Mounier-Kuhn syndrome (Tracheobronchomegaly): Radiological diagnosis

Mounier Kuhn Syndrome or tracheobronchomegaly is a rare disease, characterized by dilatation of the trachea and the main bronchi. Our study concerns a case of 67-years old male patient, smoker, with a chronic cough. Chest scan was requested; it shows an enlargement of the tracheal clarity and the two main bronchi. Meanwhile, the Functional respiratory exploration was normal. The treatment includes mucolytics and pulmonary physiotherapy. Mounier-Kuhn syndrome is rare and the clinical signs are not specific, the positive diagnosis is purely radiological. The treatment is about to free the airways to prevent infection.

[Sporadic lymphangioleiomyomatosis: A rare cause of bilateral spontaneous pneumothorax in young woman]

Sporadic lymphangioleiomyomatosis is an orphan disease of the young woman. Its clinical manifestations are mainly respiratory, including spontaneous pneumothorax. The management is multidisciplinary. We report the case of a young patient with bilateral spontaneous pneumothorax revealing sporadic lymphangioleiomyomatosis.

[About two huge bilateral bronchial atypical carcinoid tumors]

Carcinoid tumors are well differentiated neuroendocrine tumors of low grade malignancy or attenuated malignancy. Atypical bilateral bronchial forms are rarely reported. They pose a real problem of therapeutic strategy. We report a case of a 36-year-old woman with two large bilateral atypical carcinoid tumors. She received delayed bilateral parenchymal resection with postoperative uneventful course. Through a review of the literature, we discuss the therapeutic strategy. This observation remains special for several reasons. Not only by the rarity of the bilateral and atypical forms but also for the bilateral tumor sizes which led to a difficult intraoperative anesthetic management.

[Which surgery for mediastinum tumor: Experience of the Department of thoracic surgery of CHU Hassan II of Fès]

INTRODUCTION

Tumors of the mediastinum are a heterogeneous group of dysembryoplatic and neoplastic diseases essentially with different prognoses and therapeutic. These tumors develop slowly and remain long asymptomatic in 40-50% of cases. The purpose of our work is to bring the result of surgical management in diagnostic and therapeutic of principal mediastinum tumors framework.

PATIENTS AND METHOD

We reviewed retrospectively the records of 68 patients in our training, between January 2009 and December 2013, for tumor of the mediastinum in the diagnostic framework and or therapy.

RESULTS

There were 37 men and 31 women with a mean age of 37 years with extremes ranging from 11 to 73 years and 77.94% had an age between 11 and 50. In 39 patients, surgery had a diagnostic purpose (2 benign tumors and 37 malignancies including 27 cases of lymphomas). Curative surgery was performed in 34 patients, dominated by the tumors of thymic origin in 15 cases. Conventional surgery had involved 32 patients. The surgical approach was a total vertical sternotomy in 14 patients, in 17 patients was posterolateral thoracotomy and a left anterior thoracotomy in 1 patient. Video assisted thoracic surgery had been done in 3 patients under resection of a pleuropericardique cyst. Overall mortality was 4.41 percent. It is a death at D17 of the postoperative (thymoma with myasthenia) following a myasthenic crisis requiring a tracheotomy. A patient operated on for invasive thymoma developed myopathy and died at D44 of the postoperative following a difficulty of weaning. Another patient had a thymoma B3 benefited from 6 courses of neoadjuvant chemotherapy and then a thymectomy had presented a respiratory distress with bilateral pleural effusion, death at D10 of the postoperative by septic shock following a nosocomial infection.

CONCLUSION

Tumors of the mediastinum are infrequent, discovered more often by chance. The main prognostic factor is the completeness of tumor resection without taking the break. Conventional surgery always keeps a place in our context, despite the advent of minimally invasive surgery.

[Can Tako-tsubo syndrome be integrated into post-pneumonectomy syndrome?]

INTRODUCTION

Tako-tsubo syndrome, or "left ventricular transitory apical balloon syndrome", is an acute coronary syndrome with normal coronary arteries.

OBSERVATION

We report the case of a 50-year-old patient operated for a post-tuberculous destroyed lung, for which she had a left pneumonectomy. Six months later, she presented with chest pain complicated by cardiorespiratory arrest. The Tako-tsubo syndrome was retained after eliminating the other causes.

CONCLUSION

The diagnosis of Tako-tsubo syndrome should be considered before the sudden occurrence of an acute coronary syndrome in the aftermath of stress or emotional shock.

[Results of bronchiectasis surgery: About 64 cases]

INTRODUCTION

Bronchiectasis is a serious and disabling disease. Surgical treatment is an interesting alternative to be proposed early to patients in case of complications or deterioration of quality of life, despite an optimal medical treatment. Through this retrospective study and literature review, we analyze surgical results for bronchiectasis.

