Association between Upper-airway Surgery and Ameliorative Risk Markers of Endothelial Function in Obstructive Sleep Apnea

The objective of our study was to evaluate the effects of upper-airway surgery on improvement of endothelial function-related markers in patients with obstructive sleep apnea (OSA). Subjects with moderate to severe OSA who underwent upper-airway surgery, with a follow-up duration of at least 6 months, were included. Pre- and postoperative polysomnographic variables and endothelial function-related markers were compared. Subgroup and correlation analyses were conducted to find possible indicators for better endothelial function-related markers after upper-airway surgery. In total, 44 patients with OSA were included. The mean follow-up duration was 1.72 ± 0.92 years. Serum VEGFA [-20.29 (CI: -35.27, -5.31), p < 0.05], Ang2 [-0.06 (CI: -0.16, 0.03), p < 0.05], E-selectin [-7.21 (CI: -11.01, -3.41), p < 0.001], VWF [-58.83 (CI: -103.93, -13.73), p < 0.05], VWFCP [-33.52 (CI: -66.34, -0.70), p < 0.05], and TM [-0.06 (CI: -0.09, -0.03), p < 0.05] were significantly lower after upper-airway surgery. However, other risk markers of endothelial function, such as Ang1, ICAM1, VEGFR1, and VCAM, did not change significantly. Correlations between improved endothelial function-related markers and ameliorated oxyhemoglobin saturation and glucolipid metabolism were established. Upper-airway surgery might be associated with an improvement in endothelial function in patients with OSA. These changes may be associated with improved oxygen saturation after upper-airway surgery.

Effect of low tidal volume with PEEP on respiratory function in infants undergoing one-lung ventilation

BACKGROUND

An increasing number of studies have shown that low tidal volume (TV) with positive end-expiratory pressure (PEEP) offers lung protection during one-lung ventilation (OLV). Considering the unique physiological characteristics of infants, we aimed to determine the feasibility and effect of low TV with PEEP in infants undergoing OLV during thoracoscopy.

PATIENTS AND METHODS

We randomized 60 infants to a conventional group (group I: TV, 8-10 ml/kg; RR, 23-45 bpm; PEEP, 0 cmH₂O) or a low TV with PEEP group (group II: TV, 5-7 ml/kg; RR, 23-45 bpm; PEEP, 4-6 cmH₂O). Arterial blood gas analyses were performed at four time points: 5 min of two-lung ventilation (TLV, T₀), and 20 min, 40 min, and 60 min of OLV (T₁, T₂, T₃); hemodynamic parameters (heart rate, mean blood pressure), temperature, as well as gas exchange (SpO₂ and P_ETCO₂) and ventilation parameters (FiO₂, PEEP, P_max) were recorded simultaneously. Lung compliance and shunt were also calculated.

RESULT

No significant difference was found between both groups at T₀. Compared with T₀, P_ETCO₂, P_max, PaCO₂, lactic acid, and intrapulmonary shunt volume (Qs/Qt) were increased while PaO₂ and respiratory system compliance (Cdyx) were decreased noticeably in both groups at T₁, T₂, and T₃. At T₁, T₂, and T₃, P_max and Qs/Qt were much lower while P_ETCO₂, PaCO₂, and Cdyx were higher in group II than in group I. There was no significant difference in lactic acid and PaO₂ measurements between the two groups at T₁, T₂, and T₃.

CONCLUSION

Low TV with PEEP could be an effective intraoperative ventilation strategy for infants undergoing OLV during video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery and may reduce the risk of lung injury. However, this strategy, as well as the influence of intraoperative hypercapnia on infants, needs further investigation.

[Not Available]

Zusammenfassung. Die interventionelle Bronchologie ist eine verhältnismässig junge Subspezialisierung der Pneumologie und Thoraxchirurgie. Die Bronchoskopie hat sich in der Vergangenheit vor allem auf die Diagnostik von pulmonalen Infektionen und Malignomen beschränkt. Durch ein ständig wachsendes Armamentarium an therapeutischen Möglichkeiten wachsen jedoch die Indikationen für endobronchiale Eingriffe zusehends. Das heutige Arsenal an therapeutischen Möglichkeiten der interventionellen Bronchologie wird in diesem Artikel vorgestellt.

