Female Surgeons in Cardiac Surgery: Does the Surgeon's Gender Affect the Outcome of Routine Coronary Artery Bypass Graft and Isolated Aortic Valve Surgery?

Background:  The increasing presence of female doctors in the field of cardiac surgery has raised questions about their surgical quality compared to their male colleagues. Despite their success, female surgeons are still underrepresented in leadership positions, and biases and concerns regarding their performance persist. This study aims to examine whether female surgeons perform worse, equally well, or better than their male counterparts in commonly performed procedures that have a significant number of female patients.

Progress on a Novel, 3D-Printable Heart Valve Prosthesis.

(1) Background: Polymeric heart valves are prostheses constructed out of flexible, synthetic materials to combine the advantageous hemodynamics of biological valves with the longevity of mechanical valves. This idea from the early days of heart valve prosthetics has experienced a renaissance in recent years due to advances in polymer science. Here, we present progress on a novel, 3D-printable aortic valve prosthesis, the TIPI valve, removing the foldable metal leaflet restrictor structure in its center.

New Insights into Mortality-Related Risk Factors in Infective Endocarditis: Results from the Brandenburg State Endocarditis Register.

Objective:  Endocarditis as a potentially life-threatening disease with high complication and mortality rates. In recent years, an increase in the incident of endocarditis has been reported throughout Europe. In the aging society, successful treatment is complex and challenging owing to the high rate of multimorbidity.

Prehabilitation in older patients prior to elective cardiac procedures (PRECOVERY): study protocol of a multicenter randomized controlled trial.

Background: Previous studies have demonstrated the efficacy of rehabilitation after a cardiovascular procedure. Especially older and multimorbid patients benefit from rehabilitation after a cardiac procedure. Prehabilitation prior to cardiac procedures may also have positive effects on patients' pre- and postoperative outcomes.

Everyday Cardiac Surgery in Jehovah's Witnesses of Typically Advanced Age: Clinical Outcome and Matched Comparison.

Background And Objectives: Jehovah's Witnesses (JW) reject the transfusion of blood components based on their religious beliefs, even if they are in danger of harm or death. In cardiac surgery, this significantly reduces the margin of safety and leads to ethical conflicts. Informed consent should be carefully documented and the patient's family should be involved.

The Impact of Gender and Age in Obese Patients on Sternal Instability and Deep-Sternal-Wound-Healing Disorders after Median Sternotomy.

Objective: The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between age and sex in regard to the development of deep sternal wound infections and sternal instability following median sternotomy.

Methods: A propensity-score-matching analysis was conducted on 4505 patients who underwent cardiac surgery between 2009 and 2021, all of whom had a BMI of ≥30 kg/m. A total of 1297 matched pairs were determined in the sex group, and 1449 matched pairs we determined in the age group.

Unfortunate Accidental Twins: Two Patients with Endocarditis of a Valve-Bearing Conduit.

 Prosthetic valve endocarditis is becoming more common because many patients live long enough to experience bacteremia, while insufficient antibiotic prophylaxis eventually leads to graft infection. Valve-bearing conduit infections are the most feared because of technical challenges.  Two young patients were coincidental twins in terms of diagnosis and therapy.

Mitral Valve Repair in Advanced Age Groups: Does Cardiac Age Differ from Chronological Age?

Objective: Advanced age is a risk factor in cardiac surgery contributing significantly to a worse outcome. The reasons are frailty and multimorbidity. In this study, we asked: Is there an aging of the heart which differs from chronological age?

Methods: Propensity score matching was performed between 115 seniors ≥ 80 years and 345 juniors < 80 years.

How Can We Best Measure Frailty in Cardiosurgical Patients?

Background: Frailty is gaining importance in cardiothoracic surgery and is a risk factor for adverse outcomes and mortality. Various frailty scores have since been developed, but there is no consensus which to use for cardiac surgery.

Methods: In an all-comer prospective study of patients presenting for cardiac surgery, we assessed frailty and analyzed complication rates in hospital and 1-year mortality, as well as laboratory markers before and after surgery.

Gender-Related Outcomes after Surgical Resection and Level of Satisfaction in Patients with Left Atrial Tumors.

Background: Cardiac tumors are rare, with a low incidence of between 0.0017 and 0.19%.

Simple and Safe: Inverse Plication of the Posterior Mitral Leaflet in Everyday Mitral Valve Reconstruction with and without Concomitant Procedures.

: Cardiosurgical mitral valve repair (MVR) cannot be easily replaced by other interventional procedures due to the complexity of mitral valve regurgitation as well as physiologic and anatomic repair techniques. A wide variety of techniques have been adopted for proper reconstruction of posterior leaflet prolapse. We investigated the long-term results of quadrangular resections and compared them with a simplified reconstruction maneuver, the inverse plication.

Does Age Influence the Preoperative Condition and, Thus, the Outcome in Endocarditis Patients?

Demographic changes have led to an increase in the proportion of older patients undergoing heart surgery. The number of endocarditis cases is also steadily increasing. Given the sharp increase in patients who have received valve prostheses or electrophysiological implants, who are on chronic dialysis or taking immunosuppressants, the interdependence of these two developments is quite obvious.

