The surgical management of empyema (excluding those caused by mycobacterium tuberculosis and non-tuberculous mycobacteria) is rapidly evolving towards minimally invasive, precise, and stepwise approaches. The traditional three-stage classification (exudative, fibrinopurulent, and organizing) has limitations in guiding dynamic clinical decision-making. For the first time, this consensus explicitly identifies two critical junctures in the pathological progression of empyema: "early transformation" (stage Ⅰ to Ⅱ) and "late transformation" (stage Ⅱ to Ⅲ), and thereby constructs a corresponding "identification-early warning-intervention" stepwise therapeutic framework. The consensus emphasizes that proactive debridement via video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery should be performed during the early transformation phase to halt disease progression. Conversely, during the late transformation phase, therapeutic goals should be rationally adjusted to prioritize adequate drainage, avoiding futile pleural decortication. Moreover, the consensus underscores the pivotal role of precise perioperative etiological diagnosis (e.g. metagenomic nest-generation sequencing) and standardized anti-infective therapy. Integrating practical experiences from multiple thoracic surgery centers in China and relevant evidence-based literature, this consensus formulates recommendations on the precise definitions of staging, surgical indications for each phase, key technical points, perioperative management, and training systems. It aims to promote the standardized and individualized surgical management of empyema, ultimately optimizing patient prognosis.

Objective    To discuss the operation skill and clinical effects of using domestic balloon-expandable Prizvalve® transcatheter "valve-in-valve" to treat the degenerated bioprosthesis in the tricuspid position. Methods    All the admitted surgical tricuspid valve bioprosthetic valve replacement patients were evaluated by computerized tomography angiography (CTA), ultrasound, and 3D printing technology, and 2 patients with a degenerated bioprosthesis were selected for tricuspid valve "valve-in-valve" operation. Under general anesthesia, the retro-preset Prizvalve® system was implanted into degenerated tricuspid bioprosthesis via the femoral vein approach under the guidance of transesophageal echocardiographic and fluoroscopic guidance. Results    Transcatheter tricuspid valve implantation was successfully performed in both high-risk patients, and tricuspid regurgitation disappeared immediately. The operation time was 1.25 h and 2.43 h, respectively. There was no serious complication in both patients, and they were discharged from the hospital 7 days after the operation. Conclusion    The clinical effect of the degenerated tricuspid bioprosthetic valve implantation with domestic balloon-expandable valve via femoral vein approach "valve-in-valve" is good. Multimodality imaging and 3D printing technology can safely and effectively guide the implementation of this innovative technique.