Diagnosis and Anti-Reflux Therapy for GERD with Respiratory Symptoms: A Study Using Multichannel Intraluminal Impedance-pH Monitoring

Background/Aims

Respiratory symptoms are often associated with gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD). Although the role of multichannel intraluminal impedance–pH (MII-pH) monitoring in GERD is clear, little is known regarding the characteristics of patients with respiratory symptoms based on MII-pH monitoring and anti-reflux therapy. We evaluated a cohort of GERD patients to identify the MII-pH parameters of GERD-related respiratory symptoms and to assess the anti-reflux therapy outcomes.

Methods

We undertook a prospective study of patients who were referred for GERD evaluation from January 2011 to January 2012. One hundred ninety-five patients underwent MII-pH monitoring and esophageal manometry, and one hundred sixty-five patients underwent invasive anti-reflux therapy that included laparoscopic Toupet fundoplication (LTF) and the Stretta procedure. The patient characteristics and MII-pH parameters were analyzed, and the symptom scores were assessed at baseline and at 1- and 3-year follow-up evaluations.

Results

Of the 195 patients, 96 (49.2%) exhibited respiratory symptoms and significantly more reflux episodes (70.7±29.3) than patients without respiratory symptoms (64.7±24.4, p = 0.044) based on the MII-pH monitoring results. Moreover, the group of patients with respiratory symptoms exhibited more proximal reflux episodes (35.2±21.3) than the non-respiratory symptomatic group (28.3±17.9, p = 0.013). One hundred twenty-five patients following the Stretta procedure (n = 60, 31 with respiratory symptoms) or LTF (n = 65, 35 with respiratory symptoms) completed the designated 3-year follow-up period and were included in the final analysis. The symptom scores after anti-reflux therapy all decreased relative to the corresponding baseline values (p<0.05), and there were no significant differences in the control of respiration between the Stretta procedure and LTF (p>0.05). However, LTF significantly reduced the recurrence (re-operation) rate compared with the Stretta procedure (0 vs. 19.4%, p = 0.006).

Conclusions

MII-pH monitoring effectively detected respiratory-related predictive parameters, including total/proximal reflux episodes and symptom correlations. We found that GERD patients with respiratory symptoms exhibited more proximal and total reflux episodes but not more acid-related episodes, as determined by MII-pH monitoring. Thus, such monitoring could be useful for diagnosing atypical GERD patients with respiratory symptoms. Furthermore, LTF exhibited a more significant effect on controlling typical symptoms in all GERD patients and reducing the recurrence rate than the Stretta procedure in patients with respiratory symptoms.

Preliminary Report Of Endolaryngeal And Endotracheal Laser Surgery Of Juvenile-Onset Recurrent Respiratory Papillomatosis By Nd:Yag Laser and a New Fiber Guidance Instrument

OBJECTIVES: Recurrent respiratory papillomatosis (RRP) caused by human papilloma virus (type 6 and 11) is the most common benign neoplasm of the larynx in children. Despite being a benign disease, treatment is very difficult and is characterized by frequent recurrence, spread throughout the respiratory tract, and malignant degeneration. Besides surgical resection and the established CO2 laser treatment, laser surgery by fiber-guided Nd:YAG laser light promises to be a bloodless and effective treatment procedure. To improve this new method, a novel fiber guidance instrument has been developed to aid in endolaryneal laser surgery of RRP.

