• Journal of The Korean Dental Society of Anesthesiology
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• v.14 no.1
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• pp.63-71
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• 2014

Extension of advanced odontogenic infection from deep neck fascial spaces into the mediastinum is heralded by chest pain, dyspnea, fever, and radiographic demonstration of mediastinal widening. The critical care should be done in a team approach by multiple medical and dental departments, such as, oral & maxillofacial surgery, otolaryngology, anesthesiology, chest surgery, and infection medicine. Especially, fluid & drug therapy, adequate incision & drainage and systemic supportive psychosedation care are important. But, acute hyperventilation can be produced by several distinct causes: severe anxiety, respiratory alkalosis, increased blood catecholamine levels, and a decrease in the level of the ionized calcium in the blood. The orofacial fears about acute pain, trismus, dysphagia, swelling and oral surgical treatment lead to the severe anxiety and increased blood catecholamine level by stress. Therefore, the most dental patient should be cared gently as the stress reduction protocol. In spite of the care, hyperventilation was occurred during psychosedation and local anesthesia for incision and drainage of the masticatory fascial space abscess with deep neck infection & mediastinitis. We suggest that the dental patient with advanced odontogenic infection must be attention for the manifestation of hyperventilation, especially in the medically compromised conditions.

• Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases
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• v.79 no.2
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• pp.101-103
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• 2016

Nocardia species are aerobic, gram-positive pathogens found worldwide in soil. Nocardia is considered an opportunistic pathogen, and its infection mostly occurs in immunocompromised patients. We report a case of Nocardia farcinica induced mediastinitis and pneumonia that occurred in a 64-year-old male patient who had no significant medical history except for hypertension. He visited another hospital with a complaint of dyspnea and left chest wall pain. The symptoms arose 7 days ago without any trauma and they worsened. A mediastinal mass was found on computed tomography scan. After being transferred to our hospital for further evaluation, he was diagnosed with mediastinitis and pneumonia. As N. farcinica was found to be the causative organism by 16S rRNA sequencing, proper antibiotic therapy including trimethoprim/sulfamethoxazole was initiated immediately. After this, the patient improved and he was discharged. If an infection has a disseminating course, nocardiosis cannot be excluded even in immunocompetent patients. Once the diagnosis is established, prompt antibiotic therapy should be performed based on the severity.

• Journal of Chest Surgery
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• v.39 no.1 s.258
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• pp.85-89
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• 2006

Good's syndrome (thymoma with immunodeficiency) is a rare cause of combined B and T cell immunodeficiency in adults. The clinical characteristics are increased susceptibility to bacterial infection and opportunistic viral and fungal infections. The most consistent immunological abnormalities are hypogammaglobulinemia and reduced or absent B cells. This syndrome should be treated by resecting the thymoma and replacing the immunoglobulin to maintain adequate IgG values. The author experienced one case of Good's Syndrome. The patient was a 64-year-old female who had a history of frequent sinopulmonary infection. Chest CT showed Pneumonia and anterior mediastinal mass and PCNB was taken and biopsy result was thymoma. She received thymectomy and replacement of immunoglobulin to control hypogammaglobulinemia.

• Journal of Chest Surgery
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• v.56 no.3
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• pp.224-227
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• 2023

Median sternotomy is a standard surgical technique used for left ventricular assist device (LVAD) implantation. However, if sternotomy has a prohibitive surgical risk, LVAD implantation can be performed through only left thoracotomy. We managed a patient with end-stage heart failure who had recently undergone coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) elsewhere. The patient also had a deep sternal wound infection and bacteremia. Because of refractory cardiogenic shock, we performed extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO). After multiple mediastinal washouts and omental flap placement, ECMO was converted to extracorporeal LVAD (from the left ventricular apex to the descending aorta) through a left thoracotomy. The extracorporeal LVAD was maintained for 18 days and replaced by the HeartMate 3 LVAD. The patient was discharged in good condition 115 days after CABG.

