Video-assisted thoracoscopy (VATS) is gaining on thoracic surgery, having newly developed devices next to endostaplers for haemostatic and airtight sealing of lung parenchyma. Though the bipolar electrothermal Ligasure has good results for pulmonary wedge resection, its literature is small in numbers. Authors compared Ligasure and endostapler for pulmonary wedge resection of solitary pulmonary nodules (SPN). Authors performed a retrospective analysis of 44 consecutive patients. The indication of operation was non-verified SPN in all cases. They carried out pulmonary wedge resection for 22 patients with Ligasure-Atlas and 22 patients with ETS Flex endostapler via VATS. Authors examined the gender, average age (62 vs. 49 years), mean hospital stay (6.6 vs. 6.8 days), average operation time (55 vs. 50 min), number of complications (2 vs. 1), average drainage time (2.8 vs. 2.7 days), average fluid loss (190 vs. 160 ml), and instrumental costs (367 euro vs. 756 euro) of both groups. They accomplished the histological analysis of the coagulated lung parenchyma as well. According to the results, the Ligasure-Atlas is eligible for pulmonary wedge resection. The method is safe, easy to use, having minimal rate of complications. It can moderate costs of operation, compared to endostaplers.

Obstruction of the urethra, caused by a prostatic tumour necessitated prostatectomy in a 49-yr-old man. Histology revealed a moderately cellular and vascular tumour with marked cellular atypia. After a follow-up for three years, the results of both the clinical investigations and prostatic needle biopsy were negative. Thus the original opinion of malignant prostatic mesenchymal tumour was revised, resulting in the diagnosis of bizarre leiomyoma. Subsequently the smooth muscle cell origin and the benign nature of the tumour were demonstrated by electron microscopy and Feulgen-cytophotometry, respectively. This is the first prostatic bizarre leiomyoma in which malignancy was excluded by demonstrating euploid polyploidy. This case also calls the attention to the need of more sophisticated methods in everyday diagnostic pathology.

A patient with chronic idiopathic myelofibrosis was subjected to splenectomy 1 year after diagnosis. As a clinically unexpected finding, lymph node biopsy suggested the presence of non-Hodgkin lymphoma. The patient was subjected to intensive combined cytostatic therapy. In the following months, signs and symptoms of myelofibrosis regressed remarkably. The patient died 31 months after splenectomy in massive gastrointestinal bleeding. At post-mortem, myelofibrosis could not be detected in three bone marrow areas and a regular, fat-containing, hypercel-lular marrow was present. The nature of the previous lymph noede pathology was reconsidered, and angioimmunoblastic lymphadenopathy was diagnosed.

The authors present a patient with erythema gyratum repens who had a bronchogenic carcinoma. Autoantibodies and complement at the basement membrane zone of the skin was found which suggest that erythema gyratum repens may have an immunological pathogenesis but the nature of the antigen should be further characterised.

polyethylene glycol may be related to its known effect of potentiating the lytic action of complement on antibody-coated tumour cells in vitro, but other factors, such as the state of the reticulo-endothelial system, may also need to be taken into consideration. REFERENCES HARTVEIT, FLORA . PLATES LXIV AND LXV CASTLEMAN, I V E R S O N A N D M E N E N D E Z (1956) collected 13 benign tumour-like lesions of lymph-node origin localised in the mediastinum and published them under the designation " Localized mediastinal lymph-node hyperplasia resembling thymoma ". Harrison and Bernatz (1963) further qualified the above term as " angiofollicular mediastinal lymph-node hyperplasia ". In 1967 Tung and McCormack reviewed the hitherto published 45 intrathoracic and 17 extrathoracic cases and referred to them as "angiomatous lymphoid hamartoma ". Six reports of this condition have appeared in European literature (Zettergren, 1961 ; Pietra, 1964; Luthi, Sordat and Butler, 1966; Schumann, 1966; Cseh, 1967; Mobius and Schiitze, 1967). Despite the unknown aetiology and different designations, the characteristic and constant histological pattern clearly indicates a distinct entity.Basically a follicular and interfollicular proliferation of blood vessels coexists with a diffuse lymphoplasmocytic infiltration. The angiomatous lymphoid-tissue hyperplasia represents a clinical, roentgenological and histological problem.A further case is presented and aetiological considerations are discussed on the basis of the clinical and pathological features.