STUDY DESIGN AND SETTING: The method described uses a specially designed instrument for fiber guidance that is equipped with a bendable distal tip to move the fiber end precisely. Moreover, the instrument includes an additional channel for the suction of smoke and pyrolysis products. Up to now, 5 patients (aged 4 to 8 years) with RRP were treated by Nd:YAG laser light (λ = 1064 nm; power, 10W; irradiance, 3.5 kW/cm 2 , continuous wave) with a prototype version of the new instrument and were followed up for 12 months each. RESULTS: Because of the adequate length and the bendable distal tip with a range of −5° up to 45° to the optical axis of the fiber and less than 10% light loss at maximal deflection, RRP can be treated by Nd:YAG laser light easily and precisely. The continuous suctioning ensured an optimum view of the operating field and a minimal load of potential infectious laser plume and toxic pyrolysis products for the patient as well as for the physician. The laser treatment of RRP with the new fiber guidance instrument was only minimally traumatic. During 1-year follow-up visits, all Nd:YAG laser light-treated patients, showed a regression of the disease.

CONCLUSIONS: The new fiber guidance instrument enables a precise and easy treatment of the RRP with fiber-guided laser systems (eg, Nd:YAG-, diode-, and KTP-lasers) and an effective removal of infectious laser plume as well as toxic pyrolysis products. A follow-up period of 1 year revealed that Nd:YAG laser surgery seems to prevent a rapid recurrence of juvenile respiratory papillomatosis in the treated patients.

Expanding Applications for the Microdebrider in Pediatric Endoscopic Airway Surgery

OBJECTIVE: The microdebrider has been described for treating laryngeal papillomas, but there are no reports of other uses for this instrument in the pediatric airway. The objective of this article is to describe expanding applications for the microdebrider in pediatric airway surgery.

STUDY DESIGN AND SETTING: Retrospective review, tertiary care academic institution.

RESULTS: The microdebrider was used in 75 pediatric airway procedures. Twenty-two of these cases involved novel, previously unreported applications of the microdebrider.

CONCLUSIONS: The microdebrider can be used safely and effectively for a variety of pediatric airway pathologies, including papillomas, granulations, and stenoses from the larynx to the distal trachea.

SIGNIFICANCE: Correct usage of the various tip configurations on the microdebrider has made management of many airway lesions commonly encountered by pediatric otolaryngologists safer, more expedient, and simpler than management by other methods. In our practice, this instrument largely has supplanted the use of the CO2 laser and some open approaches for pediatric airway lesions.

The Virtual Pediatric Airways Workbench

The Virtual Pediatric Airways Workbench (VPAW) is a patient-centered surgical planning software system targeted to pediatric patients with airway obstruction. VPAW provides an intuitive surgical planning interface for clinicians and supports quantitative analysis regarding prospective surgeries to aid clinicians deciding on potential surgical intervention. VPAW enables a full surgical planning pipeline, including importing DICOM images, segmenting the airway, interactive 3D editing of airway geometries to express potential surgical treatment planning options, and creating input files for offline geometric analysis and computational fluid dynamics simulations for evaluation of surgical outcomes. In this paper, we describe the VPAW system and its use in one case study with a clinician to successfully describe an intended surgery outcome.

[Advances in pediatric thoracic surgery during the past 50 years]

Surgical strategies and treatment for pediatric airway and lung diseases have advanced significantly, especially in the fields of subglottic stenosis, congenital tracheal stenosis, congenital cystic lung lesions, and endoscopic surgery, during the past 50 years. Pediatricians, pathologists, and pediatric surgeons have engaged in continuous discussions at scientific meetings to establish standard terminology and operative indications and to refine surgical techniques such as laryngoplasty, sliding tracheoplasty, lobectomy under thoracotomy and thoracoscopy. The modified Myer-Cotton grading system for subglottic stenosis was proposed and proved to be useful in selecting reconstructive operative techniques. The addition of aortopexy to sliding tracheoplasty was also confirmed to be effective in maintaining a wide postoperative tracheal lumen. The disease entities of each type of cystic lung lesion were clarified, and the clinical and etiological importance of bronchial/bronchiolar atresia was emphasized. A classification of congenital cystic lung disease was proposed based on anatomic and embryologic considerations. In this classification, congenital pulmonary airway anomaly was introduced to replace congenital cystic adenomatoid malformation of the lung. Intralobar sequestration of the lung must be located in the lower lobe in this definition and classification.

