Implementation of the aortic no-touch technique to reduce stroke after off-pump coronary surgery.

Objectives: Despite substantial scientific effort, the relationship between stroke after coronary artery bypass grafting and the use of the aortic no-touch off-pump technique (anOPCAB) remains incompletely understood. The present study aimed to define the effect of anOPCAB on the occurrence and time point of stroke.

Methods: A total cohort of 15,042 consecutive patients underwent surgical myocardial revascularization at a single institution.

Current indications for stentless aortic bioprostheses.

The best aortic prostheses have been debated for decades. The introduction of stentless aortic bioprostheses was aimed at improving hemodynamics and potentially the durability of aortic bioprostheses. Despite the good short- and long-term outcomes after implantation of stentless aortic bioprostheses, their use remains limited owing to the technically demanding implantation techniques.

Stentless Bioprostheses for Aortic Valve Replacement in Octogenarians: The Influence of Coronary Artery Disease.

Background: We sought to determine the long-term results of stentless biological heart valve replacement in octogenarians to find out whether coronary artery disease or the coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) procedure itself influences survival in these aged patients.

Methods: From 4,012 patients undergoing aortic valve replacement (AVR) with a stentless prosthesis (Freestyle, Medtronic) at a single center, 721 patients were older than 80 years. They had a mean age of 83 ±  2 (2,320 patient years), the male/female ratio was 42:58, NYHA (New York Heart Association) class I and II was prevalent in 22.

Freestyle stentless bioprosthesis for aortic valve therapy: 17-year clinical results.

Background: Aortic valve replacement with stentless bioprostheses has been shown to produce lower aortic gradients than stented bioprostheses, thus facilitating left ventricular mass regression and preventing heart failure. We sought to determine the long-term results of stentless biological aortic valve replacement over a 17-year follow-up.

Methods: Between 1996 and 2012, 2551 patients underwent isolated aortic valve replacement with a stentless prosthesis (Medtronic Freestyle) at a single center.

Are aortic valve reoperations after primary replacement with stentless heart valve prostheses more demanding than after stented biological prostheses?

Objective: Reoperations after aortic valve replacement (AVR) with stentless valve prostheses are believed to be surgically more difficult than after stented prostheses.

Methods: Between January 1996 and December 2006, 1,340 of 3,785 patients with AVR in a single institution received a stentless valve prosthesis in aortic position (Medtronic Freestyle, Medtronic GmbH, Meerbusch, Germany). Reoperations after stentless AVR occurred in 27 patients (2.