Klotho as an Early Marker of Acute Kidney Injury Following Cardiac Surgery: A Systematic Review.

Acute kidney injury is a common complication following cardiac surgery (CSA-AKI). Serum creatinine levels require a minimum of 24-48 h to indicate renal injury. Nevertheless, early diagnosis remains critical for improving patient outcomes.

Endovascular Treatment of Type A Aortic Dissection: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis Using Reconstructed Time-to-Event Data.

Objective: The undisputed gold standard of treatment for type A aortic dissections (TAAD) is open surgery. Anecdotal reports have assessed thoracic endovascular aortic repair (TEVAR) as a last resort for highly selected candidates. The present study aims to evaluate endovascular outcomes in TAAD patients who are unsuitable for open surgery whilst having TEVAR-compatible aortic anatomy.

Multiple-valve Repair Facilitated by Aortic Ring Annuloplasty.

Early and late outcomes of patients undergoing multiple-valve procedures are better if all valves are repaired. Aortic/mitral multiple-valve repair has been limited by an inability to repair the more complex forms of aortic valve insufficiency. With the development of aortic ring annuloplasty 90% to 95% of aortic valve insufficiency pathologies now can be repaired, which opens most aortic/mitral multiple-valve procedures to the better repair outcomes.

Trans-aortic endoscopic ventricular thrombectomy in a patient with HIT and concomitant Aortic and ventricular thromboses.

Dual aortic and ventricular thrombi are rare following myocardial infraction. We report the case of a 56-year-old man who initially denied primary percutaneous coronary intervention as a result of psychological phobia. Initial pharmacological management by thrombolysis and heparin was followed by multiple arterial thromboses including those of the left ventricle and right iliac artery with a subsequent diagnosis of heparin-induced thrombocytopaenia.

Right atrial and septal reconstruction after tumor excision: the single-patch technique.

Surgical excision is the only therapy for benign atrial tumors, if serious complications are to be avoided. We propose a simplified technique whereupon a single autologous pericardial patch is used to not only close the septal defect, but to also reconstruct the right atrium. This new technique allows for wide excision of tumors without reduction of the right atrium, distortion of the tricuspid valve or traction on the atrioventricular node.

Combined transapical aortic valve implantation with coronary artery bypass grafting in a young patient with porcelain aorta.

The surgical management of porcelain aorta in patients requiring aortic valve replacement or coronary artery surgery carries a high morbidity and mortality and remains controversial. We report a successful transapical aortic valve implantation in combination with on-pump coronary artery bypass grafting in a young patient with severe aortic stenosis, left main coronary artery disease and porcelain aorta. Transapical aortic valve implantation is a minimally invasive surgical alternative that can be safely performed in combination with coronary artery bypass grafting and may become the treatment of choice, even in young patients with porcelain aorta.

Aortic valve replacement: is there an implant size variation across Europe?

Background And Aims Of The Study: Prompted by anecdotal evidence and observations by surgeons, an investigation was undertaken into the potential differences in implanted aortic valve prosthesis sizes, during aortic valve replacement (AVR) procedures, between northern and southern European countries.

Methods: A multi-institutional, non-randomized, retrospective analysis was conducted among 2,932 patients who underwent AVR surgery at seven tertiary cardiac surgery centers throughout Europe. Demographic and perioperative variables including valve size and type, body surface area (BSA) and early mortality were collected.

Safety and efficacy of off-pump coronary artery bypass grafting in chronic dialysis patients.

Off-pump coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) has been recently revived, because cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB) appears to worsen the multiple organ dysfunction after conventional CABG. To evaluate the safety and efficacy of the off-pump CABG in chronic dialysis patients, we compared the perioperative morbidity and mortality between 15 dialysis patients who underwent off-pump CABG at our center over the past 8 years with that of a concurrent group of 19 patients who underwent conventional CABG. Patients were selected for off-pump CABG only when complete revascularization was technically feasible.