• Journal of Chest Surgery
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• v.8 no.2
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• pp.149-152
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• 1975

In spite of great advances in surgical treatment during past several decades, surgery of the trachea failed to develop correspondingly, partly because of relative rarity of the tracheal lesions and partly because of difficulties in surgical technique and anesthesia. Surgical diseases of the trachea are largely obstructions due to neoplasm or cicatrical stenosis and tracheal malacia. The present treatment of respiratory failure, using cuffed endotracheal and tracheostomy tubes, has produced, apparently with increasing frequency, tracheal stenosis, tracheomalized tracheal erosion. Surgery is presently the only reasonable way to treat stenotic lesions of the tracheobronchial tree. In the case of tumors, the current trend has been that of radical excision. Primary end-to--end reconstruction of the trachea has been generally recognized as the ideal method of repair following resection. However, for decades it was believed that a maximum of four tracheal rings only might be excised and primary healing achieved with safety. A great variety of procedures, developed by numerous investigations and directed at tracheal substitution, have almost invariably met with discouraging results. A meticulous study done by Grillo and associates on autopsy specimens has shown that an average 6.4cm of mediastinal trachea can be safely resected by full mobilization of the right lung and transplantation of the left main bronchus into the bronchus intermedius. Recently, we experienced a case of successful resection of a tumor of the tracheal carina and primary tracheo-left main bronchial anastomosis at the Department of Thoracic & Cardiovascular Surgery, the National Medical Center in Seoul. The patient, a 29-year-old man, was admitted to the hospital with complaints of dyspnea and cough. On admission, chest film showed hydropneumothorax on the right. After closed thoracostomy, hydropneumothorax disappeared, but hazy densities, developed in the right middle and lower lung fields, resisted to treatment. Bronchoscopy uncovered irregular tumor covering the carina and the right main bronchus, and biopsy indicated well differentiated squamous Cell carcinoma. Operation was performed on July 2, 1975. A right postero-lateral thoracotomy was used. Excision involved the lower trachea, the carina, the left main bronchus and the right lung. This was followed by direct anastomosis between the trachea and the left main bronchus. Bronchography was done on 17th postoperative day revealed good result of operation without stricture at the site ofanastomosis. About one month after the operation symptoms and signs of bronchial irritation with dyspnea developed, and these responded to respiratory care. On 82nd postoperative day, sudden dyspnea developed at night and the patient expired several hours later. Autopsy was not done and the cause of death was uncertain.

• Journal of Chest Surgery
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• v.28 no.5
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• pp.499-503
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• 1995

Since the insertion of self expandable metalic stent[SEMS has became popular method for hollow organ stenosis, many attempts for further apply the stent to airway stenosis as an simple procedure has been made, but intrabronchial migration of stent or occurrence of inflammatory granuloma around stent develop occasionally and sometimes it worsen bronchial stenosis further more. This report describes 2 case of surgically treated bronchial restenosis in whom intrabronchial stent were applied for release of bronchial stenosis. Our surgical option was pneumonectomy and bronchoplasty with sleeve right middle and upper lobectomy respectively. During the operation we found the SEMSs were tightly impacted in restenotic bronchial lumen with overgrowth of granulation tissues. The bronchial obstructions occupied more than 90% of lumens in both cases, and needed much complicated procedure to be relieved. Therefore, even though the insertion of SEMS remains as a prcedure determined by the physician`s preference, it has to be considered prudently that the use of SEMS can cause severe restenosis and the surgeon has more difficulties in performing segmental resection of restenotic bronchus in patient with SEMS previously inserted. Throughout these experiences we can conclude that the insertion of SEMS must be performed only in very selected cases of bronchial stenosis.

• Journal of Chest Surgery
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• v.33 no.1
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• pp.107-111
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• 2000

Although a tracheal stent can be an option for inoperable tracheal stenoses there still are some troublesome side effects including overgranulation from foreign body irritation restenosis and patient's discomfort associated with the procedure. We report a successful case of a retrievable stent made of self-expandable 'shape memory' metal and polyurethane in a 24 year old female patient with respiratory distress and tight stenosis in the trachea and left main bronchus, The stent was inserted following a balloon dilatation and was successfully removed on the 7th days after the procedure. She regained a normal active life without any repiratory symptoms and a follow-up of 8 months showed satisfactory results.

