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Objective: The objective of this study is to elucidate the clinical and demographic profiles, as well as perioperative outcomes, of patients undergoing surgery for non-hiatal diaphragmatic hernias. Additionally, it aims to analyse these outcomes based on the surgical approach employed (transthoracic versus transabdominal)., Methods: This retrospective, observational study was conducted at a single center and involved patients diagnosed with non-hiatal diaphragmatic hernia who underwent either emergency or elective surgery between July 2007 and March 2023. Clinical characteristics and perioperative outcomes of these patients were compared using appropriate statistical tests.The research protocol for this observational, retrospective, and comparative study followed the Declaration of Helsinki's ethical requirements. The need for Clinical Research Ethics Committee approval was waived according to our institutional law because the study was a retrospective cohort study based on anonymous data of patients. Informed consent was waived because this study involved the secondary analysis of patient medical records. Additionally, this study followed the STROBE guidelines for reporting observational studies., Results: The analysis included 22 patients being 59.1% men, with median age of 61 years. The predominant clinical presentation was restrictive lung disease (40.9%). The majority of cases (68%) had traumatic aetiology with a median defect size of 4 cm (range of 3-8 cm). Elective surgery was performed in 15 cases (68.1%) and transthoracic approach was employed in 13 patients (54.5%). Postoperative major morbidity reached 27.2% and mortality within 30 days was 9.1%. Emergency surgeries accounted for 44.4% of transabdominal interventions, compared to 23% in the transthoracic subgroup (p = 0.376). There were no statistically significant differences between the transabdominal and trasnthoracic approaches in terms of global postoperative complications (88.8% vs. 84.6%, p = 1), major complications (44.4% vs 15.4%, p = 0.734), mortality (11.1% v 7.6%, p = 1) and recurrence (11.1% vs 7.6%, p = 1). Postoperative stay was significantly shorter in the transthoracic subgroup (6 days vs. 14 days, p = 0.011)., Conclusions: Non-hiatal diaphragmatic hernias are characterized by significant postoperative major morbidity and mortality rates, standing at 27.2% and 9.1%, respectively, accompanied by a recurrence rate of 9.1%. Both transthoracic and transabdominal approaches demonstrate comparable short- and long-term outcomes., (© 2024. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer-Verlag France SAS, part of Springer Nature.)

Minimally invasive anatomical sublobar resections have gained relevance in recent years mainly due to advances in imaging techniques, screening programs and the increase in second neoplasms. Accurate identification of the segmental or subsegmental bronchus is vital to guarantee optimal results in segmentectomies and subsegmentectomies. Given the complexity and the possibility of anatomical variations, several authors have published different methods to identify the target bronchus. However, these methods have certain limitations. This article describes a new rapid and effective technique, with a low risk of complications and without additional cost, for the identification of segmental bronchi in minimally invasive segmentectomies., (Copyright © 2022 AEC. Published by Elsevier España, S.L.U. All rights reserved.)

Introduction: The objective of this study is to create a predictive model of prolonged postoperative length of stay (PLOS) in patients undergoing anatomic lung resection, to validate it in an external series and to evaluate the influence of PLOS on readmission and 90-day mortality., Methods: All patients registered in the GEVATS database discharged after the intervention were included. We define PLOS as the postoperative stay in days above the 75th percentile of stay for all patients in the series. A univariate and multivariate analysis was performed using logistic regression and the model was validated in an external cohort. The possible association between PLOS and readmission and mortality at 90 days was analyzed., Results: 3473 patients were included in the study. The median postoperative stay was 5 days (IQR: 4-7). 815 patients had PLOS (≥8 days), of which 79.9% had postoperative complications. The final model included as variables: age, BMI, male sex, ppoFEV1%, ppoDLCO% and thoracotomy; the AUC in the referral series was 0.684 (95% CI: 0.661-0.706) and in the validation series was 0.73 (95% CI: 0.681-0.78). A significant association was found between PLOS and readmission (p < .000) and 90-day mortality (p < .000)., Conclusions: The variables age, BMI, male sex, ppoFEV1%, ppoDLCO% and thoracotomy affect PLOS. PLOS is associated with an increased risk of readmission and 90-day mortality. 20% of PLOS are not related to the occurrence of postoperative complications., (Copyright © 2021 AEC. Published by Elsevier España, S.L.U. All rights reserved.)

