory function, he recovered uneventfully. The present case shows that preoperative awareness of UAPA and meticulous perioperative management enable contralateral lung surgery to be performed safely.

• Journal of Chest Surgery
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• v.50 no.5
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• pp.399-402
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• 2017

We report the case of a patient with penetrating chest trauma (right chest) who had undergone a left pneumonectomy due to pulmonary tuberculosis 24 years ago. We performed an emergent thoracotomy, finding an opening of the penetrating wound in a lower-lobe basal segment of the right lung. A stapled tractotomy was performed along the tract. Bleeding control and air-leakage control was done easily and rapidly. The patient was discharged without any complications on the seventh day of admission. Tractotomy can be a good option for treating penetrating lung injuries in patients with limited lung function who need emergent surgery.

• Journal of Chest Surgery
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• v.47 no.5
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• pp.458-464
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• 2014

Background: The effort to detect lung cancer in ever-earlier stages leads to the identification of an increasing number of patients without preoperative histological diagnosis. The aim of this study is to determine the prevalence and characteristics of benign lesions excised in the context of lung cancer surgery. Methods: We retrospectively analyzed data from 125 surgical procedures. We compared the preoperative clinical or cyto-histological diagnosis with the surgical-pathologic diagnosis in order to identify the percentage of benign lesions excised. Furthermore, other parameters were analyzed, such as age, sex, tumor size, the presence of calcification, and the type of surgery according to subgroup. Results: Of the 125 patients included in the study, 63 (50.4%) had a preoperative histological diagnosis of malignancy, corresponding to 56 cases (44.8%) of primary lung cancer and 7 cases (5.6%) of metastases. The 62 (49.6%) remaining cases without preoperative histological diagnosis were divided among 50 (40%) solitary pulmonary nodules and 12 (9.6%) pulmonary masses. According to the postoperative pathologic examination, we identified 12 (9.6%) benign lesions excised during lung cancer surgery. There were no statistically significant differences by subgroups with respect to age or sex. We found statistically significant evidence regarding the size and wedge resection as the surgical technique of choice for this type of benign lesion. Conclusion: Our study obtained results similar to those published by other groups regarding the resection of benign lesions in lung cancer surgery. This percentage could be a quality management index of indeterminate lung lesions.

• Journal of Chest Surgery
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• v.55 no.4
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• pp.255-264
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• 2022

Globally, thousands of patients undergo lung transplantation owing to end-stage lung disease each year. As lung transplantation evolves, recommendations and indications are constantly being updated. In 2021, the International Society for Heart and Lung Transplantation published a new consensus document for selecting candidates for lung transplantation. However, it is still difficult to determine appropriate candidates for lung transplantation among patients with complex medical conditions and various diseases. Therefore, it is necessary to analyze each patient's overall situation and medical condition from various perspectives, and ongoing efforts to optimize the analysis will be necessary. The purpose of this study is to review the extant literature and discuss recent updates.

• Journal of Chest Surgery
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• v.55 no.4
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• pp.293-300
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• 2022

Lung transplantation is the only treatment option for patients with end-stage lung disease. Although more than 4,000 lung transplants are performed every year worldwide, the standardized protocols contain no guidelines for monitoring during lung transplantation. Specific anesthetic concerns are associated with lung transplantation, especially during critical periods, including anesthesia induction, the initiation of positive pressure ventilation, the establishment and maintenance of one-lung ventilation, pulmonary artery clamping, pulmonary artery unclamping, and reperfusion of the transplanted lung. Anesthetic management according to the special risks associated with a patient's existing lung disease and surgical stage is the most important factor. Successful anesthesia in lung transplantation can improve hemodynamic stability, oxygenation, ventilation, and outcomes. Therefore, anesthesiologists must have expertise in transesophageal echocardiography, extracorporeal life support, and cardiopulmonary anesthesia and understand the pathophysiology of end-stage lung disease and the drugs administered. In addition, communication among anesthesiologists, surgeons, and perfusionists during surgery is important to achieve optimal patient results.