Control of the lungs via the human brain using neurosurgery

Neurosurgery can alter cardiorespiratory performance via central networks and includes deep brain stimulation (DBS), a routinely employed therapy for movement disorders and chronic pain syndromes. We review the established cardiovascular effects of DBS and the presumed mechanism by which they are produced via the central autonomic network. We then review the respiratory effects of DBS, including modulation of respiratory rate and lung function indices, and the mechanisms via which these may occur. We conclude by highlighting the potential future therapeutic applications of DBS for intractable airway diseases.

Interventional pulmonology procedures: an update

Bronchoscopy is the most important tool in diagnosis of respiratory diseases, but also provides therapeutic options in various disorders. Besides hemoptysis, airway stenoses are a frequent indication for therapeutic bronchoscopy interventions. Thereby, a broad spectrum of endoscopic techniques including electrocautery, argon plasma coagulation, laser treatment, cryosurgery and stent implantation is available. In the last decade, development of new endoscopic modalities provides also treatment of patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and uncontrolled asthma.

[Respiratory support in anaesthetic management for thoracic surgery and their comparative characteristics: over 2000 anaesthesia experience]

The article deals with the first comparative study of haemodynamics, gas exchange, and metabolic lung finction in patients with underlying respiratory and cardiovascular diseases. Different anaesthesia and ventilation (conventional AVL, OLV differentiated ALV) techniques were used. Respiratory support methodology with the use of HFV or CPAP during the main phase of thoracic surgery in patients with severe associated cardio-respiratory diseases was developed. Indications for differentiated AL V in thoracic surgery were developed.

Regenerative medicine as applied to general surgery

The present review illustrates the state of the art of regenerative medicine (RM) as applied to surgical diseases and demonstrates that this field has the potential to address some of the unmet needs in surgery. RM is a multidisciplinary field whose purpose is to regenerate in vivo or ex vivo human cells, tissues, or organs to restore or establish normal function through exploitation of the potential to regenerate, which is intrinsic to human cells, tissues, and organs. RM uses cells and/or specially designed biomaterials to reach its goals and RM-based therapies are already in use in several clinical trials in most fields of surgery. The main challenges for investigators are threefold: Creation of an appropriate microenvironment ex vivo that is able to sustain cell physiology and function in order to generate the desired cells or body parts; identification and appropriate manipulation of cells that have the potential to generate parenchymal, stromal and vascular components on demand, both in vivo and ex vivo; and production of smart materials that are able to drive cell fate.

Inflammatory myofibroblastic tumours of the respiratory tract: paediatric case series with varying clinical presentations

OBJECTIVES

To highlight the clinical importance of inflammatory myofibroblastic tumours of the respiratory tract in children, and to present a case series of three children which illustrates this tumour's variable clinical presentation.

CASE HISTORY

The series includes: a nine-year-old girl with a diagnosis of juvenile idiopathic arthritis, who presented with finger clubbing and was found to have an inflammatory myofibroblastic tumour in her right upper lobe; a 15-year-old adolescent with a left main stem bronchial inflammatory myofibroblastic tumour, who presented with breathlessness and chest pain; and a 12-year-old girl with a tracheal inflammatory myofibroblastic tumour who presented with stridor. In each case, the tumour was resected surgically.

CONCLUSION

Inflammatory myofibroblastic tumour are a rare but clinically important and pathologically distinct lesion of the respiratory tract in children. The cases in this series highlight some of the varied clinical presentations of inflammatory myofibroblastic tumours, and illustrate some of this tumour's different anatomical locations within the paediatric respiratory tract.

[Optimal timing of pediatric surgery to prevent deleterious effects on associated cardiac defects]

Although cardiac defects are thought to have deleterious effects on the outcome of general pediatric surgery due to low cardiac output syndrome and hypoxemia, both pediatric surgery and cardiac surgery can be performed at the optimal timing with good results. However, some conditions requiring pediatric surgery may have deleterious effects on the outcome of cardiac surgery. Airway obstructive diseases sometimes require concomitant repair of the associated cardiac defects. In particular, tracheal stenosis may be repaired in cooperation with not only general pediatric and cardiac surgeons but also with pediatric thoracic surgeons who work in other healthcare institutions. Low birth-weight infants with symptomatic patent ductal artery are at risk of poor outcome. For patients with right isomerism, midgut malrotation or sliding hernia should be diagnosed early and repaired at the optimal timing to prevent urgent surgical intervention. Pediatric surgery should be performed at the optimal timing to prevent any deleterious effects on cardiac defects. Moreover, respiratory infection and neurologic disease should be treated to reduce late deaths.

