The impact of preoperative imaging for atypical atrial myxoma locations

Background:

Atrial myxomas are the most common primary cardiac neoplasm. The majority (75%–80%) are located in the left atrium at the base of the foramen ovalis. Surgical removal can prevent dangerous obstructive or thromboembolic sequelae.

Hypothesis:

Atypically located tumors may present technical challenges requiring case‐specific surgical adaptations when visualization or surrounding cardiac structures are compromised.

Methods:

We describe 3 cases of atypically located atrial myxomas that required preoperative transesophageal echocardiography and computed tomography to afford the optimal surgical approach.

Conclusions:

These cases highlight the potential need for multimodality imaging of atypically located atrial myxomas to determine the optimal technical approach for excision. Clin. Cardiol. 2012 doi: 10.1002/clc.22027 The authors have no funding, financial relationships, or conflicts of interest to disclose.     

Folgen der Pneumonektomie in der Früh- und Spätphase

Pneumonectomy can represent the appropriate surgical treatment option in advanced or centrally localized non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). A satisfactory oncologic tumor surgery can be reached in these cases although pneumonectomy is associated with a significantly higher mortality and morbidity than less extensive resection of the lung parenchyma. The aim of this article is a systematic review and the presentation of possible postoperative consequences of pneumonectomy in the early and late phases, which depend not only on the underlying disease but are also primarily affected by the state and function of the remaining contralateral lung parenchyma. Cardiopulmonary complications, especially pneumonia, pulmonary embolism, cardiac arrhythmia or myocardial infarction lead to increased 30-day mortality in the early postoperative period. Moreover, advanced ages over 70 years can be identified as a significant risk factor for poor quality of life after pneumonectomy.