Showing papers by "St. Jude Medical Center published in 2000"

Recommendations for handling radioactive specimens obtained by sentinel lymphadenectomy. Surgical Pathology Committee of the College of American Pathologists, and the Association of Directors of Anatomic and Surgical Pathology.

Abstract: Sentinel lymph node biopsy has been shown to be an accurate predictor of axillary nodal status in invasive breast cancer and is a useful alternative to axillary dissection for some patients. Because radioactive materials are often used to identify the sentinel lymph node, concerns have been raised regarding the safe handling of tissue specimens obtained by this technique. The Surgical Pathology Committee of the College of American Pathologists and the Association of Directors of Anatomic and Surgical Pathology have developed recommendations for the safe handling of radioactive specimens obtained by sentinel lymphadenectomy.

Coconut atrium : Transmural calcification of the entire left atrium

Abstract: Massive calcification of the left atrium usually spares the interatrial septum, which provides a cleavage plane for surgical access to the mitral valve. Endoatriectomy with mitral valve replacement is the currently accepted corrective procedure because it affords maximum exposure while decreasing the risk of embolization and intraoperative hemorrhage. We describe a case in which the entire left atrium, including the septum, was thickly calcified and resembled a coconut shell. This condition prevented surgical correction of severe mitral stenosis. To our knowledge, this is the most severe case of left atrial calcification yet reported in the literature. Although it is not possible to establish preoperatively that the atrium is completely calcified and impossible to incise, when predisposing factors and evidence of complete transmural calcification are present, the surgeon should be aware of this possibility and should weigh carefully the decision to operate.

Compression of the superior vena cava by a mediastinal lipoma.

Abstract: Lipomas are rarely found in the mediastinum. Although they may reach large proportions, they rarely compress vascular structures. We present a case in which a lipoma produced superior vena cava syndrome. Urgent surgical decompression was required.

Chest wall resection and reconstruction via a muscle-sparing minithoracotomy for lung cancer.

Abstract: Five per cent of lung cancers involve the parietal pleura and chest wall. En bloc resections improve survival. Lung resections via muscle-sparing chest incisions have minimized complications and hospital stay. We present a case in which we performed an en bloc lobectomy with chest wall resection and reconstruction through a muscle sparing minithoracotomy in a 48-year-old woman. She was discharged in the fourth postoperative day and remains tumor free and asymptomatic after 4 years.