Predictors and outcomes in patients undergoing surgery for acute type A aortic dissection requiring concomitant veno-arterial extracorporeal membrane oxygenation support-a retrospective multicenter cohort study.

Objectives: The study aim was to investigate the outcomes and risk factors for mortality in patients undergoing surgery for acute type A aortic dissection (ATAAD) receiving concomitant veno-arterial extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) support.

Methods: Patients from five European centers who underwent surgery for ATAAD and received perioperative veno-arterial ECMO support were included. A multivariable binary logistic regression analysis was performed to identify risk factors for thirty-day mortality.

Circulating factors, in both donor and ex-situ heart perfusion, correlate with heart recovery in a pig model of DCD.

Background: Heart transplantation with donation after circulatory death and ex-situ heart perfusion offers excellent outcomes and increased transplantation rates. However, improved graft evaluation techniques are required to ensure effective utilization of grafts. Therefore, we investigated circulating factors, both in-situ and ex-situ, as potential biomarkers for cardiac graft quality.

Early Experience With a Novel Suture Device for Sternal Closure in Pediatric Cardiac Surgery.

Background: Sternal closure by absorbable suture material is an established method for chest closure in pediatric cardiac surgical procedures. However, the formation of granuloma around knotted suture material is frequently observed and has potential for prolonged wound healing and infection, particularly in newborns and infants. This retrospective study analyzed the suitability and reliability of a novel absorbable, self-locking, multianchor knotless suture with antibacterial technology for sternal closure in pediatric cardiac surgical procedures.

Right Axillary Thoracotomy in Congenital Cardiac Surgery: Analysis of Percutaneous Cannulation.

Background: Vertical right axillary minithoracotomy (VRAMT) represents a minimally invasive and cosmetically attractive alternative for selected congenital heart defects. We report our institutional experience with VRAMT, especially regarding the performance of percutaneous femoral venous access to establish extracorporeal circulation in this pediatric population.

Methods: A retrospective single-center analysis was made of children to 16 years of age who underwent corrective cardiac surgery using VRAMT over a period of 5 years.

Prolonged Pediatric Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation Support with Cardiopulmonary Failure in Juvenile Myelomonocytic Leukemia.

We report a case of a child survival after extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) support of 25 days for cardiopulmonary failure and septic shock in the context of juvenile myelomonocytic leukemia (JMML). ECMO support is still a matter of debate for the management of septic patients with malignancy. However, these patients are at increased risk for early death secondary to pulmonary complications due to leukostasis, direct pulmonary infiltration with WBC, and systemic inflammatory response syndrome following malignant cell lysis.

A Near Miss and Salvage Management of Aortoesophageal Fistula Secondary to Cell Battery Ingestion.

We report a case of an infant surviving aortoesophageal fistula secondary to lithium cell battery ingestion. In the setting of a delayed vascular complication, computed tomography and magnetic resonance imaging are essential to establishing the correct diagnosis and surgical management. Management of children after battery ingestion must be guided by a high index of clinical suspicion.

Initial experiences with a centrifugal-pump based minimal invasive extracorporeal circulation system in pediatric congenital cardiac surgery.

Background: Minimal invasive extracorporeal circulation (MiECC) circuits are an established alternative to conventional extracorporeal circulation (CECC). Based on the positive effects and improved perioperative outcomes of MiECC in adult cardiac surgery, this perfusion concept appears particularly attractive to pediatric cardiac surgery. So far, there are no reports on the clinical application of a MiECC system for corrective surgery in neonates and children.

Late correction of tetralogy of Fallot in children.

Aim Of Study: To report our experience of late correction after infancy in patients with tetralogy of Fallot (ToF).

Methods: Observational single-centre retrospective analysis of the surgical techniques and perioperative development of patients from developing countries undergoing total surgical correction of ToF after infancy, between 1 November 2011 and 30 November 2016. Variables are presented as numbers with percentages or as mean ± standard deviation.

Vertical Right Axillary Mini-Thoracotomy for Correction of Ventricular Septal Defects and Complete Atrioventricular Septal Defects.

Background: Vertical right axillary mini-thoracotomy (VRAMT) is the standard approach for correction of atrial septal defect and partial atrioventricular septal defect at our institution. This observational single-center study compares our initial results with the VRAMT approach for the repair of ventricular septal defect (VSD) and complete atrioventricular septal defect (CAVSD) in infants and children to an approach using standard median sternotomy (MS).

Methods: The perioperative courses of patients undergoing VSD and CAVSD correction through either a VRAMT or an MS were analyzed retrospectively.

Efficacy of mechanical postconditioning following warm, global ischaemia depends on circulating fatty acid levels in an isolated, working rat heart model†.

Objectives: The number of heart transplantations is limited by donor organ availability. Donation after circulatory determination of death (DCDD) could significantly improve graft availability; however, organs undergo warm ischaemia followed by reperfusion, leading to tissue damage. Laboratory studies suggest that mechanical postconditioning [(MPC); brief, intermittent periods of ischaemia at the onset of reperfusion] can limit reperfusion injury; however, clinical translation has been disappointing.