PATIENTS AND METHOD

We conducted a monocentric, retrospective, descriptive and analytical study in the Department of thoracic surgery of CHU Hassan II Fès, about 64 patients operated for bronchiectasis during the period from January 2009 to December 2016.

RESULTS

There were 30 men and 34 women with an average age of 32years. Twenty six percent (26 %) had a history of recurrent lung infection, and 17.18 % would have been treated for pulmonary tuberculosis and declared cured. Productive cough (93 %), morning chronic bronchorrhea (92 %) and repeatedly hemoptysis (62.5 %) were the main symptoms. On CT scanning, the bronchiectasis was unilateral and localized in 49 cases. The right lung was involved in 27 cases and the location was bilateral in 15 cases. It was 38 cystic bronchiectasis, 16 cylindrical bronchiectasis, and 10 mixed lesions predominantly cylindrical. The flexible bronchoscopy carried out in 34 cases, had shown a carcinoid tumor in 1 case, a bronchiolithiasis in 1 case and a intrabronchial foreign body in 1 case. The incision was a conservative posterolateral thoracotomy in all cases. The performed surgical procedure was lobectomy in 53 % of patients. The morbidity rate was 32.80 % and dominated by septic complications. After a mean follow-up of 20.52months, 2 cases of recurrence minimal hemoptysis and 1 case of renewed bronchorrhea are noted. For all other patients the outcome was favorable and no deaths have been noted to date.

CONCLUSION

The surgery of bronchiectasis requires a perfect collaboration between the pulmonologist, the thoracic surgeon, the anesthesiologist, the biologist and particularly the physiotherapist for an optimal care of patients.

[The place of surgery in bilateral sequelae bronchiectasis]

INTRODUCTION

The aim of our study is to report our surgery results in bilateral sequelae bronchiectasis and to assess its impact on the life quality of our patients.

METHOD

This is a retrospective descriptive study in thoracic surgery department of Teaching Hospital Hassan II of Fez in Morocco. It involved all patients with bilateral bronchiectasis which is predominant on a few lobes or segments (localized) and who underwent surgery during the period 2010-2015. The epidemiological, clinical and paraclinical data, the surgery results, the evolution and the impact on life quality were assessed.

RESULTS

From a total of 47 patients with bilateral bronchiectasis, 13 were operated, thus a frequency of 27.6%. The average age was 32years, ranging from 15 to 54years. Women were in majority (61.5%) representing a sex ratio of 1.6. The association of chronic bronchorrhea and hemoptysis was the main reason of medical consultation in 46.16%, followed by isolated chronic bronchorrhea in 38.46%. Surgical resection involved the left side in 61.5% of cases. The left lower lobectomy was the most accomplished gesture. An improvement in symptoms was found in 11 patients (84.6%) as a decrease in bronchorrhea, hemoptysis episodes and decreasing use of antibiotics.

CONCLUSION

Bilateral bronchiectasis surgery can be performed with acceptable morbidity and mortality in well-selected patients with an improvement in symptoms.

[Hydatic pulmonary embolism: a rare complication of hepatic hydatid cyst]

Hepato-pulmonary hydatidosis is a parasitic disease common in Mediterranean countries. Hydatid pulmonary embolism is extremely rare and is due to rupture of a cardiac hydatid cyst or, more rarely, rupture of a hepatic hydatid cyst. We report three cases of hydatid pulmonary embolism secondary to rupture of a hydatid cyst into the inferior vena cava. Thoracic imaging, mainly CT angiography and MRI, was important for both the diagnosis and decisions on treatment. The prognosis of intra-arterial pulmonary hydatid cyst is poor because of the risk of acute fatal complications such as anaphylactic shock and vascular rupture and also of chronic progression to cor pulmonale and respiratory failure. The therapeutic management is difficult and often only partially effective hence the importance of focusing on preventative treatment.

[Acute pulmonary edema, new complication of sclerosing mediastinitis]

Sclerosing mediastinitis is a rare and benign disease, which can cause obstruction of mediastinal structures, this determines the clinical presentation and prognosis. The obstruction of pulmonary venous structures secondary to mediastinal fibrosis has been rarely reported, clinically it mimics mitral stenosis. We describe the clinical case of a young patient with idiopathic sclerosing mediastinitis. The radiologic exams found stenosis of the right pulmonary artery, the right bronchus and pulmonary veins. Through this observation, we discuss this rare entity that although benign, can also be deadly. We study the different etiologies, clinical and therapeutic possibilities.

[Desmoid tumor of mediastinum revealed by superior vena cava syndrome and tamponade]

Desmoid tumors are rare forms of low grade malignancies. They are characterized by a strong potential of local invasion. Although they are considered histologically benign they behave aggressive locally. They typically occur in the abdominal wall or within the abdomen. Mediastinal localisation is very rare. The only curative treatment is wide surgical excision but the surgery is difficult and the risk of local recurrence is high.