Project description:BackgroundSurgical resection has proven to be the most effective long-term treatment in managing airway stenoses and has shown to decrease the risk of tumor recurrence and mortality in patients with tumor infiltration to the airways. However, there are only a few Nordic reports on the results of a tracheal resection (TR) and cricotracheal resection (CTR). This study aimed to evaluate the volume and short-term outcome of TR and CTR at our institution.MethodsRetrospective review of patients who underwent TR or CTR between 2004 and 2019 at the Helsinki University Hospital (Helsinki, Finland).ResultsForty-four patients were included, of which 21 (47.7%) underwent surgery for a tumor, whereas 23 (52.3%) were operated for a benign stenosis. The most common tumor type was thyroid carcinoma with tracheal invasion (15.9%). The distance between the upper margin of the stenosis or tumor infiltration and the vocal cords was in median 3 [interquartile range (IQR), 2-5] cm and the median length of resection 2.5 (IQR, 2-3.5) cm. Overall success rate was 75% (no need for reoperation or postoperative intervention). Complications occurred in 20 (45.5%) patients, of which 10 patients were operated for a tumor, and 10 for a benign stenosis.ConclusionsTracheal and CTRs were effective in treating tracheal and subglottic stenoses with variable etiology. However, complications were common especially following cricotracheal tumor resections. These procedures show a clear need for further centralization due to their complex nature and should therefore be performed primarily at institutes with highly experienced multi-professional teams.
Project description:Tracheotomy is a surgical procedure commonly employed to establish stable and long-term airway access. Iatrogenic airway injury post procedure may have serious consequences with limited treatment options. Tracheostoma or long standing tracheostomies require special closing techniques. Tracheotomies, tracheostomies, complications of these and treatment options, long standing tracheostomy closure techniques, and standard tracheal segmental resections are discussed.
Project description:Long-segment tracheal resection is technically challenging due to its high tension during reconstruction. Therefore, tracheal release maneuvers, including pulmonary hilar release and pericardial dissection, were required to reduce the anastomotic tension. Traditional hilar release is performed via thoracotomy; however, this approach is invasive. We report a case of bilateral hilar and pericardial release via a video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery (VATS) approach in resecting a long segment tracheal adenoid cystic carcinoma that spanned 50% of the trachea. The bilateral hilar and pericardial releases were performed under general anesthesia through biportal VATS, which contributed to a total of 2.5 cm of additional mobility to the trachea, and the infrahyoid release was then performed through a cervical collar incision. The tumor-involved tracheal segments were removed via median sternotomy, totaling 6.0 cm in length, and the remaining trachea could be successfully reconstructed with a tension-free anastomosis. The total operative duration was 4.5 hours. The patient suffered a transient swallowing dysfunction during the postoperative course, with a good luminal patency in the trachea after 1 month postoperatively. Therefore, bilateral hilar release via VATS can be considered to be a less invasive, avoiding the potential complications related to a thoracotomy, but similarly effective release maneuver for long-segment tracheal resections.
Project description:BackgroundDecisions about who should perform tracheal intubation in academic settings must balance the needs of trainees to develop competency in pediatric intubation with patient safety. Airway protocols during the COVID-19 pandemic may have reduced opportunities for trainees, representing an opportunity to examine the impact of shifting laryngoscopy responsibilities away from trainees.MethodsThis observational study combined data from 11 pediatric emergency departments in North America participating in either the National Emergency Airway Registry for Children (NEAR4KIDS) or a national pediatric emergency medicine airway education collaborative. Sites provided information on airway protocols, patient and procedural characteristics, and clinical outcomes. For the pre-pandemic (January 2017 to March 2020) and pandemic (March 2020 to March 2021) periods, we compared tracheal intubation opportunities by laryngoscopist level of training and specialty. We also compared first-attempt success and adverse airway outcomes between the two periods.ResultsThere were 1129 intubations performed pre-pandemic and 283 during the pandemic. Ten of 11 sites reported a COVID-19 airway protocol-8 specified which clinician performs tracheal intubation and 10 advocated for videolaryngoscopy. Both pediatric residents and pediatric emergency medicine fellows performed proportionally fewer tracheal intubation attempts during the pandemic: 1.1% of all first attempts versus 6.4% pre-pandemic for residents (p < 0.01) and 38.4% versus 47.2% pre-pandemic for fellows (p = 0.01). Pediatric emergency medicine fellows had greater decrease in monthly intubation opportunities for patients <1 year (incidence rate ratio = 0.35, 95% CI: 0.2, 0.57) than for older patients (incidence rate ratio = 0.79, 95% CI: 0.62, 0.99). Neither the rate of first-attempt success nor adverse airway outcomes differed between pre-pandemic and pandemic periods.ConclusionsThe COVID-19 pandemic led to pediatric institutional changes in airway management protocols and resulted in decreased intubation opportunities for pediatric residents and pediatric emergency medicine fellows, without apparent change in clinical outcomes.
