J F Velly

The Authors report a retrospective analysis of 29 patients who underwent thoracoplasty between 1990 and 1999. The mean follow-up period was 30 months. The median age was 55 years. The peri-operative mortality rate was 6.8%. The control of space obliteration, space infection and closure of the bronchopleural fistula was achieved in 27 patients. This article also discusses surgical history of thoracoplasty, technique adopted and its current application.

A 68-year-old woman presented chest pain and exercise-induced dypnea for one year. Diagnosis was a thoracic solitary fibrous tumor. These tumors are very rare. Clinical outcome is generally good except in 13% of the cases with a malignant component. Complete surgical resection is required.

Since January 1988 to December 1998, by the Department of Thoracic Surgery, Haut-Lévêque Hospital, University of Bordeaux, 68 consecutive patients were operated for myasthenia gravis. The aim of our study was to evaluate the results obtained in a group of patients who underwent a thymectomy for myasthenia gravis, in order to contribute for the determination of the prognostic factors which can influence the post-operative course. This series consists on 68 patients. Females were predominant, 41 patients (60.2%) versus 27 males (39.7%). The age extended between 15 and 80 years, average of 45.2 years. The follow-up concerned 52 patients (76.4%); out of there, 8 are in complete remission (15.3%), 31 (59.6%) are in a phase of clinical improvement, 11 patients did not benefit from thymectomy (21.1%), 1 patient died immediately after the surgical operation, I patient died some years after the surgical operation for another reason. In conclusion the thymectomy is a beneficial procedure for myasthenia gravis patients.

The Authors report a case of extraskeletal Ewing's sarcoma of thoracic wall in a 15-year-old sport-man, who complained about pain in the left upper extremity. The diagnosis was performed by radiology (ultrasound study, TC, RM) and pre-operative needle-aspiration biopsy. The patient was treated by neoadjuvant chemotherapy, wide surgical resection and, then, radiotherapy. Neither local recurrence nor metastases have developed for 8 months.

Known for its reliability, transoesophageal echocardiography is an investigation which is increasingly used in cardiology, cardiac surgery and intensive care units. It is a semi-invasive investigation of which oesophageal perforation is a very rare but serious complication. Two cases of oesophageal perforation after transoesophageal echocardiography are reported out of a series of 87 oesophageal perforations treated between January 1981 and February 1999. In both cases, transoesophageal echocardiography was performed in conscious patients without known pre-existing oesophageal pathology. The presentations were acute. Both patients underwent emergency surgery. One patient is alive and the other one died one month after a second operation related to the perforation. Nine cases of oesophageal perforation have been reported after transoesophageal echocardiography. The pathogenesis, means of prevention and treatment of oesophageal perforation are discussed.

The authors report a series of 217 non-neoplastic stenoses of the upper airways operated in the period 1978-1991. One hundred and twenty patients with tracheal stenoses underwent tracheal resection and end-to-end anastomosis, with 117 excellent results and 3 deaths. The treatment of 97 patients with laryngotracheal stenoses was much more complex and difficult to manage: Fifty-nine underwent tracheal and subglottic resection-anastomosis with 58 successes and 1 death--Seven had resection-anastomosis with total cricoidectomy and stenting. They were 6 successes and 1 death--Three had supraglottic resection-anastomosis with 3 successes--Twelve underwent laryngeal enlargement over a T-tube with successes in 11 cases and failure in 1 case. Sixteen had complex combinations of resection and modeling with 13 successes, 2 failures, and 1 death. In this series under the same therapeutic options, the results were successful in 96% of cases, with 4% of failures (7% of them resulting in death). The anatomical type, tracheal or laryngotracheal, length of the stenosis, neuropsychological sequelae, and overall poor respiratory status of the patients must be taken into account before deciding the therapeutic strategy. Old age is not a contraindication to tracheal resection, but is certainly a risk factor for morbidity and mortality. The key to success is undoubtedly careful preoperative preparation, treatment of local infection and inflammation, as well as meticulous mucomucosal approximation of healthy margins at the anastomosis.