电视纵隔镜诊断不明性质的纵隔或肺部病变

目的探讨电视纵隔镜检查在不明原因纵隔或肺部病变诊断中的可靠性和安全性。方法 2003年10月至2008年5月我科收治61例不明性质的纵隔或肺部疾病患者,男43例,女18例;年龄16～71岁,平均年龄47岁。采用单腔气管内插管全身麻醉,行电视纵隔镜活检术,经颈入路57例,经胸骨旁入路4例。结果术中损伤无名动脉1例,中转开胸止血并活检;另60例均获得满意病理学标本,确切诊断率为100%,敏感性为100%,特异性为100%。病理诊断:纵隔原发性恶性肿瘤9例,纵隔良性肿瘤1例,淋巴瘤2例,结核32例,纵隔淋巴结转移12例,淋巴结反应性增生4例。术后切口愈合不良3例;围术期死亡1例。结论电视纵隔镜检查术是一种创伤小、有效的诊断性检查方法,但对伴有上腔静脉综合征患者应重视手术风险。     

上腔静脉阻塞综合征非体外循环下血管置换术的麻醉管理

上腔静脉阻塞综合征多由于右肺上叶癌或右上纵隔肿瘤肿块较大时压迫上腔静脉（SVC）及左右无名静脉所致。使用体外循环或非体外循环方法行肿瘤切除和SVC置换既可切除肿瘤又可解除SVC的阻塞，但是非体外循环下上腔静脉置换术的麻醉具有一定的挑战性。笔者于2000～2005年为9例在非体外循环下阻断SVC行肿瘤切除及SVC移植术的上腔静脉患者成功地进行了麻醉，现报告如下。     

上腔静脉和无名静脉的切除及重建治疗纵隔肿瘤

目的　探讨分析纵隔肿瘤根治性切除 ,重建上腔静脉和无名静脉的手术意义及技术方法。　方法　回顾性分析北京协和医院 2 0 0 1～ 2 0 0 3年 11例纵隔肿瘤引起上腔静脉综合征患者的治疗及预后。根治性切除肿瘤 9例 ,其中 2例行心包修补静脉壁成形术 ,7例人工血管置换重建上腔静脉和无名静脉 ;2例部分切除。术中对左、右无名静脉分次阻断 ,单侧阻断时间 2 2 .15± 6 .2 9min,手术出血量 1342 .86± 6 92 .4 8ml。　结果　侵袭性恶性胸腺瘤 4例 ,胸腺癌5例 ,纵隔小细胞癌 2例。术后早期患者静脉梗阻症状即改善 ,无神经系统并发症 ,1例死于肺部感染 ,其余 10例全部健在 ,存活时间已达 6～ 30个月。　结论　上腔静脉和无名静脉的重建可以有效地消除上腔静脉综合征 ,其手术是安全的 ;但应注意病变的范围 ,争取根治性切除是提高生存率的关键。     

纵隔镜在仅以纵隔占位为表现的疾病诊断中的价值

目的 探讨纵隔镜在仅以纵隔占位为表现的胸部疾病的诊断中的价值,分析其临床表现与病理诊断的关系.方法 2000年7月至2006年3月97例诊断不明的仅以纵隔占位为表现的胸部疾病病人行纵隔镜检查,其中行颈部纵隔镜69例,胸骨旁纵隔镜28例.结果 手术过程均顺利,无严重手术并发症及围手术期死亡.除1例外,96例获得明确病理诊断.尽管病人临床症状无特异,但若伴有声音嘶哑、吞咽困难、下肢水肿、上腔静脉阻塞综合征等症状,则恶性肿瘤的可能性极大.前上纵隔病变以淋巴瘤（7/18例）、胸腺肿物（4/18例）、小细胞癌（4/18例）为主;中纵隔的病变以转移性非小细胞肺癌（11/37例）、结节病（9/37例）、小细胞癌（7/37例）和淋巴结反应性增生（6/37例）为主;合并肺门淋巴结肿大的纵隔病变以结节病（32/41例）,小细胞癌（5/41例）和结核（3/41例）为主.结论 经纵隔镜行纵隔病变活检为仅以纵隔占位为表现的胸部疾病病人提供了安全精确的诊断方式,从一些特征性临床表现中可以获得对肿物性质的初步判断.     