• Journal of Chest Surgery
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• v.34 no.8
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• pp.640-643
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• 2001

A case of endobronchial tuberculosis with left main bronchial stenosis and atelectasis of left lower lobe in a 26-year-old female is reported. She had taken antituberclous agents for 9 months, but she complained of chest pain and coughing. Bronchoscopy revealed patency of left upper bronchus and bronchiectasis of left lower lobe. She underwent left lower lobectomy with bronchoplasty. After the operation she had significant improvement of pulmonary function. Although surgical treatment of endobronchial tuberculosis is controversial, bronchoplastic surgery can be an effective treatment of tuberculous bronchial stenosis because it relieves patients from symptoms by preserving lung functions.

• Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases
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• v.39 no.4
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• pp.318-324
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• 1992

Acquired tracheobronchial stenosis has resulted from vehicular accidents, prolonged tracheal intubation, sleeve resection, tuberculosis and sarcodosis. Various modalities of therapy for the relief of such stenosis included surgery, cryotherapy, laser photoresection, and sometimes balloon dilatation. Several recent reports have described the use of self-expandable metal stents for the dilatation of stenotic areas in the tracheobronchial tree. Three patients of benign acquired tracheobronchial stenosis were treated with self-expandable metal stents, who had shown little response to several times of balloon dilatations; One patient had a tracheal stenosis caused by intubation, one a right main bronchial stenosis developed after reconstructive surgery of traumatic bronchial rupture, and the other a left main bronchial stenosis caused by longstanding endobronchial tuberculosis. We found that the using stent in benign acquired tracheobronchial stenosis can be effectively performed with alleviation of clinical symptoms and lung function. And even in longstanding localized stenosis of main bronchus without distal bronchial destruction, lung perfusion also improved.

• Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases
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• v.53 no.3
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• pp.337-343
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• 2002

A tracheal bronchus, an aberrant bronchus arising directly from the trachea, is an infrequent congenital anomaly. The incidence of this anomaly ranges from 0.5 to 5%. It usually originates from the right lateral wall of the trachea at the level <2 cm above the tracheal bifurcation. These patients usually are asymptomatic, but some patients may experience recurrent pneumonia, chronic bronchitis, bronchiectasis, or asthmatic episodes. A tracheal bronchus may be associated with other anomalies such as a tracheal stenosis, pulmonary agenesis, pulmonary sequestration, congenital heart disease, a pulmonary venous anomaly and Down's syndrome. This anomaly is usually diagnosed incidentally during bronchoscopy in patients with respiratory problems. Here we report a case of a 20-year-old man with a past history of bronchial asthma, which was incidentally diagnosed as a tracheal bronchus during a medical examination prior to military service, and was associated with a bilateral superior vena cava anomaly.

• Korean Journal of Bronchoesophagology
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• v.2 no.2
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• pp.238-243
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• 1996

Aspiration of foreign bodies into the tracheobronchial tree is unusual in adults and it may result in Proximal airway obstruction and acute life-threatening asphyxia. It can be diagnosed by history of aspiration or visualizing the foreign body by chest roentgenogram or bronchoscopy. But it is rarely considered in adults with subacute or chronic respiratory symptoms without a definite history which suggests an aspiration. A 70-year-old woman was admitted to the hospital due to productive cough for two months and dyspnea which aggravated since the day before admission. Chest X-ray showed Pneumonic infiltration on left upper lobe and right lower lobe. Despite several days of conventional therapy, the patient complained of severe dyspnea and wheezing. We performed chest CT to rule out endobronchial stenosis, and it revealed the narrowing of left main stem bronchus compatible with endobronchial tuberculosis. Fiberoptic bronchoscopy for confirmation disclosed a $3.2{\times}0.7{\times}0.2$cm sized foreign body located longitudinally at the left main stem bronchus. We removed it with alligator forcep and it proved In be a piece of artificial denture. The patient remembered losing it while severe coughing on the day before admission. The microscopic examination of bronchial washing fluid revealed numerous acid fast bacilli. After removal of the foreign body, the patient showed marked improvement in symptom and pulmonary function test. Here we report a case of Pulmonary aspiration of foreign body which is confused with endobronchial tuberculosis with a review of the literature.

