Anterior mediastinotomy - a diagnostic tool

Abstract

This i V .v,cw0f°urcxpcncncc with anterior mcdias.ino.omv i«3<„c diagnosis and evaluation ofd,sra<,v.c „r.u_.y (AM) )rl lung ustinury, f^S4and iooorty consccutive patients who had AM 1999 were retrospectively studieH betwc*n 1 -cnts was 28 ± 6.5 years. There were 22 males™3" age of poteen patients had superior vena cava (SVC)ohV ° § female^ ? icnts Wlth Iung cancer> 4 wjth ® VC) obstrue non (1^ f A patients had radiological evidence of medi^t l cZZ% °r upper loAbcJumours and 10 p^-tfhTd prTr^ , tumours. AM was !" . ^ K mcdiastjri^ 2nd proce procedure in 1 0 patients and ^re in 20 patients after failed or inconclusive result xru.u *ca,*ne u jV,cal lymph node biopsy or bronchos^gy; E;ghtteC" nghtrS,ded 30(3 12 ,cft^ided AMs were performed- Satisfactory histological diagnoses were achieved in all patient- C;°iTip1J,cat,ons wtcre casiIy controlled bleeding (4 patients) "fe-threatening haemorrhage in 2 patients. Three patients ha^ de,aycd wound healing and 4 had inadvertent pleural entries- ^hcre was no mortality temporarily related to the procedure. conclude that AM is valuable as a surgical technique for obtaining tissue for histological purposes in diseases of the mediastinum and the lung when tissue specimens from less invasive procedures are unsatisfactory.