Introduction: To analyze the predictors of pCR in NSCLC patients who underwent anatomical lung resection after induction therapy and to evaluate the postoperative results of these patients., Methods: All patients prospectively registered in the database of the GE-VATS working group undergone anatomic lung resection by NSCLC after induction treatment and recruited between 12/20/2016 and 3/20/2018 were included in the study. The population was divided into two groups: patients who obtained a complete pathological response after induction (pCR) and patients who did not obtain a complete pathological response after induction (non-pCR). A multivariate analysis was performed using a binary logistic regression to determine the predictors of pCR and the postoperative results of patients were analyzed., Results: Of the 241 patients analyzed, 36 patients (14.9%) achieved pCR. Predictive factors for pCR are male sex (OR: 2.814, 95% CI: 1.015-7.806), histology of squamous carcinoma (OR: 3.065, 95% CI: 1.233-7.619) or other than adenocarcinoma (OR: 5.788, 95% CI: 1.878-17.733) and induction therapy that includes radiation therapy (OR: 4.096, 95% CI: 1.785-9.401) and targeted therapies (OR: 7.625, 95% CI: 2.147-27.077). Prevalence of postoperative pulmonary complications was higher in patients treated with neoadjuvant chemo-radiotherapy (p = 0.032)., Conclusions: Male sex, histology of squamous carcinoma or other than ADC, and induction therapy that includes radiotherapy or targeted therapy are positive predictors for obtaining pCR. Induction chemo-radiotherapy is associated with a higher risk of postoperative pulmonary complications., (Copyright © 2022. Published by Elsevier España, S.L.U.)

Introduction: Failure to rescue (FTR), defined as the mortality rate among patients suffering from postoperative complications, is considered an indicator of the quality of surgical care. The aim of this study was to investigate the risk factors associated with FTR after anatomical lung resections., Method: Patients undergoing anatomical lung resection at our center between 1994 and 2018 were included in the study. Postoperative complications were classified as minor (grade I and II) and major (grade IIIA to V), according to the standardized classification of postoperative morbidity. Patients who died after a major complication were considered FTR. A stepwise logistic regression model was created to identify FTR predictors. Independent variables included in the multivariate analysis were age, body mass index, cardiac, renal, and cerebrovascular comorbidity, ppoFEV1%, VATS approach, extended resection, pneumonectomy, and reintervention. A non-parametric ROC curve was constructed to estimate the predictive capacity of the model., Results: A total of 2.569 patients were included, of which 223 (8.9%) had major complications and 49 (22%) could not be rescued. Variables associated with FTR were: age (OR: 1.07), history of cerebrovascular accident (OR: 3.53), pneumonectomy (OR: 6.67), and reintervention (OR: 12.26). The area under the ROC curve was 0.82 (95% CI: 0.77-0.88)., Conclusions: Overall, 22% of patients with major complications following anatomical lung resection in this series did not survive until discharge. Pneumonectomy and reintervention are the most significant risk factors for FTR., (Copyright © 2020 SEPAR. Published by Elsevier España, S.L.U. All rights reserved.)

Objectives: This analysis aimed to evaluate perioperative outcomes of surgical resection following neoadjuvant treatment with chemotherapy plus nivolumab in resectable stage IIIA non-small-cell lung cancer., Methods: Eligible patients received neoadjuvant chemotherapy (paclitaxel + carboplatin) plus nivolumab for 3 cycles. Reassessment of the tumour was carried out after treatment and patients with at least stable disease as best response underwent pulmonary resection. After surgery, patients received adjuvant treatment with nivolumab for 1 year. Surgical data were collected from the NADIM database and patient charts were reviewed for additional surgical details., Results: Among 46 patients who received neoadjuvant treatment, 41 (89.1%) underwent surgery. Two patients rejected surgery and 3 did not fulfil resectability criteria. There were 35 lobectomies (85.3%), 3 of which were sleeve lobectomies (9.4%), 3 bilobectomies (7.3%) and 3 pneumonectomies (7.3%). Video-assisted thoracoscopy was the initial approach in 51.2% of cases, with a conversion rate of 19% (n = 4). There was no operative mortality at either 30 or 90 days. The most common complications were prolonged air leak (n = 8), pneumonia (n = 5) and arrhythmia (n = 4). Complete resection (R0) was achieved in all patients who underwent surgery, downstaging was observed in 37 patients (90.2%) and major pathological response in 34 patients (82.9%)., Conclusions: Surgical resection following induction therapy with chemotherapy plus nivolumab appears to be safe and offers appropriate oncological outcomes. Perioperative morbidity and mortality rates in our study were no higher than previously reported in this setting. A minimally invasive approach is, therefore, feasible., (© The Author(s) 2021. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the European Association for Cardio-Thoracic Surgery. All rights reserved.)