Project description:Formation of functional and perfusable vascular network is critical to ensure the long-term survival and functionality of the engineered tissue tracheae after transplantation. However, the greatest challenge in tracheal-replacement therapy is the promotion of tissue regeneration by rapid graft vascularization. Traditional prevascularization methods for tracheal grafts typically utilize omentum or muscle flap wrapping, which requires a second operation; vascularized segment tracheal orthotopic transplantation in one step remains difficult. This study proposes a method to construct a tissue-engineered tracheal graft, which directly forms the microvascular network after orthotopic transplantation in vivo. The focus of this study was the preparation of a hybrid tracheal graft that is non-immunogenic, has good biomechanical properties, supports cell proliferation, and quickly vascularizes. The results showed that vacuum-assisted decellularized trachea-polycaprolactone hybrid scaffold could match most of the above requirements as closely as possible. Furthermore, endothelial progenitor cells (EPCs) were extracted and used as vascularized seed cells and seeded on the surfaces of hybrid grafts before and during the tracheal orthotopic transplantation. The results showed that the microvascularized tracheal grafts formed maintained the survival of the recipient, showing a satisfactory therapeutic outcome. This is the first study to utilize EPCs for microvascular construction of long-segment trachea in one-step; the approach represents a promising method for microvascular tracheal reconstruction.
Project description:IntroductionInternal medicine residents perform paracentesis, but programs lack standard methods for assessing competence or maintenance of competence and instead rely on number of procedures completed. This study describes differences in resident competence in paracentesis over time.MethodsFrom 2016 to 2017, internal medicine residents (n = 118) underwent paracentesis simulation training. Competence was assessed using the Paracentesis Competency Assessment Tool (PCAT), which combines a checklist, global scale, and entrustment score. The PCAT also delineates two categorical cut-point scores: the Minimum Passing Standard (MPS) and the Unsupervised Practice Standard (UPS). Residents were randomized to return to the simulation lab at 3 and 6 months (group A, n = 60) or only 6 months (group B, n = 58). At each session, faculty raters assessed resident performance. Data were analyzed to compare resident performance at each session compared with initial training scores, and performance between groups at 6 months.ResultsAfter initial training, all residents met the MPS. The number achieving UPS did not differ between groups: group A = 24 (40%), group B = 20 (34.5%), p = 0.67. When group A was retested at 3 months, performance on each PCAT component significantly declined, as did the proportion of residents meeting the MPS and UPS. At the 6-month test, residents in group A performed significantly better than residents in group B, with 52 (89.7%) and 20 (34.5%) achieving the MPS and UPS, respectively, in group A compared with 25 (46.3%) and 2 (3.70%) in group B (p < .001 for both comparison).DiscussionSkill in paracentesis declines as early as 3 months after training. However, retraining may help interrupt skill decay. Only a small proportion of residents met the UPS 6 months after training. This suggests using the PCAT to objectively measure competence would reclassify residents from being permitted to perform paracentesis independently to needing further supervision.
Project description:Although liver resection has become an established procedure in western countries and South-east Asia it is still not performed frequently in most centres in India. In the last 10 years newly created specialized units have been performing more liver resections but no major series have been reported.We analysed the results of 241 hepatic resections in the Gyan Burman Liver Unit, Sir Ganga Ram Hospital to compare our results with those published from established centres and to identify the factors relating to morbidity and mortality. To examine the effect of a greater experience with the procedure we compared the outcome of our operations from 1996-2000 (first period) and those from 2001-2005 (second period).The overall mortality and morbidity rates were 6.6% and 44.8%, respectively, which are comparable with those of most recently published Western series. Life-threatening complications occurred in 12.4% patients. Multivariate analysis showed that the presence of comorbid conditions, intraoperative blood transfusions of >3 units, hepatocellular carcinoma with underlying cirrhosis and gall bladder carcinoma with jaundice were the independent risk factors for morbidity, whereas the presence of comorbid illness and underlying liver cirrhosis were the risk factors for mortality. During the second period there was an increase in the number of operations performed (66 vs 175; first vs second period), but the mortality rates remained essentially unchanged (6.1% vs 6.8%).Hepatic resections can be performed safely in India with results comparable to those achieved in the West. Increasing experience did not reduce overall mortality. Perhaps more careful patient selection and better perioperative management of comorbid illnesses may reduce the morbidity and mortality further.