• Journal of Chest Surgery
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• v.48 no.5
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• pp.375-377
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• 2015

We report a case of an entrapped lung after the pectus bar repair of a pectus deformity. The entrapped lung was found incidentally during video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery (VATS) for pneumothorax. Based on VATS exploration, multiple bullae seemed to be the cause of the pneumothorax, but the entrapped lung was suspected to have been a cause of the air leakage.

• Journal of Chest Surgery
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• v.56 no.1
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• pp.6-13
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• 2023

Background: Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has been found to cause life-threatening respiratory failure, which can progress to irreversible lung damage. Lung transplantation can be a life-saving treatment in patients with terminal lung disease (e.g., acute respiratory distress syndrome caused by infection). This study aimed to present the clinical course and results after initial lung transplantation in patients with severe COVID-19 who did not recover even with optimal medical care. Methods: From August 2019 to February 2022, this study enrolled 10 patients with COVID-19 (5 men; median age, 55.7 years) who underwent lung transplantation at a single center in Korea. All patients' characteristics, clinical pathway, overall survival, complications, and operative data were collected and analyzed. Results: Veno-venous extracorporeal membrane oxygenation or an oxygenator in a right ventricular assist device circuit was applied to 90% of the patients, and the median length of extracorporeal life support before operation was 48.5 days. There were no cases of mortality after a median follow-up of 372.8 days (interquartile range, 262.25-489 days). The major complications included the requirement for postoperative extracorporeal membrane oxygenation support in 2 cases (20%), re-transplantation in 1 case (10%), and re-exploration due to bleeding in 2 cases (20%). During the follow-up period, 3 out of 10 patients died. Conclusion: Excellent early outcomes were observed for patients who underwent lung transplantation. Thus, lung transplantation can be an effective and feasible treatment for patients with end-stage lung disease caused by COVID-19.

• Journal of Chest Surgery
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• v.26 no.1
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• pp.47-53
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• 1993

The high relapse rate after curative surgery of lung cancer suggests that tumor cells are remained at the site of resection and in the distant organs. Postoperative radiochemoimmunotherapy including protein-bound polysaccharide PS-K[Copolang] and/or chemotherapy to improve the prognosis in lung cancer has been adopted. The patients with lung cancer who were treated with a combined modality therapy after surgery were reviewed to determine the effects of adjuvant immunotherapy[PS-K] and the relationship between midterm survival and clinicopathologic variables. During the past 5 years, 95 patients with lung cancer underwent resective operation. Of them, 30 cases were curative surgery, 29 were relative curative surgery, and the remainders were non-curative surgery. Postoperative combination therapies consisted of three types of therapies: postoperative BRM[biological response modifiers] with PS-K [Copolang] 50 mg/kg for 24 weeks[Group 1], chemoimmunotherapy with chemotherapy[a combination of cisplatin, etoposide, vindesine] and PS-K [Group 2], radioimmunotherapy with postoperative prophylactic irradiation to the mediastinum at total dose of 54 Gy-60 Gy and PS-K [Group 3] and surgery without adjuvant therapy[Group 4]. Twenty months survival rates of localized disease [Stages I and II] treated with PS-K, with radioimmunotherapy and no therapy were 73 %, 60 %, and 50 %, respectively [p [0.05]. Three-year survival rates of regionally advanced cases [stage Ilia and IIIb] were 23 % in Group 1.57 % in Group 2.20 % in Group 3, and 0 % in Group 4, respectively.According to above results, we suggest that postoperative combination therapy including PS-K might improve the prognosis of lung cancer. The similar survival pattern of patients with squamous cell carcinoma and adenocarcinoma treated with BRM, chemoimmunotherapy or radioimmunotherapy need to evaluate the role of postoperative immunotherapy[PS-K] in randomized studies.