11. Mediastinitis: causes, management and outcomes 122 Stefano Elia, Adelheid End, Emilio Canalis, Hartmut Lode, Alessandra Vittoria Granai and Giuseppe Petrella 12. Surgical management of pleural empyema 141 Michel Gonzalez, Hans-Beat Ris and Danail Petrov 13. Pleural empyema in children 153 Jeroen M.H. Hendriks, Martine Sabbe, Jan Verhaegen, Patrick Lauwers, Stijn Verhulst and Paul E.Y. Van Schil 14. Lung resection in the presence of infection and after pleural empyema 162 Dragan Subotic and Francoise Le Pimpec Barthes 15. Dealing with infection after thoracic surgical procedures 171 Emilio Canalis, Danail Petrov and Antoni Torres CME credit application form 181 C O P E C O M M I T T E E O N P U B L I C A T I O N E T H I C S This journal is a member of and subscribes to the principles of the Committee on Publication Ethics.