• Journal of Chest Surgery
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• v.29 no.5
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• pp.581-584
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• 1996

Reexpansion pulmonary edema is a rare complication of the treatment of lung collapse secondary to pneumothordx, pleural effusion, or atelectasis but occasionally life threatening. Generally, reexpansion pulmonary edema is believed to o cur only when a chronically collapsed lung is rapidly reexpanded by evacuation or large amounts of air or fluid. This complication is heralded by tachypnea, unilateral rales, and profuse expectoration of frothy secretion within several hours of reexpansion. Increased dur- ation of pneumothorax and the use o( suction are important factors in the generation of reexpansion pulmonary edema. We had experienced 3 cases of reexpansion pulmonary edema. In the two cases the pneumothorax had been present for several days, and, after insertion of a chest tube, pulmonary edema developed unilaterally but improved with supplemental oxygen. In the third case, massive pleural effusion was present. and, after insertion of a chest tube, pulmonary edema developed unilaterally, followed by cardiac arrest. He died of pulmonary edema inspire of resuscitation.

• Journal of Chest Surgery
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• v.30 no.11
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• pp.1149-1153
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• 1997

Unilateral reexpansion pulmonary edema(RPE) is generally considered a rare complication occurring when a chronically atelectatic lung is rapidly reexpanded by tube thoracostomy or thoracentesis. It can also take place when the lung collapse is of short duration or when the lung is reexpanded without intrapleural sucti n. We experienced a case of RPE following surgical resection in mediastinal thymic cyst A 26 year old female patient suffered from long-standing atelectasis of the right lung due to a huge mediastinal cyst that was misrecognized as tuberculous pleural effusion. Empyema developed after iatrogenic rupture of mediastinal cyst by pig-tailed tube thoracostomy. We successfally managed the ruptured mediastinal thymic cyst, empyema and postoperatively developed RPE following reexpansion of the collapsed lung. The patient was treated with drugs and mechanical ventilation with positive end-expiratory pressure for RPE. The remainder of her hospital course was uneventful.

• Journal of Chest Surgery
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• v.30 no.8
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• pp.809-814
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• 1997

Continuous epidural pain block with a local anesthetic agents is a commonly employed technique for pain relief after thoracotomy. In this study, we evaluated the effectiveness of the continuous epidural pain block in 19 patients undergoing elective lateral or posterolatrral thoracotomy with control group(n=19) from November 1994 to July 1995, Epidural lidocaine and morphine mixtures were injected via an epidural catheter as a bolus after operation, and then bupivacaine and morphine mixtures were injected continuously following 5 or 6 days. The pain score, upper arm elevation(ROM score), and respiratory rate were significantly changed(P<0.05) from 30min after injection. The CO2 tension of arterial blood was decreased significantly(P<0.05) from 2hr after injection. The postoperative hospital days were decreased significantly(P<0.05). Side effects of the epidural pain block were urinary retention(n= 10), urticaria(n=2) and a case of headache. There was no postoperative lung atelectasis. We conclude that the continuous epidural pain block is good for prevention of the postoperative lung complication and early recovery after thoracotomy.

• Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases
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• v.51 no.5
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• pp.453-461
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• 2001

Pulmonary carcinosarcoma(Sarcomatoid carcinoma of the lung) is a rare pulmonary malignancy, which is defined as having an admixture of both carcinomatous and sarcomatous components. Pulmonary carcinosarcoma occurs most frequently in males between 50 and 80 years of age. It predominantly affects the upper lobe and/or the principal bronchi, and is associated with a history of smoking. Here, we report a case of pulmonary carcinosarcoma with a left lobe atelectasis due to an endobronchial mass in a 56-year-old male. After a left pneumonectomy, the pathologic stage was IIb ($T_3N_0M_0$). Four months later, an abdominal mass was observed and exploratory laparotomy revealed metastases of the pulmonary carcinosarcoma to the pelvic cavity.

• Applied Microscopy
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• v.35 no.2
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• pp.81-87
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• 2005

To evaluate the effects of ingestion of alcoholic drinks on the toxicities of industrial compounds, cyclohexane (CH) was intraperitoneally administrated to rats (1.56 g/kg body weght), which had been ingested 15% ethanol for up to 6 weeks, 4 times by once a day and every other day. Following the last treatment of ethanol or CH, blood and lung tissues were collected during 24 hours prior to sacrifice of animals. Comparing with the control group, the lung weight per body weight (%) and the protein content in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid were increased in the ethanol-pretreated group, and the glucose-6-phosphatase activity in lung tissues was decreased in the CH-treated group. In a morphological observations, pulmonary embolus were found in the CH-treated group, whereas a partial pulmonary atelectasis and a much increase in pulmonary embolus were shown in the CH-treated group after pretreated with ethanol for 6 weeks. In conclusion, these results indicate that ethanol pretreatment could enhance CH metabolism and that CH treatment with ethanol pretreatment could induce lung injury due to the increased CH metabolism.