Introduction: Robotic surgery has become a safe and effective approach for the treatment of pulmonary surgical pathology. However, the adoption of new surgical techniques requires the evaluation of the learning curve. The objective of this study is to analyze the learning curve of robotic anatomical lung resections., Methods: Retrospective analysis of all robotic anatomical lung resections performed by the same surgeon between June 2018 and March 2020. The learning curve was evaluated using CUSUM charts to estimate trend changes in surgical time, surgical failure and the occurrence of post-operative cardiorespiratory complications throughout the sequence of cases., Results: The study included a total of 73 cases. The median duration of all complications was 120 min (interquartile range: 90-150 min), the prevalence of surgical failure was 23.29%, while 4/73 patients had any postoperative cardiorespiratory complication. Based on the CUSUM analysis, the learning curve was divided into 3 different phases: phase i (from the first to the 14th intervention), phase ii (between the 15th and 30th intervention) and phase iii (from the 31st intervention)., Conclusions: The learning curve for robotic anatomical lung resections can be divided into 3 phases. The technical competence that guarantees satisfactory perioperative outcomes was achived in phase iii from the 31st intervention., (Copyright © 2020 AEC. Published by Elsevier España, S.L.U. All rights reserved.)

Introduction: To analyze the predictors of pathological complete response (pCR) in not small cells lung carcinoma (NSCLC) patients who underwent anatomical lung resection after induction therapy and to evaluate the postoperative results of these patients., Methods: All patients prospectively registered in the database of the GE-VATS working group undergone anatomic lung resection by NSCLC after induction treatment and recruited between December 20 th 2016, and March 20 th 2018, were included in the study. The population was divided into two groups: patients who obtained a complete pathological response after induction (pCR) and patients who did not obtain a complete pathological response after induction (non-pCR). A multivariate analysis was performed using a binary logistic regression to determine the predictors of pCR and the postoperative results of patients were analyzed., Results: Of the 241 patients analyzed, 36 patients (14.9%) achieved pCR. Predictive factors for pCR are male sex (OR 2.814, 95% CI 1.015-7.806), histology of squamous carcinoma (OR 3.065, 95% CI 1.233-7.619) or other than adenocarcinoma (ADC) (OR 5.788, 95% CI 1.878-17.733) and induction therapy that includes radiation therapy (OR 4.096, 95% CI 1.785-9.401) and targeted therapies (OR 7.625, 95% CI 2.147-27.077). Prevalence of postoperative pulmonary complications was higher in patients treated with neoadjuvant chemo-radiotherapy (p = 0.032)., Conclusions: Male sex, histology of squamous carcinoma or other than ADC, and induction therapy that includes radiotherapy or targeted therapy are positive predictors for obtaining pCR. Induction chemo-radiotherapy is associated with a higher risk of postoperative pulmonary complications., (Copyright © 2021 AEC. Publicado por Elsevier España, S.L.U. All rights reserved.)

Introduction: Failure to rescue (FTR), defined as the mortality rate among patients suffering from postoperative complications, is considered an indicator of the quality of surgical care. The aim of this study was to investigate the risk factors associated with FTR after anatomical lung resections., Method: Patients undergoing anatomical lung resection at our center between 1994 and 2018 were included in the study. Postoperative complications were classified as minor (grade I and II) and major (grade IIIA to V), according to the standardized classification of postoperative morbidity. Patients who died after a major complication were considered FTR. A stepwise logistic regression model was created to identify FTR predictors. Independent variables included in the multivariate analysis were age, body mass index, cardiac, renal, and cerebrovascular comorbidity, ppoFEV1%, VATS approach, extended resection, pneumonectomy, and reintervention. A non-parametric ROC curve was constructed to estimate the predictive capacity of the model., Results: A total of 2,569 patients were included, of which 223 (8.9%) had major complications and 49 (22%) could not be rescued. Variables associated with FTR were: age (OR: 1.07), history of cerebrovascular accident (OR: 3.53), pneumonectomy (OR: 6.67), and reintervention (OR: 12.26). The area under the ROC curve was 0.82 (95% CI: 0.77-0.88)., Conclusions: Overall, 22% of patients with major complications following anatomical lung resection in this series did not survive until discharge. Pneumonectomy and reintervention are the most significant risk factors for FTR., (Copyright © 2020 SEPAR. Publicado por Elsevier España, S.L.U. All rights reserved.)

Introduction: The aim of this study is to evaluate changes in the risk of cardiorespiratory mortality and morbidity calculated by Eurolung risk models 1 and 2 in the last 20 years, and to identify variations in patient selection or surgical practice that might have altered the risk of death and complications after anatomical lung resections., Method: This was a retrospective analysis of a series of 2,435 consecutive patients who underwent anatomical lung resection. The population was divided into three time periods: 1994-2006 (976 cases), 2007-2015 (945 cases), and 2016-2017 (420 cases). Eurolung models 1 and 2 were applied to the series, and the individual probability of adverse effects was calculated. We compared this mean probability, and the prevalence or means of each of the variables included in the models in each period and plotted the evolution of the risk., Results: A progressive decrease was observed in both adverse effects over time. The prevalence of the binary variables, except for coronary heart disease, was higher in the last period. The percentage of pneumonectomies and extended resections fell in the last two periods and the number of cases treated with VATS increased substantially in 2016-2017., Conclusions: The decline in the number of pneumonectomies and the increase in the rate of minimally invasive procedures appear to be the variables most closely associated with decreased risk. Other changes in the clinical characteristics of the patients do not seem to have influenced the outcomes., (Copyright © 2019 SEPAR. Publicado por Elsevier España, S.L.U. All rights reserved.)

