Proper management of chest drainage after pulmonary lobectomy is a topic that every thoracic surgeon must face up to. Reasonable chest drainage plays a critical role in postoperative normal physiological recovery. However， there are still controversies and discrepancies in many aspects of chest drainage management after pulmonary lobectomy. In this review，we focus on five aspects of chest drainage management after pulmonary lobectomy，including the choice of chest drainage system，single or double chest tubes，suction or not，treatment of persistent air leak，and removal of chest tube.
Abstract： Currently, there are two significant tendencies in the advancement and progress of video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery（VATS）, firstly, the widening surgical indications for VATS techniques, and secondly, the use of single-port VATS which is less invasive and more cosmetic. This article focuses in particular on four aspects of single-port VATS, including；（1）the individualized incision approach and its characteristics of single-port VATS；（2）single-port VATS for the treatment of pneumothorax and the development of related techniques and equipment；（3）single-port VATS for the diagnosis and treatment of thoracic diseases such as lung lobectomy；（4）the advantages and disadvantages of single-port VATS in clinical practice.
Abstract： The principles of 2010 National Comprehensive Cancer Network（NCCN） clinical practice guidelines in non-small cell lung cancer address that anatomic pulmonary resection is preferred for the majority of patients with non-small cell lung cancer and video-assisted thoracic surgery (VATS) is a reasonable and acceptable approach for patients with no anatomic or surgical contraindications. By reviewing the literatures on general treatment, pulmonary segmentectomy, pulmonary function reserve, and the anatomic issue of early stage non-small cell lung cancer surgery, the feasibility and reliability of thoracoscopic pulmonary segmentectomy are showed.
The TNM staging of lung cancer which is now widely used in clinic was formally proposed in 1997. It has played quite an important role in directing the diagnosis and treatment of lung cancer as well as the clinical research in the past decade. However, at the same time, there are some insufficiencies which are emerging gradually. By collecting the clinical information from 100 869 patients, in 2007, International Association for the Study of Lung Cancer(IASLC) made a deep analysis on the relativity between TNM staging and prognosis, and put forward the suggestions to revise the Seventh Edition of the TNM staging of lung cancer: (1) According to the size of tumor, the primary T staging is divide into T1a (the maximum tumor diameter≤2 cm), T1b (3 cm≥the maximum tumor diameter＞2 cm), T2a (5 cm≥the maximum tumor diameter＞3 cm) and T2b (7 cm≥the maximum tumor diameter＞5 cm); (2) T 2c (the maximum tumor diameter gt;7 cm) and additional nodules in the same lobe are classified as T3, while nodules in the ipsilateral nonprimary lobe are classified as T4;(3) Cancerous hydrothorax, pericardial effusion and the additional nodules in the contralateral lung are classified as M1a, while the extrapulmonary metastases are classified as M1b. It is believed that the new revised edition will has higher international authority and identification degree, and it will play a more meticulous and accurate guiding role in the treatment of lung cancer and its predicting prognosis in the future. At the same time, it will provide a new starting point to the research of lung cancer.
Abstract: Although lung transplantation has been established as the only valid therapeutic approach for endstage pulmonary disease, several related problems remain to be solved. In addition to the serious problem in donor lung shortage, primary graft dysfunction caused by lung ischemia-reperfusion injury is one of the most common reason of early mortality. Optimal preservation of lung is essential to reduce ischemic organ dysfunction after lung transplantation. The development of a highly reliable lung preservation solution that reduces ischemia-reperfusion injury will improve the functioning of transplanted lungs. The progress of the type, perfusing technique or strategies and modified methods of lung preservation solution are reviewed in this article.
Objective To explore current view and application status of video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery （VATS） of thoracic surgeons in some municipal hospitals in China，and provide evidence for further VATS study and training.Methods We conducted a questionnaire study for thoracic surgeons in municipal hospitals who attended the 5th West China Forum on Mini-invasive Thoracic Surgery in 2012. The questionnaire content included general descriptions of the thoracic surgeons，the departments of thoracic surgery where they worked，and VATS application status in their hospitals. A total of 263 surgeons were investigated，and 183 （69.58%） valid questionnaires were collected for descriptive analysis.Results （1） Responders’ view of VATS：There were 89.62% （164/183） responders who believed that the advantages of VATS were mainly mini-invasive and fast postoperative recovery，while its disadvantage was high cost （76.50%，140/183）. There were 71.04% （130/183） responders who thought that VATS lobectomy could provide a higher postoperative quality of life for lung cancer patients，while only 12.57% （23/183） responders thought that the 5-year survival rate of VATS was higher than that of open thoracotomy. There were 60.11% （110/183） responders who believed that VATS was less widely performed in China than America，but VATS level of very few hospitals in China was superior or equal to American level. There were 52.46% （96/183） responders who agreed that VATS could be used for the treatment of locally advanced lung cancer. （2） Training situation of VATS lobectomy for lung cancer：Learning class or short-term training （32.24%，59/183） was the best way to learn VATS lobectomy. Their main learning process was from open thoracotomy to mini- thoracotomy then to VATS （60.66%，111/183）. Single-direction thoracoscopic lobectomy was the most popular VATS technique （54.64%，100/183），and its learning curve was at least 30 cases （26.78%，49/183）. （3） VATS application status：VATS was performed in all the hospitals investigated. Benign thoracic diseases were most commonly chosen by thoracic surgeons who started to perform VATS （81.42%，149/183）. The main initial hurdles of VATS lobectomy for lung cancer included poor operation theater conditions and surgical teamwork （39.34%，72/183） as well as unsatisfactory surgical techniques （36.07%，66/183）. Further improvement of VATS technique （118/183，64.48%） was the developmental trend of VATS. Conclusions Thoracic surgeons in China have reached the consensus on the application of VATS for surgical treatment of thoracic diseases including lung cancer. Single-direction thoracoscopic lobectomy is a widely accepted technique. Further trends of VATS training and development are equipment upgrade and better teamwork.
Objective To summarize our treatment experience for patients with chest injuries in “4•20” Lushan earthquake. Methods Medical records of 17 patients with chest injuries after 2013 Lushan earthquake who were admittedto the Department of Thoracic Surgery，West China Hospital were analyzed retrospectively. The diagnosis of chest injuries was mainly confirmed by medical history，physical examination，X-ray and CT scan of the chest. Clinical characteristics and treatment outcomes were analyzed. Among the 17 patients，there were 14 men and 3 women with their age of 57.3±16.1 years. Results There were 12 patients （70.6%）with crash injury of heavy objects，4 patients （23.5%） with fall injury and 1 patient with road traffic injury. Chest injuries were skin and soft tissue contusion in 17 patients （100%），rib fracturein 15 patients （88.2%） including 1 patient with abnormal respiratory movements，pulmonary contusion in 15 patients （88.2%），hemopneumothorax in 11 patients （64.7%），sternal fracture in 1 patient （5.9%） and bilateral pneumothorax with widespread subcutaneous emphysema in 1 patient （5.9%）. Thirteen patients （76.5%） had concomitant brain，abdominal，orthopedic or nerve injuries. One patient underwent left thoracotomy，clot removal and internal fixation of rib fractures for left coagulated hemothorax and left lower lobe atelectasis. All the 17 patients received timely and effective treatment and there was noin-hospital mortality. Conclusions Mechanisms of earthquake injuries are often complex，and patients often have multipleinjuries. The main types of chest injury are rib fractures and pulmonary contusion. Tube thoracostomy is a simple andeffective treatment strategy for them. Satisfactory pain management and bronchoscopy procedure can effectively help patientswith removal of respiratory secretions and maintenance of airway patency.