Abstract： Currently, there are two significant tendencies in the advancement and progress of video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery（VATS）, firstly, the widening surgical indications for VATS techniques, and secondly, the use of single-port VATS which is less invasive and more cosmetic. This article focuses in particular on four aspects of single-port VATS, including；（1）the individualized incision approach and its characteristics of single-port VATS；（2）single-port VATS for the treatment of pneumothorax and the development of related techniques and equipment；（3）single-port VATS for the diagnosis and treatment of thoracic diseases such as lung lobectomy；（4）the advantages and disadvantages of single-port VATS in clinical practice.
Abstract： The principles of 2010 National Comprehensive Cancer Network（NCCN） clinical practice guidelines in non-small cell lung cancer address that anatomic pulmonary resection is preferred for the majority of patients with non-small cell lung cancer and video-assisted thoracic surgery (VATS) is a reasonable and acceptable approach for patients with no anatomic or surgical contraindications. By reviewing the literatures on general treatment, pulmonary segmentectomy, pulmonary function reserve, and the anatomic issue of early stage non-small cell lung cancer surgery, the feasibility and reliability of thoracoscopic pulmonary segmentectomy are showed.
Foreign body ingestion is common in emergency. The vast majority of foreign body ingestion occurs in the pediatric population as well as mentally impaired and edentulous adults. The typical clinical manifestation of foreign body ingestion includes acute onset of dysphagia and chest pain. Most of the ingested foreign bodies pass without the need of intervention; however, about 20% of esophageal foreign body ingestion requires endoscopic removal. While less than 1% will need surgery for foreign body extraction. Timely diagnosis and proper treatment are associated with low mortality and morbidity rate, while delayed diagnosis and improper treatment always lead to severe complications such as esophageal perforation and death. This article reviews the diagnosis and treatment of adult esophageal foreign body ingestion.
A new independent subtype CD4+ T cell which massively secreted interleukin-17 (IL-17) was found at the beginning of the 21st century, and thus it was named as T helper cell 17 (Th17 cell). With the progress of the research in recent years, Th17 cells were found to be widely involved in a variety of the human diseases such as autoimmune diseases, infections and tumors through secretion of IL-17. The relationship between Th17 cells, IL-17 and the occurrence, development and prognosis of lung cancer was reviewed.
Proper management of chest drainage after pulmonary lobectomy is a topic that every thoracic surgeon must face up to. Reasonable chest drainage plays a critical role in postoperative normal physiological recovery. However， there are still controversies and discrepancies in many aspects of chest drainage management after pulmonary lobectomy. In this review，we focus on five aspects of chest drainage management after pulmonary lobectomy，including the choice of chest drainage system，single or double chest tubes，suction or not，treatment of persistent air leak，and removal of chest tube.