恶性肿瘤所致上腔静脉压迫综合征的介入治疗

目的 探讨采用介入方法治疗恶性肿瘤所致上腔静脉阻塞综合征的疗效及临床意义.方法 13例恶性肿瘤所致上腔静脉阻塞综合征患者中,肺癌伴纵隔淋巴结转移8例,食管癌纵隔淋巴结转移2例,纵隔恶性肿瘤2例,乳腺癌纵隔淋巴结转移1例,均经原发灶病理证实为恶性.经右侧股静脉入路,以猪尾巴导管于狭窄段近端或远端造影,明确狭窄部位、长度、程度,无局部血栓形成者直接置入Wallstent支架(Boston Scientific,USA),1例同时置入Z形支架(COOK,USA),合并血栓病例留置溶栓导管局部溶栓后再置入支架.结果 13例全部开通成功,手术成功率100%,狭窄段平均长度4.3 cm(3～6 cm).1例置入2枚支架,其余患者均置入1枚支架.6例在支架置入前行溶栓治疗.开通前后梗阻远侧卧位测静脉压,术前(26.2±1.6) cm H2O,术后降至(4.3±0.8) cm H2O,置入支架后造影示侧支静脉完全消失,上腔静脉阻塞症状于术后即刻至术后3 d完全消退.8例术后4～10个月内死于肿瘤多处转移造成脏器功能衰竭,其余5例(包括后续治疗的3例)存活,随访8～26个月,中位数13个月,所有病例上腔静脉阻塞症状未再复发.结论 上腔静脉支架置入部分联合导管局部溶栓治疗是恶性肿瘤所致上腔静脉阻塞综合征有效的微创治疗方法.     

上腔静脉综合征的外科治疗(附47例分析)

１９８４年１月至１９９４年１２月收治上腔静脉综合征病人４７例，其中３４例施行了手术治疗。病变原因为纵隔肿瘤１２例、纵隔炎症７例、静脉炎１４例、良性病变１２例和异位升主动脉压迫及原因不明各１例，同时伴下腔静脉病变８例。手术方法包括：各种转流术，肿瘤切除加上腔静脉重建或松解术，经右房、经球囊导管下腔静脉扩张术和上腔、无名静脉内血栓内膜切除加心包补片等。术后平均随访３２．５个月，显效５８．６％，改善２４．１％，无效３．５％，复发率为３．４％，死亡１０．３％。结论：手术的选择以病变切除和经胸转流优于经皮下转流；带外支持环ＰＴＦＥ人工血管经胸骨后行颈静脉—下腔静脉转流对缓解症状前景颇好。双侧大隐静脉—颈内静脉转流优于单侧。伴下腔静脉阻塞时，解决单侧病变，可能达到病人可接受的效果。而上腔静脉、无名静脉血栓内膜切除加补片移植和大网膜静脉与颈内静脉吻合为疑难病例提供了更多的选择。     

上腔静脉综合征诊断中支气管内超声引导针吸活检术的应用

目的 探讨支气管内超声引导针吸活检术(EBUS-TBNA)在诊断上腔静脉阻塞综合征(SVCS)中的应用价值.方法 回顾性分析520例中20例SVCS EBUS-TBNA术患者的临床资料,男14例,女6例;年龄35 ～ 77岁,平均(59.1 ±14.6)岁.上腔静脉周围病变短径1.69～9.50cm,平均(3.32±1.79) cm,其中6例隆凸下淋巴结肿大,短径1.73 ～3.01 cm,平均(2.14±0.49) cm.结果 每例穿刺3～5次,平均(4.35±0.75)次.术后病理证实小细胞癌10例,腺癌4例,鳞癌1例,霍奇金淋巴瘤1例.4例穿刺病理未发现恶性证据,其中1例穿刺获取组织量少,2例术前CT显示纵隔占位内有明显钙化考虑良性可能性较大,此3例获取标本抗酸染色及结核分枝杆菌荧光扩增试验阴性,考虑为纵隔炎性病变;另1例因纵隔肿物巨大高度怀疑恶性肿瘤,故而进一步行胸腔镜胸腔活检术,术后病理证实为B细胞源性非霍奇金淋巴瘤.本组EBUS-TBNA对于SVCS病因的诊断率为90.0％ (18/20).结论 EBUS-TBNA是诊断SVCS病因的一种安全有效的方法.     