Paediatric thoracoscopy: state of the art

Brad Rogers reported the first significant use of thoracoscopy in children in the late 1970s. Over the past two decades there has been an exponential growth and expansion of this technique. Many advanced procedures, including lobectomy, repair of tracheo-esophageal fistula, excision of mediastinal tumours and diaphragmatic hernia repairs, are being done routinely in pediatric surgery centres around the world. This article reviews the state of the art of thoracoscopic surgery in children. The author selected five procedures which in his opinion are most relevant for this discussion. The thoracoscopic technique seems to offer a favourable alternative to open surgery, but more clinical research is necessary to confirm the benefits of minimal access surgery.

Anesthesia for pediatric airway surgery: recommendations and review from a pediatric referral center

Pediatric airway surgery presents many significant challenges to the anesthesia provider. The clinical experience of the Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary serves as a guide in this review to describe the clinical reasoning and perioperative management of the pediatric patient needing airway surgery, with specific emphasis on diagnostic procedures, trauma, laryngotracheal reconstruction, juvenile recurrent respiratory papillomatosis, and adenotonsillectomy.

Effects of a clinical pathway for video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery (VATS) on quality and cost of care

PURPOSE

The purpose of this study was to evaluate effects of a clinical pathway (CP) for video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery (VATS) on process quality, outcome quality, and hospital costs.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

We implemented a CP for VATS and compared 34 patients treated with CP to 77 patients treated without CP. Indicators for process quality were duration of catheter placement, pain intensity, respiratory exercising, and mobilization. Outcome quality was measured through morbidity, mortality, reoperations, and readmissions. Cost of hospital stay was calculated using an imputed daily rate.

RESULTS

Foley catheters were removed significantly earlier after CP implementation. All patients on CP were mobilized and received pulmonary exercising on the operation day. Pain levels were low after CP implementation. Median hospital stay significantly reduced by 5 days. Perioperative outcome quality remained unchanged. Costs significantly diminished by 1,510 Euro per stay.

CONCLUSIONS

CP implementation had positive effects on process quality. Specifically, catheter management was improved and a good pain control achieved. Patients benefited from shortened stay and were treated at lower cost. A clear effect on outcome quality was not found. CPs are a promising tool for quality improvement and cost containment in thoracic surgery.

First year experience of robotic-assisted laparoscopic surgery with 153 cases in a general surgery department: indications, technique and results

BACKGROUND

Robotic surgery was developed in response to the limitations and drawbacks of laparoscopic surgery. Since 1997 when the first robotic procedure was performed various papers pointed the advantages of robotic-assisted laparoscopic surgery, this technique is now a reality and it will probably become the surgery of the future. The aim of this paper is to present our preliminary experience with the three-arms "da Vinci S surgical system", to assess the feasibility of this technique in various abdominal and thoracic procedures and to point out the advantages of the robotic approach for each type of procedure.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Between 18 January 2008 and 18 January 2009 153 patients (66 men and 87 women; mean age 48,02 years, range 6 to 84 years) underwent robotic-assisted surgical procedures in our institution; we performed 129 abdominal and 24 thoracic procedures, as follows: one cholecystectomy, 14 myotomies with Dor fundoplication, one gastroenteroanastomosis for unresectable antral gastric cancer, one transthoracic esophagectomy, 14 gastrectomies, one polypectomy through gastrotomy, 22 splenectomies,7 partial spleen resections, 22 thymectomy, 6 Nissen fundoplications, one Toupet fundoplication, one choledocho-duodeno-anastomosis, one drainage for pancreatic abscess, one distal pancreatectomy, one hepatic cyst fenestration, 7 hepatic resections, 29 colonic and rectal resections, 5 adrenalectomies, 12 total radical hysterectomies and pelvic lymphadenectomy, 3 hysterectomies with bilateral adnexectomy for uterine fibroma, one unilateral adnexectomy, and 2 cases of cervico-mediastinal goitre resection.

