The treatment of empyema with pleural drainage is a widely accepted surgical procedure. Currently, thoracoscopy often is used to treat this disease in some thoracic surgery centers. This report aims ...to present the authors' experience with the treatment of pleural empyema and the benefits of thoracoscopy.
From 1997 to 2005, 49 children with a diagnosis of pleural empyema were treated by means of thoracoscopy in the authors' department. The study group consisted of 21 girls and 28 boys, ages 1 to 17 years (mean age, 9.2 years). Thoracoscopic cleaning and drainage of the pleural cavity was performed for all the patients.
Intraoperatively, stage I empyema was recognized in 7 children (14.3%), stage II in 30 children (61.2%), and stage III in 12 children (24.5%). Very good results were obtained for all the patients. There were no intra- or postoperative major complications. The drainage time was less than 5 days for 63.3% of the children. In the remaining group of patients, drainage exceeded 8 days only for 16.3%. The postoperative time was short. Emptying of the pleural cavity and full lung decompression were achieved in all cases. In four cases, pleural biopsy showed TB, which enabled early proper treatment.
Thoracoscopy can offer good visualization and cleansing of the empyema chambers, establishing efficient drainage even for patients with advanced stages of pleural empyema. Thoracoscopy enables collection of material not only for bacteriologic, but also for histopathologic examination. The method is minimally invasive, and risk for complication is comparable with that for classical thorax drainage.
Summary
Esophageal atresia (EA) is a congenital defect of the esophagus involving the interruption of the esophagus with or without connection to the trachea (tracheoesophageal fistula TEF). EA/TEF ...may occur as an isolated anomaly, may be part of a complex of congenital defects (syndromic), or may develop within the context of a known syndrome or association. The molecular mechanisms underlying the development of EA are poorly understood. It is supposed that a combination of multigenic factors and epigenetic modification of genes play a role in its etiology.
The aim of our work was to assess the human gene expression microarray study in esophageal tissue samples. Total RNA was extracted from 26 lower pouches of esophageal tissue collected during thoracoscopic EA repair in neonates with the isolated (IEA) and the syndromic form (SEA).
We identified 787 downregulated and 841 upregulated transcripts between SEA and controls, and about 817 downregulated and 765 upregulated probes between IEA and controls. Fifty percent of these genes showed differential expression specific for either IEA or SEA. Functional pathway analysis revealed substantial enrichment for Wnt and Sonic hedgehog, as well as cytokine and chemokine signaling pathways. Moreover, we performed reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction study in a group of SHH and Wnt pathways genes with differential expression in microarray profiling to confirm the microarray expression results. We verified the altered expression in SFRP2 gene from the Wnt pathway as well as SHH, GLI1, GLI2, and GLI3 from the Sonic hedgehog pathway. The results suggest an important role of these pathways and genes for EA/TEF etiology.
Objective: In 1998, Dr Donald Nuss proposed minimally invasive repair of pectus excavatum (MIRPE) which did not require the osteochondrous parts of the anterior chest wall to be resected. The paper ...aims at presenting the authors’ own 6 years of experience in funnel chest repair with MIRPE technique. Also, many technical problems of this method are discussed. Materials and methods: Between 1999 and 2005, 461 patients (99 female and 362 male, aged 3–31 years, mean age 15.2 years) with pectus excavatum were operated with the Nuss technique. All patients were operated-on according to the original operative protocol proposed by Donald Nuss. With growing experience, own modifications were introduced. Insertion of two bars was done in 17.4%, transverse sternotomy in adolescents with rigid anterior chest wall in 7.8%, limited excision of the rib cartilages in 5.9%, and parasternal fixation of the bar to prevent it from rotating in 59.7% of patients. Results: There were no deaths. Intraoperative complications were noted in 19 (4.1%) patients and postoperative ones were observed in 43 (9.3%) patients. The operative time ranged from 25 to 130 min (52 min on average). In 192 (41.6%) patients, an epidural block was used. The hospital stay ranged from 4 to 12 days with the mean of 5.3 days. A redo procedure for the bar rotation was necessary in 13 (2.8%) patients. The support bar has been removed in 260 (56.4%) patients so far. In all the patients, an adequate contour of the anterior chest wall has been maintained. Conclusions: MIRPE proposed by Nuss has all the features of a minimally invasive procedure and is straightforward. Better clinical results are achievable in patients under 12 years of age with a symmetric deformity. In older patients (over 15 years of age) with a rigid chest or with an asymmetric deformity, additional procedures are required to achieve a comprehensive correction of the deformity. Recent results and forward clinical observations may give proof to establish MIRPE as a method of choice in funnel chest correction.
The aim of this work is to examine the corrosion properties, chemical composition, and material—implant interaction after different periods of implantation of plates used to correct funnel chest. The ...implants are made of 316L stainless steel. Examinations are carried out on three implants: new (nonimplanted) and two implanted for 29 and 35 months. The corrosion study reveals that in the potential range that could occur in the physiological condition the new bar has the lowest current density and the highest corrosion potential. This indicates that the new plate has the highest corrosion resistance and the corrosion resistance could be reduced during implantation by the instruments used during the operation. XPS analysis reveals changes in the surface chemistry. The longer the implantation time the more carbon and oxygen are observed and only trace of elements such as Cr, Mo are detected indicating that surface is covered by an organic layer. On some parts of the implants whitish tissue is observed: the thickness of which increased with the time of implantation. This tissue was identified as an organic layer; mainly attached to the surface on the areas close to where the implant was bent to attain anatomical fit and thus where the implant has higher surface roughness. The study indicates that the chest plates are impaired by the implantation procedure and contact with biological environment. The organic layer on the surface shows that the implant did not stay passive but some reactions at the tissue-implant interface occurred. These reactions should be seen as positive, as it indicates that the implants were accepted by the tissues. Nevertheless, if the implants react, they may continue to release chromium, nickel, and other harmful ions long term as indicated by lower corrosion resistance of the implants following implantation.
The authors present economical benefits of one day surgery treatment in children on the ground of own 10 years experiences. Analysis was made on the basis of 5855 children treated in Department of ...Pediatric Surgery in Zabrze (Poland) from March 1987 to March 1997. During this time 50.8% operations were performed in ambulatory surgery form. Global savings for hospital budget were achieved 77.2%. Authors point that one day surgery increases the efficiency of the surgical ward.
Narrow atomically precise graphene nanoribbons hold great promise for electronic and optoelectronic applications, but the previously demonstrated nanoribbon-based devices typically suffer from low ...currents and mobilities. In this study, we explored the idea of lateral extension of graphene nanoribbons for improving their electrical conductivity. We started with a conventional chevron graphene nanoribbon, and designed its laterally extended variant. We synthesized these new graphene nanoribbons in solution and found that the lateral extension results in decrease of their electronic bandgap and improvement in the electrical conductivity of nanoribbon-based thin films. These films were employed in gas sensors and an electronic nose system, which showed improved responsivities to low molecular weight alcohols compared to similar sensors based on benchmark graphitic materials, such as graphene and reduced graphene oxide, and a reliable analyte recognition. This study shows the methodology for designing new atomically precise graphene nanoribbons with improved properties, their bottom-up synthesis, characterization, processing and implementation in electronic devices.Atomically precise graphene nanoribbons are a promising platform for tailored electron transport, yet they suffer from low conductivity. Here, the authors devise a strategy to laterally extend conventional chevron nanoribbons, thus achieving increased electrical conductivity and improved chemical sensing capabilities.
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