[Neoplastic involvement of pulmonary fissures. Diagnostic possibility of high resolution x-ray computed tomography]

Acknowledging fissure invasion by pulmonary tumors located in contact with or in the vicinity of a fissure is an important piece of information for the therapeutic choice, especially in patients whose functional respiratory impairments are a contraindication of pneumonectomy. Fifteen patients with pulmonary neoplasms adjacent to a fissure were studied with standard computed tomography (10 mm sections), completed by high-resolution CT. The findings of the CT studies were compared with those operative reports. On surgery, the oblique fissure was infiltrated in 12 patients, unharmed in 2 others, while the horizontal fissure was infiltrated in 3 patients. Standard CT allowed diagnosing the involvement of the oblique fissure in 4 patients. Thin sections with high-resolution reconstruction algorithms allowed detecting the involvement of the oblique fissure in 13 cases, including one false-positive result. On thin sections, the fissures appear as well-delineated, dense lines. This allows an accurate study of the relationships between the tumor and the fissure, thus increasing the sensitivity of CT for the detection of tumoral extension across the fissures. The orientation of the horizontal fissure, which is almost parallel to the plane of section, makes the study of its relationships with an adjacent mass difficult, even in high-resolution CT.