上腔静脉综合征的诊断与外科治疗(附27例报告)

目的　总结上腔静脉综合征(superiorvenacanasyndrome ,SVCS)的外科诊治经验,提高手术成功率。方法　2 7例SVCS患者,13例在腔内转流下,采用自体心包补片加宽上腔静脉;5例在腔外转流下,采用自体心包成形血管,间置上腔静脉;3例采用人造血管置换上腔静脉;2例行人造血管转流;4例在阻断带完全阻断上腔静脉下行上腔静脉成形。结果　术后患者均恢复顺利,解除上腔静脉回流受阻满意,平均上腔静脉压由术前的2 3 .4cmH2 O降至术后的9.6cmH2 O。凡良性疾病引起的上腔静脉阻塞均得到根治,恶性肿瘤所致上腔静脉阻塞手术后改善了患者生存质量。结论　任何疾病所致上腔静脉阻塞,选择性采取手术治疗是必要的。自体心包替代上腔静脉组织相容性强,不易形成血栓及退变,在腔内或腔外转流下进行手术,可有效预防脑组织损害。     

侵及上腔静脉及分支肿瘤的治疗

1993年至1998年,我们共收治侵及上腔静脉及其分支的肺癌、纵隔肿瘤病人13例,均行手术治疗,效果良好,现总结报告如下。临床资料　本组中男9例,女4例;年龄23～60岁,平均43岁。右上肺癌9例(鳞癌5例、腺癌4例),纵隔肿瘤4例(恶性胸腺癌2例、畸胎瘤恶性变和恶性淋巴瘤各1例)。术前ＣＴ检查,肿瘤侵及上腔静脉和(或)其分支者11例,可疑者2例;临床上出现不同程度上腔静脉综合征5例。血管造影显示上腔静脉明显受压、管腔狭窄、近端血管扩张(图1)。手术方法见表1。　　结果　本组无围手术期死亡,血管吻合无失败者,术后Ｂ超及血管造影证实血管再通完好,无…     

非体外循环上腔静脉置换术的手术配合

目的 总结非体外循环上腔静脉置换术的手术配合方法。方法 对8例胸部肿瘤合并上腔静脉综合征患者，在非体外循环下行上腔静脉置换术。结果 8例患者手术顺利，术中出血600～2000ml，平均900．0ml；手术时间3～7h，平均4．5h；无术中并发症发生，均痊愈出院。结论 充分的术前准备，娴熟的手术配合。术中密切观察病情变化，是保证手术顺利进行的重要因素。     

Mediastinoscopy for diagnosis of diseases of the chest and staging of lung cancer: our experience in 253 cases