• Korean Journal of Bronchoesophagology
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• v.1 no.1
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• pp.136-141
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• 1995

Tracheostomal stenosis after total laryngectomy is a distressing complication which con-tributes significantly to both psychosocial and physical morbidity according to nature and severity in laryngectomee. Sternal stenosis will compromise not only optimal air exchange, crust formation but also the ability to clear tracheobronchial secretion, so pneumonia and atelectasis will develop. Having a number of procedure recommended for correction of such stenosis with limited results. We developed new technique which is based on tracheal advancement flap had been ap-plied to 12 patients, successfully. We think that total or partial tracheal advancement flap technique Is useful for widening the stoma and advantages of this method are following. 1. Simple technique. possible under local anesthesia 2. Healthy tracheal ring facilities width control 3. Less chance of refractory scar stenosis 4. Tracheoesophageal shunt can be constructed after the partial advancement flap.

• Clinical and Experimental Pediatrics
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• v.50 no.8
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• pp.781-784
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• 2007

Foreign body aspiration (FBA) is a common accident in young children. Undiagnosed and retained foreign bodies may result in severe early and late complications such as asphyxia, pneumonia, atelectasis and bronchiectasis. Moreover, because it can mimic bronchiolitis, croup or asthma, an accurate history and a high index of suspicion are of paramount importance for early diagnosis. With our experience on bronchial FBA initially misdiagnosed as acute bronchiolitis, we emphasize that a minute radiological finding should not be neglected and a repeat chest radiograph may be helpful when the initial study shows normal findings. Multidetector computed tomography is a very useful noninvasive diagnostic modality for FBA.

• Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases
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• v.78 no.1
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• pp.31-35
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• 2015

An 18-year-old woman was evaluated for a chronic productive cough and dyspnea. She was subsequently diagnosed with mediastinal non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL). A covered self-expandable metallic stent (SEMS) was implanted to relieve narrowing in for both main bronchi. The NHL went into complete remission after six chemotherapy cycles, but atelectasis developed in the left lower lobe 18 months after SEMS insertion. The left main bronchus was completely occluded by granulation tissue. However, the right main bronchus and intermedius bronchus were patent. Granulation tissue was observed adjacent to the SEMS. The granulation tissue and the SEMS were excised, and a silicone stent was successfully implanted using a rigid bronchoscope. SEMS is advantageous owing to its easy implantation, but there are considerable potential complications such as severe reactive granulation, stent rupture, and ventilation failure in serious cases. Therefore, SEMS should be avoided whenever possible in patients with benign airway disease. This case highlights that SEMS implantation should be avoided even in malignant airway obstruction cases if the underlying malignancy is curable.

• Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases
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• v.62 no.2
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• pp.129-133
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• 2007

Neurilemmomas are benign tumors that originate from Schwann cells. These tumors rarely occur in the trachea or bronchus. Although small peripheral lesions cause no symptoms, they usually cause dyspnea, cough, wheeze, and atelectasis. We encountered two cases of endobronchial neurilemmoma, and reviewed 10 cases previously reported in Korea in order to clarify the characteristics of this disease, and to determine the appropriate treatment. The median age of the 12 patients reviewed were 36.5 (range 16-75). Cough and dyspnea were the most common initial symptoms (40%), and two cases had no symptoms. Regarding the diagnostic methods, bronchoscopic biopsy was found to be inadequate for diagnosis in two cases. A review of the cases revealed the following teatments: bronchoscopic removal in two cases, surgery in six cases, and combined bronchoscopic removal and surgery in one case.

• Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases
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• v.42 no.5
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• pp.760-766
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• 1995

Tracheopatbia osteoplastica is a rare disease of unknown cause and characterized by cartilaginous or bony projection into the tracheobronchial lumen, usually not involved posterior membranous portion of tracheobronchial tree. In the past, most of the cases were diagnosed incidentally at autopsy. But after the introduction of bronchoscopy and computed tomography, antemortem diagnosis was reported. Because of initial presenting symptoms were indolent and non-specific, misdiagnosis was reported frequently and correct diagnosis was delayed usually. We report two cases of tracheopatbia osteoplastica diagnosed by fiberoptic bronchoscopic biopsy.