Type:
Educational Exhibit
Keywords:
Thorax, Breast, Mediastinum, CT, MR, Lymphography, Diagnostic procedure, Complications, Fistula, Foreign bodies
Authors:
M. LETURIA ETXEBERRIA1, M. Gredilla2, A. Serdio3, J. Elejondo Oddo4, K. Biurrun Mancisidor2; 1San Sebastian, Gipuzkoa/ES, 2DONOSTIA/ES, 3Donostia - San Sebastián/ES, 4San Sebastián/ES
DOI:
10.26044/ecr2019/C-2787
Background
INTRODUCTION
Any untoward event that is not part of the expected surgical procedure is generally defined as a complication.
These drawbacks might occur in all surgical management.
Because complications might potentially lead to increased morbidity and mortality,
it is important to achieve prompt and accurate detection of these events with the final purpose of an improved patient care.
Given the prevalence of pulmonary and cardiovascular diseases, thoracic and cardiac surgeries respresent some of the most commonly performed procedures worldwide,
along with esophagectomy,
which remains the standard of care for esophageal carcinoma.
In addition,
and among the surgical procedures involving the chest, breast surgery needs to be mendioned due to its wide frequence,
both for medical and aesthetic reasons.
Imaging techniques play a major role in the diagnosis of complications following thoracic surgery.
For such a purpose,
it is essential to be familiarized with the surgical technique used in each case,
as well as the expected postsurgical imaging appearance.
In addition,
knowledge of clinical and radiological features of the various complications is imperative to achieve early detection of these unexpected events.
Computerized tomography (CT) is the imaging modality of choice for postoperative complication assessment.
Although US and radiographs could be useful for screening,
CT should be performed whenever a subtle or equivocal finding is reported or at any time a complication is suspected.