Digital preventive measures for arterial hypertension (DiPaH) - a mixed-methods study protocol for health services research.

Introduction: Digital health measures promise to further improve the quality of cardiovascular care but have not yet been widely implemented in routine care. The research project Digital preventive measures for arterial hypertension (DiPaH) will systematically identify structural and individual factors in different stakeholders that influence the use of digital preventive measures in patients with arterial hypertension in Germany. Special focus is given to remote and sparsely populated areas, the age-specific impact, as well as influence of digital health literacy.

The Best Way to Deal Is with Cold Steel…Is It?-Ways of Dealing with Age and Ageing in Cardiac Surgery.

Everyone knows from their own experience what ageing means [...

What Exactly Makes Age a Risk Factor for an Unfavorable Outcome after Mitral Valve Surgery?

Objective: Age has an undeniable impact on perioperative mortality. However, it is not necessarily a predictor of frailty per se, as older patients have different outcomes. To verify specific conditions underlying frailty, we examined demographics, comorbidities, frequency, and distribution of postoperative complications influencing outcomes in a challenging cohort of patients undergoing mitral valve surgery.

Engineering a New Polymeric Heart Valve Using 3D Printing-TRISKELION.

Developing a prosthetic heart valve that combines the advantageous hemodynamic properties of its biological counterpart with the longevity of mechanical prostheses has been a major challenge for heart valve development. Anatomically inspired artificial polymeric heart valves have the potential to combine these beneficial properties, and innovations in 3D printing have given us the opportunity to rapidly test silicone prototypes of new designs to further the understanding of biophysical properties of artificial heart valves. TRISKELION is a promising prototype that we have developed, tested, and further improved in our institution.

Every day mitral valve reconstruction: What has changed over the last 15 years?

Objective: Mitral valve reconstruction (MVR) is one of the cardiosurgical procedures which cannot be substituted by any intervention owing to the quality of the quasi-anatomical, physiological repair. However, technique and strategies have changed over the years. We looked at procedural characteristics and outcome in an all-comer, non-selected cohort of patients.

Do Not Withhold Mitral Surgery from Patients with Poor Left Ventricular Function.

Background and Objectives: Increasing reluctance to perform surgical mitral valve repair or replacement particularly in high-risk patients with poor left-ventricular function is trending. These patients are increasingly treated interventionally, e.g.

How Strong Can We Pull? Critical Thresholds for Traction Forces on the Aortic Annulus: Measurements on Fresh Porcine Hearts.

Friable or infected tissue remains a challenge in surgical aortic valve replacement. We recently described the "Caput medusae" method, in which circumferential tourniquets temporarily secure the prosthesis and are then gently knotted. Tourniquets have been shown to develop significantly less force than knots.

CALA: Cumulative Volume of Calcified Lesions of the Aorta in Cardiac Surgery.

One of the major key questions raised in this retrospective study was to identify any correlation of atherosclerotic plaque volume of the ascending aorta and aortic arch with adverse events such as postoperative stroke, critical illness polyneuropathy and myopathy, as well as delirium and all-cause in-hospital mortality. In a second phase of this study, we investigated the relationship between atherosclerotic plaque volume and adverse events regarding the construction of proximal anastomosis on coronary artery bypass grafting procedures using different clamping techniques such as construction of anastomosis on cross-clamping or cross-clamping plus consecutive partial clamping of the aorta. The key findings of our research were that the size of calcium lesions of the ascending aorta and aortic arch correlates with early mortality, critical illness polyneuropathy/myopathy, and delirium but not with stroke.

Endocarditis: Who Is Particularly at Risk and Why? Ten Years Analysis of Risk Factors for In-hospital Mortality in Infective Endocarditis.

Background: Endocarditis is continuously increasing. Evidence exist that the prognosis is adversely affected by the extent of the disease. We looked at risk factors influencing in-hospital mortality (HM).

Intraoperative Use of Platelet-Rich Fibrin (PRF) Reduces the Postoperative Fistula Rate After Pancreas Surgery.

Background: Patients undergoing pancreatic surgery are predominately very ill and therefore have a high potential for postoperative complications, which often has a life-limiting effect. As leakage of aggressive pancreatic secretions into the abdomen is one of the main reasons for an adverse outcome, measures to reduce it can be beneficial. Platelet-Rich Fibrin (PRF) is often used to seal areas that are already leaking or are susceptible to leakage at the end of the procedure.

Liver cirrhosis: Still an elusive risk factor in the current EuroSCORE system.

Objectives: Liver cirrhosis increases the risk of death in patients having cardiac surgery, and the risk is markedly dependent on the actual stage. The EuroSCORE II, however, does not specifically address the risk of death of patients with liver cirrhosis. We investigated the predictive power of EuroSCORE II in patients with liver cirrhosis.

Results of Four-Stented Biological Aortic Valves and How They Compare to PARTNER-3.

Objective: According to our nationwide registry, total numbers of surgical aortic valve implantation (sAVR) are constantly declining, while transcathether aortic valve implantation (TAVI) indications are widened toward intermediate- and low-risk patients. So, is there still room for conventionally implanted valves? Can results compete with TAVI or will sAVR be marginalized in the near future?

Methods: Between 2011 and 2019, 1,034 patients (67.1% male, mean = 72.