• Journal of Chest Surgery
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• v.18 no.2
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• pp.320-326
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• 1985

Pulmonary sequestration occurs when some disturbance produces a cystic mass of nonfunctioning lung tissue which lacks normal communication with the tracheobronchial tree. Between 1971 and 1985, pulmonary sequestration was diagnosed in 11 patients, ranging age from 3 to 29 years. All sequestration were intralobar type. Definitive diagnosis can only be obtained by aortography and/or surgical exploration in 10 cases. The other one was confirmed by pathologic examination postoperatively. The presenting complaints were mostly recurrent local pulmonary infection, but in 2 cases mediastinal mass with respiratory symptoms was presented, and cardiac murmur was only finding in one case. Preoperative diagnostic procedure revealed 3 associated anomalies which were funnel chest, right aortic arch, and pulmonic stenosis with vascular ring. Operative treatment for sequestration was lobectomy in 10 cases, and a segmentectomy in one. There was no operative mortality, but 3 complications [empyema, B-P fistula, post-op bleeding] which were controlled by subsequent operations or conservative measure. Aortography is strongly advocated not only for its diagnostic value, but for its preoperative localization of the aberrant vessels that are the major concern to the surgeon.

• Journal of Trauma and Injury
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• v.28 no.4
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• pp.276-279
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• 2015

Subcutaneous emphysema is a benign condition following trauma (pneumothorax and oropharyngeal), cervical or thoracic procedures, and mediastinal infection. However, severe subcutaneous emphysema may be related to serious complications such as respiratory failure, airway compromise, and tension- related phenomena. Many alternative therapies have been tried to treat patients with this condition. We report our experience with vacuum-assisted closure therapy for treating patients with severe subcutaneous emphysema.

• Journal of Chest Surgery
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• v.6 no.1
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• pp.95-100
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• 1973

This is a report on a total of four cases of esophageal perforation due to fish bone in the Department of Thoracic Surgery, Hanyang University Hospital. The perforated portions of esophagus were upper third of esophagus, that is, cervical esophalgus principally. The complications after esophageal perforation were acute mediastinitis with mediastinal emphysema in 2 cases, acute mediastinitis with both pyothorax in one case and cervical subcutaneous abscess alone in one case. Collar mediastinostomy was required to control disturbance of cardiopulmonary function as emergency procedure. Gastrostomy was of worthy for the various purposes, that` is, for feeding, absolute rest of the esophagus, and for prevention against continuous infection from esophageal leakage. After the gastrostomy. 3 cases were healed by spontaneous closure of esophageal perforation between one to four weeks. One case expired from severe septic shock due to acute diffuse mediastinitis and both pyothorax.

• Journal of Chest Surgery
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• v.53 no.2
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• pp.89-91
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• 2020

Bronchopulmonary sequestration (BPS) is a rare congenital abnormality of the lower airway, generally characterized by blood supply received from the systemic circulation. We present a rare case of a 19-year-old man with incidentally detected BPS supplied by a branch of a pulmonary artery, rather than a systemic artery. Computed tomography showed a sequestered segment supplied by a branch of the left pulmonary artery and containing an ectopic bronchus. As chest computed tomography revealed necrosis in the sequestered tissue, infection was presumed, and the tissue was surgically removed. This may represent a very unusual occurrence, as such cases have yet to be reported in the literature.

• Korean Journal of Bronchoesophagology
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• v.8 no.1
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• pp.71-74
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• 2002

A 44-year-old man was admitted to our hospital because of high fever, neck swelling, and dyspnea. He was diagnosed as descending necrotizing mediastinitis (DNM) extended from oropharyngeal infection. Descending necrotizing mediastinitis(DNM) is a lethal process originating from odontogenic. oropharyngeal, or cervical infections that descends along the fascial planes into the mediastinum. DNM is relatively rare, but it is lethal disease with high mortality. Immediate and sufficient mediastinal drainage is indispensable for the disease. The principles of the surgical approach for DNM are discussed, with a brief review of the literature following these case reports.

• Journal of Chest Surgery
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• v.49 no.1
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• pp.59-62
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• 2016

A 12-month-old boy was diagnosed with agenesis of the right lung. Mediastinal deviation progressed to the diseased side as the patient matured; therefore, tracheal distortion developed. As a result, tracheal compression developed between the vertebral body and aorta. The patient was repeatedly admitted to the hospital because of recurrent pulmonary infection and combined severe respiratory distress. Diaphragm translocation was performed to treat the patient. The postoperative course was favorable, and computed tomography scan findings and symptoms had improved at 1 year after surgery.