Abstract: Lung torsion is a very rare clinical event and characterized by rotation of entire lung or individual lobes around the proximal bronchus or blood vessel pedicle in a single direction. The outcomes of lung torsion vary according to different rotation degree. Mild lung rotation may cause hemodynamic changes of the rotated pulmonary tissue. Severe lung rotation may lead to pulmonary venous congestion, lung infarction, systemic intoxication symptoms, ischemia, hypoxia, respiratory failure, severe infection or even death. There are a number of causes of lung torsion, including thoracic surgery, blunt chest trauma, pneumonia, pneumothorax, pleural effusion and lung transplantation. The majority of lung torsion cases occur after thoracic surgeries especially lobectomy, with the right middle lobe being most easily endangered after right upper lobectomy. Lung torsion does not have typical clinical manifestations and thus is difficult to be differentiated from other diseases. Patients with lung torsion often cannot receive correct diagnosis, proper intervention and treatment in time, which may lead to a high mortality. This review focuses on the morbidity, pathogenesis, clinical manifestations, diagnosis, prevention and treatment of lung torsion.
Objective To evaluate the safety,efficacy,short- and long-term clinical outcomes of complete video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery (VATS) lobectomy for non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Methods Clinical data of231 consecutive patients with NSCLC who underwent complete VATS lobectomy in the First Affiliated Hospital of NanjingMedical University between June 2006 and March 2011 were retrospective analyzed. There were 132 male and 99 femalepatients with their age of 15-81 (59.51±11.90) years. Preoperative cancer staging wasⅠa in 149 patients,Ⅰb in 50 patients,Ⅱa in 14 patients,Ⅱb in 13 patients and Ⅲa in 5 patients. There were 152 patients with adenocarcinoma,41 patients with squamous carcinoma,23 patients with bronchioalveolar carcinoma,5 patients with adenosquamous carcinoma,4 patients with large cell carcinoma,and 6 patients with other carcinoma. Follow-up data were statistically analyzed,and short-and long-term survival rates were calculated. Results No perioperative mortality was observed. Operation time was 60-370(199.14±51.04) minutes,and intraoperative blood loss was 10-2 300 (168.19±176.39) ml. Thirty-seven patients had postoperative complications including air leak,pulmonary infection,atelectasis,arrhythmia,subcutaneous emphysema andothers,who were all cured after conservative treatment. Mean number of dissected lymph nodes was 11.14±5.49,and meannumber of explored nodal stations was 3.66±1.52. There were 51 patients (22.08%) whose postoperative cancer staging wasmore advanced than preoperative cancer staging. Postoperative hospital stay was 3-36 (10.79±5.13) days. Primary causesof prolonged postoperative hospitalization included pulmonary air leak,pulmonary infection,preoperative concomitant chronic pulmonary diseases (COPD,asthma),and moderate to severe pulmonary dysfunction. A total of 228 patients werefollowed up for a mean duration of 40.83 months (22-82 months),and 3 patients were lost during follow-up. Overall 5-yearsurvival rates were 85.78%,52.54% and 32.70% for stageⅠ,stageⅡand stageⅢ-Ⅳpatients respectively. Five-year cancerfreesurvival rates were 80.00%,45.37% and 20.99% for stageⅠ,stageⅡand stageⅢ-Ⅳpatients respectively. ConclusionThe advantages of VATS lobectomy include smaller surgical incision,less injury and postoperative pain,quicker postoperative recovery and shorter hospital stay. Long-term survival rate is comparable to previous international and Chinese studies. VATS lobectomy can anatomically achieve complete tumor resection and systematic lymph node dissection. VATS lobectomy will become a standard surgical procedure for NSCLC patients.
Objective To evaluate clinical outcomes of complete video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery (VATS) lobectomy for patients with peripheral lung cancer.?Methods?We retrospectively analyzed clinical data of 90 consecutive patients with peripheral lung cancer who underwent complete VATS lobectomy from July 2009 to December 2011 in Provincial Hospital Affiliated to Anhui Medical University. There were 55 male patients and 35 female patients with their age of 33-79 (62.5 ±11.5) years. Lymph node dissection group and number, operation time, intraoperative blood loss, length of postoperative chest drainage, length of postoperative hospitalization, postoperative morbidity and pain score were analyzed.?Results?There was no hospital death in this group. Operation time was 135.0±32.5 min, intraoperative blood loss was 230.0±80.4 ml, length of postoperative chest drainage was 4.8±2.1 days, and pain score on the third postoperative day was 5.3±1.2. A total of 520 groups and 1 568 lymph nodes were dissected during the operation, with 5.8 groups and 17.4 lymph nodes dissected in each patient. There were 71 groups with lymph node metastasis, a positive rate of 13.7% (71/520). Postoperatively, 2 patients had hoarseness and 3 patients had chylothorax, who were all cured after proper treatment. Ninety patients were followed up for 1-24 months. During follow-up, 4 patients died of tumor metastasis, and other patients were all alive with good quality of life.?Conclusion?Complete VATS lobectomy is a minimally invasive technique for patients with peripheral lung cancer with better postoperative recovery and reduced pain level. The safety and degree of radical resection of complete VATS lobectomy is similar to those of routine thoracotomy lobectomy. Complete VATS lobectomy can be recommended as a surgical treatment for patients with peripheral lung cancer.