Faculty Bibliography

Postoperative air leak is one of the most common complications after pulmonary resection and contributes to postoperative pain, complications, and increased hospital length of stay. Several risk factors, including both patient and surgical characteristics, increase the frequency of air leaks. Appropriate intraoperative tissue handling is the most important surgical technique to reduce air leaks. Digital drainage systems have improved the management of postoperative air leak via objective data, portability, and ease of use in the outpatient setting. Several treatment strategies have been used to address prolonged air leak, including pleurodesis, blood patch, placement of endobronchial valves, and reoperative surgery.

BACKGROUND:There are limited reports on robotic thymectomy for malignant disease. Our objectives are to review our experience and midterm outcomes. METHODS:We reviewed a single-surgeon prospective database for patients who underwent planned robotic resection for malignancy from January 2010 to June 2019. RESULTS:Two hundred thirteen patients underwent resection of an anterior mediastinal mass, all of which were planned for a robotic approach. Of these, 84 (39%) underwent robotic thymectomy for malignant disease. Thymoma was the most common pathology resected (68%). Median tumor size was 4.7 cm (interquartile range, 2.9-6.3), and median operative time was 81.5 minutes (interquartile range, 64-104). All except 1 patient had a complete (R0) resection (98.8%). There were 2 (2.3%) unplanned but elective conversions to open surgery, 1 of which required cardiopulmonary bypass. Median length of stay was 1 day (range, 0-9) with 1 readmission (1.2%). Major morbidity occurred in 3 patients (3.5%), and there were no 30- or 90-day mortalities. In patients with thymoma, follow-up was complete at a median of 32 months (range, 1-98), and 1 patient (1.8%) had an ipsilateral chest recurrence. To date there have been no patient deaths. CONCLUSIONS:Robotic thymectomy for patients with malignant disease is safe with excellent perioperative outcomes. A robotic approach achieves a high rate of complete R0 resection, even for larger tumors. For patients with thymoma local recurrence is low after midterm follow-up, but longer-term analysis is needed to determine oncologic durability.

COVID-19 RT-PCR employee-testing was implemented across NYU Langone. Over eight-weeks, 14,764 employees were tested: 33% of symptomatic employees, 8% of asymptomatic employees reporting COVID-19 exposure, 3% of employees returning to work were positive. Positivity rates declined over time possibly reflecting the importance of community transmission and efficacy of PPE.

The adult presentation of a mediastinal arteriovenous malformation is rare. Resection of these lesions are commonly performed via open thoracotomy, with a risk of bleeding from multiple feeding vessels. This report describes a robotic resection of a mediastinal arteriovenous malformation in a 55-year-old man.

Early reports showed high mortality from coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). Mortality rates have recently been lower, raising hope that treatments have improved. However, patients are also now younger, with fewer comorbidities. We explored whether hospital mortality was associated with changing demographics at a 3-hospital academic health system in New York. We examined in-hospital mortality or discharge to hospice from March through August 2020, adjusted for demographic and clinical factors, including comorbidities, admission vital signs, and laboratory results. Among 5,121 hospitalizations, adjusted mortality dropped from 25.6% (95% CI, 23.2-28.1) in March to 7.6% (95% CI, 2.5-17.8) in August. The standardized mortality ratio dropped from 1.26 (95% CI, 1.15-1.39) in March to 0.38 (95% CI, 0.12-0.88) in August, at which time the average probability of death (average marginal effect) was 18.2 percentage points lower than in March. Data from one health system suggest that mortality from COVID-19 is decreasing even after accounting for patient characteristics.

BACKGROUND:Coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) remains a worldwide pandemic with a high mortality rate among patients requiring mechanical ventilation. The limited data that exists regarding the utility of extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) in these critically ill patients shows poor overall outcomes. This paper describes our institutional practice regarding the application and management of ECMO support for patients with Covid-19 and reports promising early outcomes. METHODS:>60 mmHg with no life-limiting comorbidities. Patients were cannulated at bedside and were managed with protective lung ventilation, early tracheostomy, bronchoscopies and proning as clinically indicated. RESULTS:Of 321 patients intubated for Covid-19, 77 (24%) patients were evaluated for ECMO support with 27 (8.4%) patients placed on ECMO. All patients were placed on veno-venous ECMO. Current survival is 96.3%, with only one mortality to date in over 350 days of total ECMO support. Thirteen patients (48.1%) remain on ECMO support, while 13 patients (48.1%) have been successfully decannulated. Seven patients (25.9%) have been discharged from the hospital. Six patients (22.2%) remain in the hospital of which four are on room-air. No healthcare workers that participated in ECMO cannulation developed symptoms of or tested positive for Covid-19. CONCLUSIONS:The early outcomes presented here suggest that the judicious use of ECMO support in severe Covid-19 may be clinically beneficial.