[A retrospective study on the quality of life of patients with primary focal hyperhidrosis that underwent a video-assisted thoracoscopic sympathectomy].

Unlabelled: Backgroud: Primary focal hyperhidrosis affects between 1 to 4% of the general population, with a higher prevalence in teenagers and young adults. The condition is characterized by excessive sweating in 1 or more body part, most often the palms, face, armpits and soles. This condition causes a significant negative impact on patient's quality of life.

A rare cause of hoarseness in a young patient.

Syphilis is nowadays a rare cause of aortic aneurysms in developed countries. Commonly saccular, syphilitic aneurysms are frequently single, involving the ascending aorta and arch and are frequently asymptomatic unless large enough to cause symptoms due to compression of surrounding structures or death from rupture. In this paper, the authors present the case of a 32-years old patient presenting with progressive weakness, anorexia, weight loss and hoarseness, who was diagnosed with a multiple saccular aortic aneurysms, which were syphilitic in nature.

Mid-term outcomes of mitral valve repair in a low-volume hospital.

Introduction: Mitral valve repair is feasible for all patients with mitral regurgitation and its advantages are well documented; however, there is general agreement that it is technically demanding and that success rates are related to volume/ experience centers. The aim of this study was to evaluate the clinical and echocardiographic mid-term outcomes of patients who underwent a mitral repair in a low-volume hospital.

Methods And Results: Between 2009 and 2014, 55 patients (23 female) with mitral regurgitation underwent mitral repair.

Interrupted aortic arch: A misdiagnosed cause of hypertension.

We present the case of a 47-year-old man with hypertension for over 20 years, referred to our hospital due to mild aortic dilatation detected on a transthoracic echocardiogram. On physical examination weak lower limb pulses and a blood pressure differential of >50 mmHg between arms and legs were detected. Complete interruption of the aortic arch below the left subclavian artery was diagnosed by computed tomography angiography.

Transcatheter aortic valve implantation in a very young patient.

Transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI) is the standard treatment for patients with severe aortic stenosis and unacceptable surgical risk. These are usually elderly patients with multiple comorbidities. We report the case of a 20-year-old man with mandibuloacral dysplasia, an extremely rare premature ageing syndrome, and severe symptomatic aortic stenosis, referred to our center for TAVI after being considered unsuitable for surgical aortic valve replacement.

[Cardiac papillary fibroelastoma of the mitral valve. Case report].

Cardiac papillary fibroelastomas (CPF) are rare primary cardiac tumors with predilection for heart valves, being increasingly incidentally discovered due to the widespread use of echocardiography. Most of them are asymptomatic, but they are a potential source of systemic emboli, stroke, myocardial infarction and sudden death. This report describes the case of a 70-year-old female with previous transient ischaemic attacks and an echocardiographic finding of a mass in the mitral valve.

Impact of incomplete surgical revascularization on survival.

Complete revascularization is considered superior to incomplete revascularization (IR), with better long-term survival and a lower rate of reintervention. However, it has yet to be established whether this difference is due directly to IR as a surgical strategy or whether this approach is merely a marker of more severe coronary disease and more rapid progression. We believe that IR is a prognostic marker for a more complex coronary pathology, and adverse effects are probably due to the preoperative condition of the patient.

[Repair of iatrogenic aortic dissection during Bentall operation in a patient with annulo-aortic ectasia and mitral regurgitation].

Intraoperative aortic dissection is a rare but potentially fatal complication of cardiac surgery. In this report, we present a case of intraoperative aortic dissection during a Bentall operation for annulo-aortic ectasia repair combined with mitral valve replacement. The aorta was successfully repaired using another dacron tube graft after profound hypothermic circulatory arrest.

[Indications and results of lung resection in bronchiectasis].

The prevalence of bronchiectasis has decreased significantly over recent decades in developed countries. However, resection for bronchiectasis still plays an important role in thoracic surgery practice in some countries such as Portugal. Between 1994 and 2004, 51 patients (29 female and 22 male) with a mean age of 38.

[Cardiac surgery in Portuguese octogenarians].

The purpose of this study was to investigate the operative results and the clinical outcomes of Portuguese octogenarians who underwent cardiac surgery. Records of 339 consecutive octogenarians who had had cardiac operations between 2003 and 2005 were reviewed. The effect of cardiac and operative risk factors on mortality was evaluated.

Combined carotid stenting and urgent coronary artery surgery in unstable angina patients with severe carotid stenosis.

Staged or combined carotid endarterectomy (CEA) offers the potential benefit of decreased neurological morbidity during and after cardiac surgery; however, the strategy for treating unstable high-risk patients, who need urgent coronary artery surgery, remains unresolved. We report in-hospital and 30-day outcomes of 23 consecutive patients admitted with unstable angina, who underwent carotid angioplasty and stenting (CAS) immediately prior to urgent coronary artery surgery, from October 2007 to October 2008. Aspirin and unfractioned heparin were administrated during carotid stenting and clopidogrel was only started after cardiac surgery.

[Adult cardiac surgery: impact on age group differences in preoperative risk factors and early mortality].

Over the past 20 years, there have been marked increased rates in cardiac surgery among the elderly in Portugal. To evaluate the effects of increasing age on outcome after cardiac surgery, 5652 patients who underwent cardiac surgery from 2003 to 2005 in five portuguese hospitals, were entered into a retrospective study. Patients were placed in five groups according to age: (1) 80 and older, (2) 70-79, (3) 60-69, (4) 50-59 or (5) less than 50.

Impact of isolated bypass grafting of the left internal thoracic artery to the left anterior descending coronary artery in high-risk patients with three-vessel coronary artery disease.

Introduction: Multiple strategies to achieve some degree of myocardial revascularization are available. In some, less complete revascularization is accepted to limit invasiveness, mostly in older, high-risk patients and patients with unsuitable coronary anatomy.

Methods: Patient and operative data were collected retrospectively for all patients with three-vessel coronary artery disease who had off-pump coronary artery bypass surgery from January 2003 through December 2005.

[Surgical management of pulmonary aspergilloma].

After formation of fungus ball in pre-existing cavities, antifungal agents are very hard to control the infection. Surgical resection offers the only realistic chance of a permanent cure for aspergilloma. However, surgical indications are still a controversy because of the high incidence of postoperative complications.