The main indications for cervical mediastinoscopy are preoperative staging of lung cancer and diagnostic biopsy of mediastinal mass (lymphoma, sarcoidosis, tuberculosis etc.). We undertook a retrospective review of our experience of mediastinal exploration by cervical media-stinoscopy: 253 mediastinoscopies were performed on 252 patients (195 male and 57 female; mean age 53 years, range 14-88 years) between 1995 and June 2003. Four extended mediastinoscopies were performed and 1 patient had a re-mediastinoscopy following a non-diagnostic procedure. 319 lymph nodal stations were investigated in 253 procedures. We observed no mortality, while 2 patients had major bleeding (0.7%), with the need for open surgical treatment in order to achieve haemostasis. The median length of hospital-stay was one day, with discharge in the first postoperative day. 69 out of 170 patients, who eventually resulted to be affected by a histologically proven lung cancer, had a negative mediastinoscopy. Fifteen of them resulted N2 at the time of surgery: 8 patients with a false negativity in a biopsied station (4 in station 4R and 4 in station 7), while 7 cases showed infiltration in stations which were not sampled (5 in station 5, 1 in station 8 and 1 in station 7, the latter being the only one in which a standard cervical mediastincoscopy could have been able to stage it correctly). So, having observed 61 true negatives and 8 false-negatives in the sampled stations, in our experience the negative predictive value of cervical mediastinoscopy was 88.4%, with 78.2% of patients correctly staged without using other diagnostic tools. In conclusion, mediastinoscopy is an important procedure for the diagnostic biopsy of mediastinal mass and a useful tool in preoperative staging of lung cancer, especially if associated with chest CT-scan and Positron Emission Tomography (PET). In our experience, the spreading of PET does not lead to a reduction of cervical mediastinoscopies, both for the contemporary introduction of new chemotherapeutic preoperative protocols and, above all, for the not negligible incidence of false-positive results using PET, suggesting that media-stinoscopy should always be performed in patients affected by a PET-positive mediastinal growth.     

The current role of mediastinoscopy in the evaluation of thoracic disease.

OBJECTIVE: Mediastinoscopy is a common procedure used for the diagnosis of thoracic disease and the staging of lung cancer. We sought to determine the current role of mediastinoscopy in the evaluation of thoracic disease. METHODS: We conducted a retrospective review of all mediastinoscopies performed by members of our service between January 1988 and September 1998. RESULTS: We performed mediastinoscopies on 2137 patients. A total of 1745 patients underwent mediastinoscopy for known or suspected lung cancer. In 422 of these procedures, N2 or N3 disease was identified; only 28 of these patients underwent resection. The remaining 1323 had no evidence of metastatic disease. In these patients 947 had lung cancer. Only 76 of the patients with lung cancer were found to have N2 disease at exploration. Among the 1323 patients with a negative mediastinoscopy result, 52 underwent resection of a nonbronchogenic malignancy, and 217 had resection of a benign lesion. A total of 392 patients underwent mediastinoscopy for the evaluation of mediastinal adenopathy in the absence of any identifiable pulmonary lesion. Of these, 161 had a nonbronchogenic malignancy, 209 had benign disease, and 25 had no diagnosis established; mediastinoscopy established a definitive diagnosis in 93.6% of patients. In the entire group of 2137 patients, there were 4 perioperative deaths and 12 complications. Only one death was directly attributed to mediastinoscopy. No deaths or complications occurred in patients undergoing mediastinoscopy for benign disease. CONCLUSIONS: Mediastinoscopy is a highly effective and safe procedure. We believe that mediastinoscopy should currently be used routinely in the diagnosis and staging of thoracic diseases.     

Experience with mediastinoscopy

Six hundred and eighty diagnostic mediastinoscopies are presented. Of these, 552 were classical, 114 anterior mediastinal, 12 posterior mediastinal, and 2 from below the sternum. In addition, 20 therapeutic mediastinoscopies were performed for the insertion of a pacemaker electrode or evacuation of a mediastinal cyst.Of 125 mediastinoscopies performed on patients with an initial diagnosis of sarcoidosis, in most the diagnosis was confirmed, the rate of false negative results being 2·4%.Extremely encouraging were the results in patients with an initial diagnosis of Hodgkin''s disease. Out of 60 patients, a different diagnosis was established in 30 and further follow-up proved this to be correct. In mediastinal tumours the results were discouraging, the rate of false results being as high as 43%.Four hundred and ten patients were mediastinoscoped for lung cancer. In 52, mediastinoscopy was the first successful biopsy. Metastases to lymph nodes were found in 139 (33·9%). The percentage of exploratory thoracotomies following the introduction of mediastinoscopy fell from 22% to 14%.Mediastinoscopy was also used to investigate the spread of oesophageal cancer and enabled us to exclude patients who were obviously inoperable.     