• Journal of Chest Surgery
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• v.10 no.1
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• pp.38-43
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• 1977

With the adevance of widespread mechanization and high-speed era, the incidence of traumatic rupture of the tracheobronchial tree has been increased considerably. We have experienced these diseased of the 3 cases in our department. The first case was a 25 year old male who was severe dyspneic and subcutaneous emphysema, hemoptysis, and hemopneumothorax of both side were noted. During tracheostomy, it was found that the 2net ring of the trachea was ruptured. No definitive procedure was made on admission. Corrective surgery was performed with end-to-end anastomosis on 31 post-traumatic day. The second case was a 43 year old female who received multiple stab wounds on the anterior neck and it was found that the cricoid cartilage was transected partially. The injured cartilage was approximated with interrupted suture of No. 600 wire. The third case was a 19 year old male who had sustained a compression chest injury without external wound or rib fracture. At five days after trauma, he had suffered from dyspnea, and obstruction of the left main bronchus due to traumatic bronchial rupture was confirmed by means of bronchoscopy and bronchography at two weeks after the trauma. End-to-end anastomosis of the bronchus was performed and the left lung was aerated well. Mild postoperative stenosis of trachea was remained in the first case. Others were uneventful.

• Journal of Chest Surgery
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• v.38 no.10 s.255
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• pp.725-728
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• 2005

A case is described in a girl who presented with recurrent life-threatening hemoptysis at the age of 18 months, and had been diagnosed as atrial septal defect with severe cardiomegaly which was presumed to result in pulmonary vein stenosis at the age of 6 months. Closure of atrial septal defect was associated with decreased heart size and improved pulmonary venous flow. However, recurrent life-threatening hemoptysis occurred during follow-up, Computed tomography scan demonstrated left pulmonary vein stenosis and extrinsic compression of the left bronchus by multiple soft tissue density-masses. Exploratory thoracotomy revealed single stenotic left pulmonary vein, and flat left main bronchus compressed by multiple hypertrophied lymph nodes, Unexpected endotrachial tube bleeding during left hilar dissection mandated to proceed to left pneumonectomy, The patient's postoperative course was uneventful. Follow-up chest roentgenography revealed acceptable left hydrothorax without mediastinal shifting, Nevertheless, a long-term follow-up is necessary.

• Journal of Chest Surgery
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• v.28 no.8
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• pp.772-777
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• 1995

Bronchoplastic procedure has been considered as an appropriate surgery for traumatic bronchial disruption and occasionaly for primary bronchial tumors or tuberculosis because it can bring preservation of pulmonary tissue for patients without compromising the chance for cure. Nowadays bronchoplastic procedure is also applicable for the selected cases of bronchogenic carcinomas with favorable long term survival, when compared to standard pneumonectomy.Eighteen bronchoplastic procedures were performed with or without pulmonary resection at Department of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery, Catholic University Medical College, between 1990 and 1994. The patients were 11 men and 7 wemen with average age of 57 years [range, 19 to 71 years . Tumor comprised 56% of the lesions, including 6 squamous cell carcinoma [33% , 2 bronchial adenoma [11% , 1 leiomyoma and 1 metastatic osteogenic sarcoma. Cicatrical stenosis secondary to endobronchial tuberculosis and traumatic disruption occurred in 6 [33% and 1 patient respectively.Applied bronchoplastic procedures were as follows ; sleeve lobectomy, 8 cases [right upper : 6, left upper : 1, right middle : 1 : bronchial segmental resection without pulmonary resection, 2 cases : sleeve bi-lobectomy, 1 cases :patch dilating bronchoplasty with or without concomitant lobectomy in 7. There was no perioperative mortality. Morbidity in 4 patients included 1 transient recurrent laryngeal nerve palsy, 1 unstability of bronchial patch resulting atelectasis of afftected lung and 2 bronchial stenosis of anastomotic site.Throughout our experiences, we feel strongly that bronchoplastic procedure is a safe and effective surgical method preserving normal pulmonary tissue below affected bronchus for the wide range of various bronchial lesion including selected cases of bronchogenic carcinoma with acceptable complication and mortality.