Fifteen-Year Outcomes After Valve-Sparing Aortic Root Remodelling or Exclusion of the Non-Coronary Sinus: When to Preserve the Sinuses of Valsalva?

Background: Isolated exclusion of the non-coronary sinus (NCS) is an attractive strategy in valve-sparing aortic root surgery, which avoids the mobilisation and re-implantation of coronary ostia. However, the long-term durability of aortic valve repair and the fate of remnant sinuses of Valsalva remain unclear.

Method: From January 2006 to December 2013, 29 patients underwent replacement of the ascending aorta extending to the NCS (group NCS) and 56 patients underwent a modified Yacoub procedure (group MY) in our centre by a single surgeon.

Primary Epicardial Malt Lymphoma: A New Physiopathologic Entity Mimicking a Pericardial Compressive Syndrome.

MALT lymphoma is a non-Hodgkin lymphoma developing from B cells and is a type of marginal zone lymphoma. It can develop in any organs, but no case of primary cardiac location has yet been reported. We report the first observation of a primary epicardial MALT lymphoma mimicking a compressive pericardial syndrome.

Nine-year routine clinical experience of aortic valve replacement with ATS mechanical valves.

Background And Aim Of The Study: The study aim was to update the authors' experience with aortic valve replacement (AVR) using the ATS mechanical prosthesis in terms of early and long-term outcome in routine practice.

Methods: This retrospective analysis was extracted from clinical data available between April 1996 and February 2005, of AVR with the ATS Medical prosthesis in 510 consecutive patients (345 men, 165 women; mean age 62 +/- 12 years), of whom 296 underwent isolated AVR (iAVR). Concomitant surgical procedures included coronary artery bypass grafting (AVR+CABG, n = 47), mitral valve procedure (AVR+MVP, n = 59), ascending aortic replacement (AVR+AAR, n = 74) and other procedures (AVR+Miscellaneous, n = 34).