Objective: The aim of this study is analysing the impact of the systematic versus occasional videoconferencing discussion of patients with two respiratory referral units along 6 years of time over the efficiency of the in-person outpatient clinics of a thoracic surgery service., Method: Retrospective and comparative study of the evaluated patients through videoconferencing and in-person first visits during two equivalents periods of time: Group A (occasional discussion of cases) between 2008-2010 and Group B (weekly regular discussion) 2011-2013. Data were obtained from two prospective and electronic data bases. The number of cases discussed using e-consultation, in-person outpatient clinics evaluation and finally operated on under general anaesthesia in each period of time are presented. For efficiency criteria, the index: number of operated on cases/number of first visit outpatient clinic patients is created. Non-parametric Wilcoxon test is used for comparison., Results: The mean number of patients evaluated at the outpatient clinics/year on group A was 563 versus 464 on group B. The median number of cases discussed using videoconferencing/year was 42 for group A versus 136 for group B. The mean number of operated cases/first visit at the outpatient clinics was 0.7 versus 0.87 in group B (P=.04)., Conclusions: The systematic regular discussion of cases using videoconferencing has a positive impact on the efficacy of the outpatient clinics of a Thoracic Surgery Service measured in terms of operated cases/first outpatient clinics visit., (Copyright © 2016 SEPAR. Publicado por Elsevier España, S.L.U. All rights reserved.)

Objectives: The aims of this study were to design a best fit linear regression model to estimate VO2max (estimated VO2) and to compare the ability of VO2 values (measured and estimated) predicting cardiorespiratory complications in a series of patients undergoing lung resection for lung cancer., Method: This was a prospective, observational study performed in 83 patients. Variables analyzed were: demographic characteristics, comorbidity, body mass index (BMI), FEV1%, FVC%, diffusion capacity (DLCO%), mean daily distance walked in kilometers, VO2max measured by cardio-pulmonary exercise test (CPET) and postoperative complications. Descriptive and comparative statistical analysis of the variables was performed using the Mann-Whitney test for categorical variables and the Student's t-test for continuous variables. A new linear regression model was designed, where the dependent variable (measured VO2max) was estimated by the distance, DLCO% and age, resulting in the estimated VO2. The predictive power of the measured and estimated consumption was analyzed using the Student's t-test, grouping by the occurrence or absence of cardiorespiratory complications., Results: Both groups were homogeneous for age, sex, BMI, FEV1%, DLCO%, comorbidity, type of resection performed and mean distance walked per day. Estimated VO2 and measured VO2 were normally distributed (K-Smirnov test, P>.32). VO2 means estimated by the model (age, DLCO% and mean distance walked per day) were significantly different between patients with and without complications (Student's t test, P=.037) compared with measured VO2 values, which did not differentiate groups (Student's t test, P=.42)., Conclusion: The VO2max estimated by the model is more predictive in this case series than the VO2max measured during a standard exercise test., (Copyright © 2013 SEPAR. Published by Elsevier Espana. All rights reserved.)

This is the fourth update of the guidelines for the diagnosis and treatment of pneumothorax published by the Spanish Society of Pulmonology and Thoracic Surgery (SEPAR). Spontaneous pneumothorax, or the presence of air in the pleural space not caused by injury or medical intervention, is a significant clinical problem. We propose a method for classifying cases into 3 categories: partial, complete, and complete with total lung collapse. This classification, together with a clinical assessment, would provide sufficient information to enable physicians to decide on an approach to treatment. This update introduces simple aspiration in an outpatient setting as a treatment option that has yielded results comparable to conventional drainage in the management of uncomplicated primary spontaneous pneumothorax; this technique is not, as yet, widely used in Spain. For the definitive treatment of primary spontaneous pneumothorax, the technique most often used by thoracic surgeons is video-assisted thoracoscopic bullectomy and pleural abrasion. Hospitalization and conventional tube drainage is recommended for the treatment of secondary spontaneous pneumothorax. This update also has a new section on catamenial pneumothorax, a condition that is probably underdiagnosed. The definitive treatment for a recurring or persistent air leak is usually surgery or the application of talc through the drainage tube when surgery is contraindicated. Our aim in proposing algorithms for the management of pneumothorax in these guidelines was to provide a useful tool for clinicians involved in the diagnosis and treatment of this disease.