Outpatient thoracic surgery
26 Outpatient thoracic surgery Laureano Molins, Juan J. Fibla and Jorge HernÁNdez INTRODUCTION The term “ambulatory surgery” was coined by J. E. Davis in 1986. Outpatient surgery, also called “major…
Lung volume reduction surgery
21 Lung volume reduction surgery Claudio Caviezel and Walter Weder HISTORY Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease is a major and wellknown health problem. It was first described as large air spaces…
Laparoscopic cardiomyotomy for achalasia
41 Laparoscopic cardiomyotomy for achalasia SHERAZ MARKAR AND GIOVANNI ZANINOTTO INTRODUCTION AND HISTORICAL NOTES Esophageal achalasia, albeit a rare disease with an incidence ranging from 0.4 to 1.5 per 100…
Video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery (VATS) sympathectomy
23 Video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery (VATS) sympathectomy Young K. Hong and M. Blair Marshall HISTORY Dorsal sympathectomies have been performed since the beginning of the twentieth century, with the earliest reported…
Thymectomy
11 Thymectomy Larry R. Kaiser HISTORY Over the past few decades, complete removal of the thymus gland has been shown to improve the clinical course of patients with myasthenia gravis…
Anterior mediastinal lesions
9 Anterior mediastinal lesions Antonio D’andrilli, Erino Angelo Rendina and Federico Venuta The mediastinum is a virtual three-dimensional space located between the lungs, above the diaphragm, posteriorly to the sternum,…
Intraoperative Neuromonitoring During Thoracic Spine and Spinal Cord Surgery
30 Intraoperative Neuromonitoring During Thoracic Spine and Spinal Cord Surgery Ronald Emerson Abstract Somatosensory evoked potentials (SSEPs) and motor evoked potentials (MEPs) are employed for spinal cord monitoring during thoracic…
Ventral Approaches to the Thoracic Spine for Trauma
27 Ventral Approaches to the Thoracic Spine for Trauma Robert Harper and Eric Klineberg Abstract A ventral approach to the thoracic spine for trauma may be clinically necessary for fractures…
Surgical Management of Thoracic Spinal Arteriovenous Malformations
23 Surgical Management of Thoracic Spinal Arteriovenous Malformations Benjamin I. Rapoport and Jared Knopman Abstract Vascular malformations of the spinal cord are rare, but carry significant risk of spinal cord…
Classifications of Thoracic Spinal Fractures
24 Classifications of Thoracic Spinal Fractures Hai Le and Christopher M. Bono Abstract The thoracolumbar junction (T10–L2) is a unique transition zone between the relatively rigid thoracic spine (T1–T10) and…