Extended cervical mediastinoscopy in the diagnosis of anterior mediastinal masses

BACKGROUND: Although transthoracic needle biopsy (TNB) has been the preferred method for the diagnosis of anterior mediastinal masses, it has inherent limitations in accuracy. In particular, lymphoma and thymoma are diagnosed less reliably using needle biopsy. Videothoracoscopy has been advocated as an alternative method for diagnosis. Our goal was to assess the usefulness of extended cervical mediastinoscopy (ECM) in the diagnosis of anterior mediastinal masses. METHODS: The ECM technique was performed in 9 patients in whom TNB and Tru-cut biopsies had been inefficient for histologic diagnosis. All lesions were in the anterior mediastinum. Extended cervical mediastinoscopy was carried out using the same incision as in a standard cervical mediastinoscopy and dissection was performed behind the sternum as previously published. Mean operative time was 50 minutes (range 40 to 70 minutes) and mean hospital stay was 8 hours (range 5 to 36 hours). RESULTS: Diagnosis of lymphoma in 4 cases, thymoma in 3 cases, and thymic hyperplasia in 2 cases were obtained by ECM. In 1 of 2 patients with suspected thymoma who underwent resectional surgical procedures, final histologic diagnosis was non-small cell lung carcinoma. There was no surgical mortality or intraoperative complication. One patient had minimal pneumothorax requiring no intervention. CONCLUSIONS: We conclude that ECM in the diagnosis of anterior mediastinal masses is technically feasible and provides an alternative to the conventional approaches in patients with paraaortic or aortopulmonary masses.     

Does video-mediastinoscopy improve the results of conventional mediastinoscopy?

OBJECTIVE: Despite new technologies, mediastinoscopy remains the gold standard for mediastinal staging of lung cancer even though the procedure is not standardised. Introduction of video-mediastinoscopy (VM) may help to overcome this problem as it better visualises the anatomy and allows a more uniform dissection than conventional mediastinoscopy (CM). Does the use of VM result in more lymph node tissue, higher accuracy and lower complication rates as compared to CM? METHODS: All mediastinoscopies from June 2003 to December 2005 were analysed. In a protocol surgeons documented location of lymph node stations, number of lymph nodes resected or biopsied and technique (VM or CM). Two groups were created for analysis: group 1 (n=366) consisting of all mediastinoscopies was reviewed for complication rates; group 2 included all patients with lung cancer who had a pN0 status by mediastinoscopy and underwent subsequent thoracotomy (n=171). This group was studied for the number of lymph nodes resected or biopsied according to the technique (VM or CM), on accuracy and negative predictive value. RESULTS: Of 366 mediastinoscopies, 132 were CM (36.1%) and 234 VM (63.9%). Complications occurred in 17 patients (4.6%): 9 recurrent laryngeal nerve palsies (VM 2.1%, CM 3.0%), 5 mediastinal enlargement on routine chest radiography interpreted as postoperative bleeding (VM 0.9%, CM 2.3%), pneumonia (1), intraoperative laceration of the pleura (1) and main bronchus (1), both corrected during the procedure (all VM 1.3%). No intraoperative haemorrhage or death occurred. VM resected more lymph nodes (mean 8.1, range 3-25) then CM (mean 6.0, range 3-11), for all mediastinoscopies the mean lymph node yield was 7.6 (range 3-25). Comparison of lymphadenectomy via thoracotomy in patients classified pN0 by mediastinoscopy (n=171) showed an accuracy of 87.9% for VM versus 83.8% for CM (85.8% for all mediastinoscopies) with a negative predictive value of 0.83 for VM and 0.81 for CM (0.82 for all mediastinoscopies). CONCLUSION: This study demonstrates that in comparison with CM, VM routinely yields more lymph nodes with fewer complications with a tendency towards better accuracy and negative predictive value. For these reasons, we believe that VM should replace CM as the method of choice. Furthermore VM would allow standardisation, thereby having an advantage in comparison to the less invasive newer staging techniques. This way mediastinoscopy could remain the gold standard despite its invasiveness.     

