Minimally Invasive Mitral Valve Surgery in Elderly Patients: Results from a Multicenter Study.

Minimally invasive mitral valve surgery (MIMVS) has been increasingly adopted worldwide as an alternative to conventional sternotomy, especially for young patients. The remarkable results gained by MIMVS have encouraged its application in more complex and fragile patients, such as the elderly, though results in this subgroup remain controversial. It is the aim of this study to assess the postoperative outcomes of patients older than 75 years old undergoing MIMVS, and to compare these results to those of younger patients.

St. Jude Medical Trifecta aortic valve: results from a prospective regional multicentre registry.

Background: The Trifecta aortic bioprosthesis (St. Jude Medical, Inc., St.

[Acute coronary syndrome and cancer: which therapeutic option first?].

Cardiovascular disease and cancer are the leading causes of mortality worldwide. We report our experience in a cancer patient with acute coronary syndrome successfully treated by hybrid revascularization, i.e.

Risk of stroke with percutaneous coronary intervention compared with on-pump and off-pump coronary artery bypass graft surgery: Evidence from a comprehensive network meta-analysis.

Background: Although some trials have reported that on-pump coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) surgery may be associated with higher rates of stroke than percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI), whether stroke is more common after off-pump CABG compared with PCI is unknown. We therefore sought to determine whether off-pump CABG is associated with an increased risk of stroke compared with PCI by means of network meta-analysis.

Methods: Randomized controlled trials (RCTs) comparing CABG vs PCI were searched through MEDLINE, EMBASE, Cochrane databases, and proceedings of international meetings.

Type 2 diabetes mellitus is associated with faster degeneration of bioprosthetic valve: results from a propensity score-matched Italian multicenter study.

Background: The present study was aimed at determining the impact of type 2 diabetes mellitus (DM) on postoperative bioprosthetic structural valve degeneration.

Methods And Results: Twelve Italian centers participated in the study. Patient data refer to bioprosthetic implantations performed from November 1988 to December 2009, which resulted in 6184 patients (mean age 71.

Early clinical experience and echocardiographic results with a new semirigid mitral annuloplasty ring: the Sorin Memo 3D.

Background: The Sorin Memo 3D (Sorin Biomedica Cardio S.r.L.

Determination of pump flow rate during cardiopulmonary bypass in obese patients avoiding hemodilution.

Background And Aim: During cardiopulmonary bypass the pump flow is usually set on 2.4 L/min/m(2) of body surface area (BSA) to guarantee adequate tissue perfusion without differences for patient constitutional type. The present study attempts to evaluate the adequacy of pump flow rate in obese patients, considering the ideal weight instead of the real one, avoiding the overflow side effects and hemodilution.

A comparison between coronary artery bypass grafting surgery and drug eluting stent for the treatment of unprotected left main coronary artery disease in elderly patients (aged > or =75 years).

Aims: In this study, we compared the clinical outcomes of elderly patients with unprotected left main coronary artery (ULMCA) stenosis treated with either coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) or drug-eluting stent (DES).

Methods And Results: From January 2003 to April 2006, 259 patients with ULMCA stenosis and age > or =75 years underwent coronary revascularization with either CABG or DES. One hundred and sixty-one patients were treated with CABG and 98 with DES.

Complete myocardial revascularization and sutureless technique for left ventricular free wall rupture: clinical and echocardiographic results.

Left ventricular free wall rupture (LVFWR) is one of the most dramatic complications of myocardial infarction. We present our mid-term clinical and echocardiographic results of LVFWR with patch and complete myocardial revascularization on viable tissue. From August 2000 to July 2005, 9 patients underwent surgery for LVFWR.