The surgical management of aortic coarctation in newborns needs to ensure postoperative evolution and long-term results as much as possible. Patients with a Gothic arch have a higher rate of postoperative hypertension, while newborns with a bovine arch have higher rates of restenosis and, thus, an additional risk of mortality. Late hypertension, even in anatomically successfully repaired patients, confers a high risk for cardiovascular events.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAnomalous origin of the right coronary artery (RCA) from the pulmonary artery, ARCAPA, is an extremely rare congenital heart disease. Only 200 cases were reported from 1885 to the present. Patients diagnosed with ARCAPA can be either asymptomatic or can experience symptoms, such as heart murmur, dyspnea, or angina, shortly after birth or around 40-60 years of life.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFCutaneous-pericardial fistula is a rare complication of transapical aortic valve replacement; only a few cases are reported in the literature. It is part of a wide range of surgical site infection manifestations that could emerge after surgery. Due to its proximity to the heart, the risk of infectious lesions of adjacent structures and inoculation of pathogens on the prosthetic valve can lead to life-threatening complications.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFInfective endocarditis (IE) represents one of the most challenging clinical entities, requiring a multidisciplinary approach. The increasing number of surgical and transcatheter heart valves replacements performed annually lead to a higher incidence of prosthetic valve endocarditis. Transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI) brought a new alternative for the treatment of aortic stenosis and a new subgroup of IE with its features.
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