Proximal Anastomotic Device Malfunction: Salvage Using Alternative Option.

Embolic stroke is a major complication of cardiac surgery and there have been multiple methods developed to reduce this risk. Recent technology has produced 2 primary devices for producing a bloodless and clampless field to perform aortocoronary graft anastomosis. We present a case with a Class V aorta, deployment failure of one device after aortic punch, and salvage of the aortotomy with the other device.

Current Practice of Calcium Use During Cardiopulmonary Bypass Weaning: Results of an International Survey.

Objectives: To describe international practices on the use of calcium salts during cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB) weaning in adult cardiac surgery patients.

Design: Multiple-choice survey on current practice of CPB weaning.

Setting: Online survey using the SurveyMonkey platform.

The "Ice Age" in Cardiac Surgery: Evolution of the "Siberian" Method of Brain Protection During Deep Hypothermic Perfusionless Circulatory Arrest.

Deep hypothermic perfusionless circulatory arrest was the first practical neuroprotective technique used for open-heart surgery. It was refined at the Novosibirsk Medical Research Center in Siberia and was actively used from the mid-1950s until 2001.This review describes the development of this technique and its contribution to our understanding of the dynamic changes in human physiology during induced hypothermia for circulatory arrest without extracorporeal perfusion.

History and Current Status of Cardiac Anesthesiology in Russia.

Anesthesiology, the branch of medicine concerning anesthesia and management of the vital functions of patients undergoing surgery, has played an important role in the development of cardiac surgery. In the middle of the last century, medical professionals had little experience in the treatment of congenital and acquired heart diseases. Progress of cardiac anesthesiology in Russia, as well as in countries across the globe, was due to requests to increase the safety of surgical procedures and to improve survival rates for the increasing number of patients with complex heart diseases.

African Americans have a lower prevalence of portal vein thrombosis at the time of liver transplantation.

Background: Perioperative vascular thrombotic events in patients undergoing liver transplantation (LT) are associated with significant morbidity and mortality.

Methods: In this retrospective UNOS database analysis, we evaluated the prevalence of portal vein thrombosis (PVT) and factors contributing to PVT development in different ethnic groups.

Results: Of the 47 953 LT performed between 2002 and 2015, we identified 3642 cases of PVT.

An Anti-Coagulation Conundrum: Implantation of Total Artificial Heart in a Patient with Heparin-Induced Thrombocytopenia Type II.

BACKGROUND Heparin-induced thrombocytopenia (HIT) is a rare but life-threatening complication of heparin administration. It can present a major clinical dilemma for physicians caring for patients requiring life-saving urgent or emergent cardiac surgery. Studies have been published examining the use of alternative anticoagulants for patients undergoing cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB), however, evidence does not clearly support any particular approach.

An Unexpected Airway Complication in a Male Patient with Goltz Syndrome.

Goltz syndrome, also known as focal dermal hypoplasia, is a rare X-linked dominant multisystem syndrome presenting with cutaneous, skeletal, dental ocular, central nervous system and soft tissue abnormalities. This case report discusses an adult male patient with Goltz syndrome that was noted to have large, papillomatous, hypopharyngeal lesions upon induction of general anesthesia. We highlight challenges with airway management intraoperatively and postoperatively in patients with Goltz syndrome.

Safety of lumbar drains in thoracic aortic operations performed with extracorporeal circulation.

Background: The safety of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) drainage in thoracic aortic surgery using extracorporeal circulation (ECC) with systemic heparinization has not been established.

Methods: Four hundred thirty-two patients had descending thoracic or thoracoabdominal aortic repair between 1993 and 2002. One hundred sixty-two of those patients (age range, 67 +/- 13 years) had repairs performed with ECC, systemic anticoagulation, and lumbar CSF drainage.