Using NSLT criteria, a larger number of patients had positive scans (nodules), compared with previous lung cancer screening studies. However, the number of participants requiring surgical biopsy procedures and who were ultimately identified as having cancer was similar to other reports. This supports the role of screening in patient populations with a high incidence of granulomatous inflammation.

PURPOSE This paper aims to present the results of a series of several Brazilian institutions that have been carrying out lung cancer screening (LCS). MATERIALS AND METHODS This is a retrospective, cohort study, with follow-up of individuals of both sexes, with a heavy smoking history, who participated in LCS programs between December 2013 and January 2021 in six Brazilian institutions located in the states of São Paulo, Rio Grande do Sul, and Bahia. RESULTS Three thousand four hundred seventy individuals were included, of which 59.8% were male (n = 2,074) and 50.6% were current smokers (n = 1,758), with 60.7 years (standard deviation 8.8 years). Lung-RADS 4 was observed in 233 (6.7%) patients. Biopsy was indicated by minimally invasive methods in 122 patients (3.5%). Two patients who demonstrated false-negative biopsies and lung cancer were diagnosed in follow-up. Diagnosis of lung cancer was observed in 74 patients (prevalence rate of 2.1%), with 52 (70.3%) in stage I or II. Granulomatous disease was found in 20 patients. There were no statistical differences in the incidence of lung cancer, biopsies, granulomatous disease, and Lung-RADS 4 nodules between public and private patients. CONCLUSION There are still many challenges and obstacles in the implementation of LCS in developing countries; however, our multi-institutional data were possible to obtain satisfactory results in these scenarios and to achieve similar results to the main international studies. Granulomatous diseases did not increase the number of lung biopsies. The authors hope that it could stimulate the creation of organized screening programs in regions still endemic for tuberculosis and other granulomatous diseases.

Objective: The objective of this study was to describe the results of anatomic pulmonary resections performed by video-assisted thoracoscopy in Brazil. Methods: Thoracic surgeons (members of the Brazilian Society of Thoracic Surgery) were invited, via e-mail, to participate in the study. Eighteen surgeons participated in the project by providing us with retrospective databases containing information related to anatomic pulmonary resections performed by video-assisted thoracoscopy. Demographic, surgical, and postoperative data were collected with a standardized instrument, after which they were compiled and analyzed. Results: The surgeons provided data related to a collective total of 786 patients (mean number of resections per surgeon, 43.6). However, 137 patients were excluded because some data were missing. Therefore, the study sample comprised 649 patients. The mean age of the patients was 61.7 years. Of the 649 patients, 295 (45.5%) were male. The majority-521 (89.8%)-had undergone surgery for neoplasia, which was most often classified as stage IA. The median duration of pleural drainage was 3 days, and the median hospital stay was 4 days. Of the 649 procedures evaluated, 598 (91.2%) were lobectomies. Conversion to thoracotomy was necessary in 30 cases (4.6%). Postoperative complications occurred in 124 patients (19.1%), the most common complications being pneumonia, prolonged air leaks, and atelectasis. The 30-day mortality rate was 2.0%, advanced age and diabetes being found to be predictors of mortality. Conclusions: Our analysis of this representative sample of patients undergoing pulmonary resection by video-assisted thoracoscopy in Brazil showed that the procedure is practicable and safe, as well as being comparable to those performed in other countries.

A 29-year-old man, having a firearm wound, with a missile lodged in the heart. He arrived at the hospital in hemodynamic stable condition. The transesophageal echocardiogram (TE) effectuated on the diagnosis and reveled on the missile location. After 18 days, he underwent an elective off-pump cardiac surgery for extract of a bullet from the right ventricle (RV) wall and interventricular septum (IVS), having an uneventful postoperative evolution. The authors discuss the therapeutic options to follow, based on data of related literature, concluding that some individualized asymptomatic patients with a missile embedded in the heart should undergo surgery to remove it. Resumo Paciente do sexo masculino, 29 anos, apresentando ferimento por arma de fogo, com projétil alojado no coração e que chegou ao hospital hemodinamicamente estável. O diagnóstico, evidenciando a localização da bala, foi feito pelo ecocardiograma transesofágico (ET). Após 18 dias, foi submetido à cirurgia eletiva, sem circulação extracorpórea (CEC), para retirada do projétil encravado em parede anterior do ventrículo direito (VD) e septo interventricular (SIV), com sucesso. Os autores discutem a conduta terapêutica para os projéteis retidos no coração, com base na literatura consultada, concluindo que a cirurgia para remoção dos mesmos pode ser indicada em pacientes assintomáticos individualizados. Descritores: Ferimentos por arma de fogo, cirurgia. Corpos estranhos, cirurgia. Traumatismos cardíacos. Septo cardíaco, lesão, cirurgia. Ventrículos cardíacos, lesão, cirurgia. Abordagem terapêutica dos projéteis retidos no coraçãoManagement of bullets lodged in the heart

ResumoA base do tratamento cirúrgico da Síndrome do Desfiladeiro Torácico (SDT) é a ressecção da primeira costela, podendo associar-se à escalenectomia ou ainda à ressecção de costela cervical. Esta última é feita tradicionalmente por meio de um acesso supraclavicular ou mesmo axilar, o qual é tecnicamente mais trabalhoso. Pode ser realizada também por meio de acesso paraescapular. Embora tecnicamente atrativa e associada à menor invasividade e maior segurança, com ótimo resultado estético, a ressecção da primeira costela torácica, por intermédio de cirurgia videoassistida transaxilar ou pela técnica videotoracoscópica, é pouco relatada na literatura, e nenhuma referência foi encontrada sobre ressecção de costela cervical mediante essa técnica. Neste artigo, apresentamos essa inovação cirúrgica realizada com sucesso para ressecção de costela cervical em duas pacientes.Palavras-chaves: cirurgia vídeo-assistida; costela cervical; Síndrome do Desfiladeiro Torácico; Síndromes de Compressão Nervosa. AbstractThe basis of Thoracic Outlet Syndrome (TOS) surgical treatment is the first rib resection and may be associated with scalenectomy or cervical rib resection. The latter is traditionally done through a supraclavicular or axillary access, which is the most technically challenging. It can also be achieved through parascapular access. Although technically attractive and associated with less invasiveness and increased security, with excellent aesthetic results, the first thoracic rib resection via video-assisted transaxillary surgery or videothoracoscopic technique is seldom reported in the literature, and no reference was found on cervical rib resection through this technique. In this article, we introduced this innovation successfully performed for surgical cervical rib resection in two patients.Keywords: video-assisted surgery; cervical rib; Thoracic Outlet Syndrome; Nerve Compression Syndromes. IntroduçãoA abertura superior do tórax é delimitada em sua base pela primeira costela, pela face anterolateral do corpo da primeira vértebra torácica (T1) e pela borda superior do manúbrio esternal. O desfiladeiro torácico inclui três espaços estreitos (por isso o nome desfiladeiro) que se estendem da abertura do tórax até a região axilar. A porção proximal desse desfiladeiro inclui o triângulo interescaleno, formado entre o escaleno anterior e médio, e o espaço costoclavicular, formado