Mediastinoscopy and mediastinotomy after cardiac surgery: are safety and efficacy affected by prior sternotomy?

BACKGROUND: The diagnostic and staging value of cervical mediastinoscopy is well established. Left anterior mediastinotomy is of further value in assessing left upper lobe tumors. However the efficacy and safety of both these procedures after median sternotomy for cardiac surgery is unknown. METHODS: We undertook a retrospective review of our experience of mediastinal exploration by cervical mediastinoscopy with or without left anterior mediastinotomy in patients with prior sternotomy between 1980 and 2001. RESULTS: During this period 28 patients (25 male and 3 female; mean age, 63 +/- 10 years), all with prior sternotomy for cardiac surgery (14 had left internal mammary artery graft), underwent mediastinal exploration. The mean interval between sternotomy and mediastinal exploration was 7.2 +/- 5.1 years. Additionally, 3 patients also had superior vena cava obstruction. Cervical mediastinoscopy was performed in all 28 patients and additionally left anterior mediastinotomy was undertaken in 7 of 28 patients (4 with left internal mammary artery graft). Indications for exploration were staging of lung cancer in 22 patients (cervical mediastinoscopy, n = 22; left anterior mediastinotomy, n = 7) and diagnostic biopsy of mediastinal mass in 6 patients (cervical mediastinoscopy, n = 6). Thorough mediastinal assessment was possible in all 28 patients. In the 22 patients with lung cancer the median number of lymph node stations sampled during mediastinoscopy was 3 (range, 1 to 5). A specific diagnosis was obtained in 16 patients (metastatic lung cancer, n = 10; lymphoma, n = 3; sarcoidosis, sinus histiocytosis, and metastatic melanoma, n = 1 each). The other 12 patients with negative findings underwent pulmonary resection and only 1 of 12 (8%) patients had unexpected N2 disease, a similar proportion to our overall experience with lung cancer. There were no operative complications. CONCLUSIONS: Prior sternotomy for cardiac surgery does not compromise the efficacy and the safety of mediastinoscopy and mediastinotomy.     

Mediastinopleuroscopy: A New Approach to the Diagnosis of Intrathoracic Diseases

With the advent of modern therapy, it has become essential to obtain a tissue diagnosis in all cases of pulmonary and mediastinal disease. Since it is often necessary to resort to thoracotomy as a final step in making such a diagnosis, we have sought a procedure that is simpler while capable of providing the same information.Through a standard cervical mediastinoscopy incision, the mediastinum is first explored; if the diagnosis is not obtained, the mediastinal pleura is digitally opened and lung or pleural biopsies are taken. In the course of 1,100 mediastinoscopies since 1969, 275 pleuroscopies have been done. We were able to obtain a tissue diagnosis in 102 (78%) of 131 patients with bronchogenic carcinoma, in 92 (91%) of 102 with benign pulmonary disease, and in all 20 (100%) with pleural disease.     

The value of mediastinal staging with endobronchial ultrasound-guided transbronchial needle aspiration in patients with lung cancer