RESULTS

147 procedures were robotics completed , whereas 6 procedures were converted to open surgery due to the extent of the lesion. Average operating room time was 171 minutes (range 60 to 600 minutes, Median length of stay was 8,6 days (range 2 to 48 days). One system malfunctions was registered. Post-operatory complications occurred in 14 cases. There were no deaths.

CONCLUSIONS

Our preliminary experience suggests that robotic surgery is feasible and worth of clinical application. The best indications for robotic surgery are the procedures that require a small operating field, a fine a precise dissection (suitable for pelvic and gastric lymphadenectomy, nerve sparing in total mesorectal excision) and safe intracorporeal sutures.

[Experience with the use of surgical lasers for the treatment of patients with upper respiratory tract and ear diseases]

The objective of this study was to analyse the efficiency and safety of the use of a holmium- YAG laser (wave length 2.09 mcm) and an erbium-activated glass-based fiber laser scalpel (wave length 1.56 mcm) in ENT-surgery. Priority methods for the surgical intervention in the nasal cavity, paranasal sinuses, and middle ear were developed to treat patients with distorted nasal septa, vasomotor rhinitis, polypous rhinosinusitis, Eustachian tube dysfunction, and various forms of chronic suppurative otitis media. Long-term observations demonstrated fairly good stability of beneficial outcomes of the treatment with the above methods in the majority of the patients. It is concluded that surgical technologies with the use of modern medical lasers provide extensive possibilities for a great variety of interventions in patients with upper respiratory tract and ear diseases.

[Diode laser application for the treatment of pediatric airway pathologies]

Laser application for the treatment of pediatric airway pathologies represents a very attractive option because of the limited inflammatory reaction after photocoagulation. One novel laser used for such pathologies is the diode laser.

AIM

The purpose of this report is to present our preliminary experience in the use of diode laser in the treatment of pediatric airway lesions.

METHODS

A retrospective review of 22 patients (11 males and 11 females) who underwent laser procedures from 1999 to 2006 was performed. Nineteen patients were treated at our center while 3 were referred after a laser application from other institution. In all procedures flexible bronchoscopy was used. The mean age was 1.25 years (range 1 month-4.8 years). Lasers were applied for various lesions: laryngomalacia and arytenoid lesions (n = 5), angiomas (n = 3), lymphangiomas (n = 3), sacular cyst and other mucous lesions (n = 3), granulomas, scarring lesions (n = 4) and paralysis of vocal cord in adduction (n = 1).

RESULTS

None of the patient developed complications related to the endoscopic laser application. The mean number of laser therapy attempts were 1.4 per patient (range 1-3). The patients remained intubated for a mean of 2.8 days (range 4 hours-13 days) after the procedure. The duration of PICU stay after laser therapy was a mean of 4.6 days (range 1-8 days). The best outcomes were seen in sacular cysts (excelent in 3 patients). Also, all 3 patients with granulomas showed a good response to treatment. Multiple laser sessions (1-3; mean 1.4) were required to sucessfully manage the artynenoid lesions. However, the children with vascular lesions demonstrated differents outcomes. Of the 3 patients with subglottic angioma, 2 underwent a subsequent surgical procedure due to the development of subglottic stenosis; and one requiered further systemic steroid therapy. Of the children with lymphangioma, one needed 3 laser sessions and two required surgi- cal resections. Despite laser treatment, 3 of the 4 patients with scarring lesions required surgery.

CONCLUSIONS

The endoscopic application of diode laser for the management of pediatric airways lesions provides good outcomes in selected patients. Sacular lesions, granulomas and arytenoid lesions are, in our experience, excellents indications. In other anomalies laser is a good adjuvant. The application of laser should be tailored according to the pathology.