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.
Abstract： Air leak is still a common postoperative complication after selective lobectomy. The majority of patients undergoing lobectomy have some risk factors of postoperative air leak or persistent air leak. Nowadays，preventive measures of postoperative air leak mainly include preoperative, intraoperative （surgical technique，reinforcement material，pleural cavity reduction），and postoperative （pleurodesis，chest drainage management） strategies. Many of these new measures have been applied in clinical practice with satisfactory outcomes.
Abstract： Objective To compare clinical outcomes of complete video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery （cVATS） lobectomy with routine thoracotomy lobectomy for the treatment of bronchiectasis, and evaluate the feasibility, safety and specific considerations of cVATS lobectomy for the treatment of bronchiectasis. Methods We retrospectively analyzed the clinical data of 115 patients who underwent lobectomy for the treatment of bronchiectasis in Beijing Chaoyang Hospital from May 2009 to January 2012. According to the way of operation, these patients were divided into two groups （cVATS group and thoracotomy group）. In the thoracotomy group, there were 62 patients （28 males and 34 females with an age of 46.2±11.9 years） who underwent routine thoracotomy lobectomy. In the cVATS group, there were 53 patients （19 males and 34 females with an age of 45.7±12.2 years） who underwent cVATS lobectomy. Operation time, intra-operative blood loss, postoperative thoracic drainage, complications and hospitalization, and cost of hospitalization were compared between the two groups. Results There was no perioperative death in all patients. There was no statistical difference in operation time between the two groups. Intra-operative blood loss of thoracotomy group patients was significantly higher than that of cVATS group patients （228.8±121.7 ml vs. 157.1±123.8 ml, t=2.592, P=0.011）. Postoperative thoracic drainage （866.7±439.5 ml vs. 1 805.3±466.7 ml, t=9.003，P=0.000）, duration of chest tube drainage （6.6±3.3 d vs. 9.8±4.6 d,t=3.339，P=0.001）, and postoperative hospitalization （7.5±2.2 d vs. 11.2±5.4 d, t=3.424，P=0.001） of cVATS group were significantly lower than those of thoracotomy group. The cost of hospitalization of cVATS group was significantly higher than that of thoracotomy group （38 543.6±11 051.8 yuan vs. 30 523.4±10 028.5 yuan，t=3.423, P=0.001）. There was no statistical difference in postoperative complications between the two groups （P＞0.05）. Forty-five patients in cVATS group were followed up for 2 to 14 months. Among them, 42 patients completely had no sputum or haemoptysis and 3 patients still intermittently had some sputum. Conclusion cVATS lobectomy is safe and feasible for the treatment of bronchiectasis. Compared with routine thoracotomy lobectomy, cVATS lobectomy does not increase surgical risk, but can significantly reduce operation injury and length of hospital stay. During cVATS, the lung residual should be handled cautiously especially for patients with nonanatomic pulmonary resection, and the non-single-order operation is recommended.
Abstract： Objective To investigate the application of a silicone guiding tube for endoscopic linear stapling device in complete video-assisted thoracoscopic lobectomy and segmentectomy，so as to improve the safety and efficiency of manipulating the endoscopic linear stapling device. Methods We retrospectively analyzed clinical data of 178 patients with peripheral non-small cell lung caner and 26 patients with benign lung lesions who underwent surgical resection in First Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing Medical University from October 2009 to December 2011. There were 85 males and 119 females with their average age of 62±11 years. A total of 172 patients underwent complete video-assisted thoracoscopic lobectomy and 32 patients underwent segmentectomy. We designed a silicone guiding tube to facilitate the use of endoscopic linear stapling device. With the help of the tube， a1l pulmonary arteries， veins， bronchus and interlobar fissure involved were managed with endoscopic linear stapling devices. Results Three patients （1.47%）underwent conversion to thoracotomy because of dense lymph node adhesion， and all other complete video-assisted thoracoscopic surgeries were successfully performed. There was no blood vessel injury， severe postoperative complications or perioperative death. The use rate of the tube was 95.6% （303/317）， 66.9% （115/172）， 22.7% （39/172） and 78.5% （255/325） in pulmonary arteries， veins， bronchus and interlobar fissure stapling for lobectomy respectively， and 94.4% （34/36）， 77.3% （17/22）， 25.0% （8/32）， 33.1% （45/136） in pulmonary arteries， veins， bronchus and interlobar fissure stapling for segmentectomy respectively. For lobectomy， a total of 986 staples were used with an average of 5.7 staples for each patient， the average operative time was 192.5±54.0 min and average intraoperative blood loss was 118.1±104.1 ml. For segmentectomy， a total of 226 staples were used with an average of 7.1 staples for each patient， the average operative time was 193.7±37.4 min and average intraoperative blood loss was 60.9±78.0 ml. Conclusion Using a silicone guiding tube can facilitate the application of endoscopic linear stapling device， shorten the learning curve of complete video-assisted thoracoscopic lobectomy and segmentectomy， and improve the safety， convenience and economical efficiency of endoscopic linear stapling device.