Background: Persistent air leak after pulmonary resection is a difficult complication for thoracic surgeons to manage. Objectives: To show the results of our experience treating persistent pleuropulmonary air leak with autologous blood and review the literature on this specific method of treatment. Methods: Retrospective study of patients with persistent aerial pleuropulmonary fistula treated with autologous blood. The patient’s own blood was collected from a peripheral vein and directly introduced through the pleural drain. An inverted siphon was located in the drainage system to avoid prolonged clamping of the drain. This siphon impeded blood return but not air escape. Results: Between January 2001 and August 2008, 27 patients were treated by the above method. Patient age ranged from 2 to 74 years, and 78% were male. Each procedure used a mean quantity of 92 ml blood. Mean persistent air leak time before pleurodesis was 10.6 days and mean time to fistula resolution after pleurodesis was 1.5 days. Twenty-three (85%) patients had persistent pleuropulmonary air leak closed with the above procedure. Conclusion: Treating persistent pleuropulmonary air leak with autologous blood is promising, but further studies are required to quantify its real effectiveness.

We present a series of 56 patients with gastrointestinal bezoar following previous gastric surgery for gastroduodenal peptic ulcer. The following parameters were studied: factors predisposing to bezoar formation (type of previous surgery, alimentation, and mastication), form of clinical presentation, diagnostic tests, and treatment. A bilateral truncal vagotomy plus pyloroplasty had been performed previously on 84% of patients, 44% revealed excessive intake of vegetable fiber, and 30% presented with bad dentition. The most frequent clinical presentation was intestinal obstruction (80%). This was diagnosed mainly by clinical data and simple abdominal radiology. The main exploratory technique for diagnosing cases of gastric bezoar was endoscopy. Surgery is necessary for treating the intestinal forms, and one should always attempt to fragment the bezoar and milk it to the cecum, reserving enterotomy and extraction for cases where this is not possible. The small intestine and stomach should always be explored for retained bezoars. Gastric bezoars should always receive conservative treatment, endoscopic extraction, and/or enzymatic dissolution; gastrotomy and extraction should be performed when this fails.

A prospective study was made of three procedures for treating the perineal wound and presacral cavity in 102 patients undergoing abdominoperineal excision for cancer of the rectum: (1) packing of the presacral space after suture of the pelvic peritoneum; (2) suture of the pelvic peritoneum and perineal wound, leaving two drains through the perineum; and (3) no suture of the pelvic peritoneum, and primary closure of the perineal wound, leaving drains through the abdomen for physiological saline irrigation. The parameters analysed were incidence of infection, primary healing of the perineum, extraperineal complications and mean hospital stay. Primary healing of the perineum was best with method 3, and overall incidence of infection highest with method 2. There were no differences between the methods with regard to extraperineal complications. Hospital stay was shortest with method 3.

Sonographic findings in 16 patients (10 women, six men) with surgically documented gallbladder carcinoma are reported. Two principal forms are described: localized infiltrating, or fungating, tumors (eight patients) and diffuse tumors infiltrating the entire gallbladder wall (eight patients). In all cases, the tumors were adenocarcinomas. Eleven patients also had cholelithiasis. Contiguous extension and metastasis did not correlate with tumor size. The difficulties encountered an the differential diagnosis are discussed in relation to the different sonographic appearances.