Objective: To evaluate the diagnostic yield, the learning curve and the safety of endobronchial ultrasound-guided transbronchial needle biopsy (EBUS-TBNA) in mediastinal staging of patients with lung cancer. Methods: Mediastinal staging was performed with EBUS-TBNA according to the Danish national guidelines in patients fulfilling one or more of the following criteria: (1) central tumour; (2) enlarged (>10 mm) mediastinal lymph nodes on computed tomography; or (3) positron emission tomography (PET)-positive mediastinal lymph nodes. The study period began in January 2006 when EBUS-TBNA was introduced in the department and ended in December 2007. All records were reviewed retrospectively. None of the four examiners had any previous experience with EBUS-TBNA or ultrasound when the study began. All examinations were performed under general anaesthesia. Patients without useful cytological material from the EBUS-TBNA were subjected to a supplementary standard cervical mediastinoscopy if the mediastinal lymph nodes were found to be enlarged (>10 mm), PET positive or if the examiner was insecure of the result of the EBUS-TBNA. Patients with mediastinal lymph node involvement, detected by EBUS-TBNA or standard cervical mediastinoscopy, were referred to oncological treatment, while those without mediastinal lymph node involvement underwent – if they were otherwise eligible for surgery – resection and systematic lymph node sampling either by thoracotomy or by video-assisted thoracoscopy. Final mediastinal staging was defined as positive if mediastinal lymph node involvement was detected by EBUS-TBNA, standard cervical mediastinoscopy or surgery, or defined as negative otherwise. Results: A total of 157 patients were included in the study. N2/N3 disease was found in 67 patients (42.6%). EBUS-TBNA missed the mediastinal spread in 10 patients. Five of the ten patients had lymph node metastases in station 5, 6 or 8 – out of reach of EBUS-TBNA or standard cervical mediastinoscopy. EBUS-TBNA had a sensitivity of 0.85 (0.74–0.93) and a negative predictive value of 0.90 (0.82–0.95). No complications occurred from EBUS-TBNA. The number of supplementary standard cervical mediastinoscopies decreased significantly in the study period. Conclusion: The results of this study suggest that staging of the mediastinum with EBUS-TBNA is safe and easy to learn – even without previous experience with ultrasound. The diagnostic yield of EBUS-TBNA is in accordance with the yield of standard cervical mediastinoscopy reported in the literature. We do not find any indications in the present study of the recommended necessity for mediastinoscopy in all EBUS-TBNA-negative patients.     

Repeat mediastinoscopy in the assessment of new and recurrent lung neoplasm.

From 1976 to 1990, 140 patients (mean age, 66 years; 91% male) underwent repeat mediastinoscopy as a routine staging procedure. The mean interval between first and second mediastinoscopy was 56 months. Owing to adhesions, 26 repeat mediastinoscopies (18%) were considered incomplete. There was no mortality, and 10 complications did not require interventional therapy. The results were positive in 20 patients, thus avoiding an unnecessary thoracotomy. In 7 patients with negative findings, positive lymph nodes were found at thoracotomy or by transcarinal puncture biopsy. The sensitivity of repeat mediastinoscopy in this series is 74%, and the accuracy 94%. We consider repeat mediastinoscopy a safe and reliable preoperative staging procedure in new or recurrent lung cancer.     

Mediastinoscopy in superior vena cava obstruction: analysis of 80 consecutive patients.

BACKGROUND: Prejudices against mediastinoscopy in superior vena cava obstruction still remain. Hereby we analyze risk/benefit balance in a large series of patients. METHODS: Eighty consecutive patients underwent cervical mediastinoscopy for caval obstruction, 51 after uncertain diagnosis obtained by lesser techniques, 17 after ineffective chemotherapy (n = 9) or radiotherapy (n = 8). In 12 patients we immediately performed mediastinoscopy as an urgent procedure. In addition the examination was combined with left anterior mediastinotomy (n = 7) for staging purposes. RESULTS: No perioperative mortality was recorded. Five patients had significant bleeding, but only one required sternotomy. Definitive diagnosis was obtained in all patients: 50 lung cancer, 17 lymphoma, 7 invasive thymoma, 3 postradiation fibrosis, 2 metastatic lymph nodes from renal carcinoma, and 1 fibrosing mediastinitis. Specific therapy had excellent effects in 71 patients, negligible in 7, and adverse in 2. Postmediastinoscopy brachial venous pressure had a mean significant decrease (p < 0.0001). Lung cancer was the sole variable significantly associated with unfavorable outcome (p < 0.0004). CONCLUSIONS: Mediastinoscopy should be routinely included after less invasive procedures in the diagnostic program because it is simple, low risk, and effective.