Limited thoracoplasty and free musculocutaneous flap transposition for postpneumonectomy empyema: A case report

BACKGROUND Empyema is a severe complication following pneumonectomy that is associated with high morbidity and mortality rates.Although there are a wide variety of treatment options,successful management remains challenging when this condition is combined with a large cavity in very thin patients who had previously undergone a posterolateral thoracotomy.CASE SUMMARY We reported the case of a thin,63-year-old man with a progressive pulmonary cyst who underwent left pneumonectomy via posterolateral thoracotomy 23 years ago.After an initially uneventful postoperative course,he was readmitted with empyema and a large cavity 21 years after surgery.He was successfully treated with limited thoracoplasty,followed by free vastus lateralis musculocutaneous flap transposition.CONCLUSION This case highlights that the treatment mode of limited thoracoplasty and free vastus lateralis musculocutaneous flap transposition is safe and effective for the management of postpneumonectomy empyema with a large cavity in thin patients who had previously undergone a posterolateral thoracotomy.

Super P and MoO_(2)/MoS_(2)co-doped gradient nanofiber membrane as multi-functional separator for lithium–sulfur batteries

Lithium-sulfur battery is one of the most promising battery systems for industrialization due to its high theoretical specific capacity and high energy density.Nonetheless,the"shuttle effect"has restrained the advancement of lithium-sulfur batteries.In this work,a gradient-structured nanofiber membrane with pure gelatin on one side and Super P-MoO_(2)/MoS_(2)-gelatin on the other side was created using a multi-step electrostatic spinning technique,which was applied for multi-functional separator for lithium-sulfur batteries.The pure gelatin layer facing the anode side primarily homogenizes the lithium flux,whereas the Super P-MoO_(2)/MoS_(2)-gelatin layer facing the cathode side primarily adsorbs polysulfides by physical and chemical adsorption and enhancing polysulfide conversion efficiency.The findings demonstrate that even after 150 cycles at 0.2C,the lithium-sulfur battery can still sustain a discharge-specific capacity of 572.3 mAh·g^(-1).When used with Li||Li symmetric batteries,it has a cycle life of more than 1200 h.The commercialization of lithium-sulfur batteries is given a fresh idea by this straightforward preparation technique.