Complicated cervico-thoracic cellulitis: the opinion of the thoracic surgeon.

Cervicothoracic cellulitis is a very serious, potentially life-threatening infection of the cervical and thoracic soft tissue. It is a genuine medical and surgical emergency with substantial mortality, and its surgical therapy has not yet been standardized. It spreads through the layers of the cervical fascia and can then disseminate to the mediastinum and the pleural cavities, requiring specific management that includes the thoracic surgeon. We present reports of 3 patients with cervicothoracic cellulitis, all complicated by mediastinitis, with pericardial effusion in 1 case and unilateral or bilateral pyothorax in 2 cases. Combining these cases with a review of the literature enables us to describe the management of these complicated cases as seen by a thoracic surgeon.