Early survival benefit of a low-profile endograft in blunt traumatic aortic injury.

Objective: The aim of this study was to demonstrate the safety and effectiveness of a low-profile thoracic endograft (19-23 French) in subjects with blunt traumatic aortic injury.

Methods: A prospective, multicenter study assessed the RelayPro thoracic endograft for the treatment of traumatic aortic injury. Fifty patients were enrolled at 16 centers in the United States between 2017 and 2021.

One-year results with a low-profile endograft in subjects with thoracic aortic aneurysm and ulcer pathologies.

Objective: The study objective was to evaluate the safety and effectiveness of the second-generation, low-profile RelayPro (Terumo Aortic) thoracic endograft for the treatment of descending thoracic aortic aneurysm or penetrating atherosclerotic ulcer.

Method: A prospective, international, nonblinded, nonrandomized, pivotal trial analyzed a primary safety end point of major adverse events at 30 days (death, myocardial infarction, stroke, renal/respiratory failure, paralysis, bowel ischemia, procedural blood loss) and a primary effectiveness end point of treatment success at 1 year (technical success, patency, absence of aneurysm rupture, type I/III endoleaks, stent fractures, reinterventions, aneurysm expansion, and migration) compared with performance goals from the previous generation Relay pivotal study. The study was conducted in 36 centers in the United States and Japan and enrolled participants between 2017 and 2019.

An Emergent Nexus between Striae and Thoracic Aortic Dissection.

Current approaches to stratify the risk for disease progression in thoracic aortic aneurysm (TAA) lack precision, which hinders clinical decision making. Connective tissue phenotyping of children with TAA previously identified the association between skin striae and increased rate of aortic dilation. The objective of this study was to analyze associations between connective tissue abnormalities and clinical endpoints in adults with aortopathy.

Identification of a common polymorphism in acting as a modifier of thoracic aortic aneurysm severity.

Thoracic aortic aneurysm (TAA) predisposes to sudden, life-threatening aortic dissection. The factors that regulate interindividual variability in TAA severity are not well understood. Identifying a molecular basis for this variability has the potential to improve clinical risk stratification and advance mechanistic insight.

Impact of troponin I level on coronary artery bypass grafting outcomes.

Purpose: The effect of preoperative cardiac troponin level on outcomes after coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) is unclear. We investigated the impact of preoperative cardiac troponin I (cTnI) level as well as the time interval between maximum cTnI and surgery on CABG outcomes.

Methods: All patients who underwent isolated CABG at our institution between 2009 and 2016 and had preoperative cTnI level available were identified using our Society of Thoracic Surgeons registry.

Outcomes of Surgical Coronary Revascularization Performed Before Solid Abdominal Organ Transplants.

Background: Cardiac risk stratification and coronary angiography are routinely performed as part of kidney and liver transplant candidacy evaluation. There are limited data on the outcomes of surgical coronary revascularization in this patient population. This study investigated outcomes in patients with end- stage renal or hepatic disease who were undergoing coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) to attain kidney or liver transplant candidacy.

Aortic root valve-sparing repair and dissections in Marfans syndrome during pregnancy: A case series.

Introduction: Marfan syndrome is a connective tissue disorder caused by mutations in the fibrillar FBN-1 gene. Aortic dissection and rupture are major causes of morbidity and mortality and are of special concern during pregnancy.

Materials And Methods: The authors report four cases of aortic root repair with preservation of the native aortic valve that have has created a discussion between cardiothoracic surgeons, obstetricians, and gynecologists regarding the best care for Marfan syndrome patients.

The presence of a dedicated cardiac surgical intensive care service impacts clinical outcomes in adult cardiac surgery patients.

Background: Postoperative critical care management is an integral part of cardiac surgery that contributes directly to clinical outcomes. In the United States there remains considerable variability in the critical care infrastructure for cardiac surgical programs. There is little published data investigating the impact of a dedicated cardiac surgical intensive care service.

Eleven-Year Experience Treating Blunt Thoracic Aortic Injury at a Tertiary Referral Center.

Background: Blunt thoracic aortic injury treatment has evolved over the past decade particularly with respect to endovascular intervention options. We investigated the trends in blunt thoracic aortic injury management and outcomes over an 11-year span at the sole tertiary referral center in our state.

Methods: We retrospectively reviewed all patients who presented to our institution with blunt traumatic aortic injury between 2007 and 2017.

Blunt aortic injuries in the new era: radiologic findings and polytrauma risk assessment dictates management strategy.

Purpose: Blunt aortic injuries (BAI) have historically been considered an indication for emergent surgical intervention. Nevertheless, the observation that the outcome of the concomitant traumatic injuries has a major impact on prognosis and the rise of thoracic endovascular aortic repair (TEVAR) as an effective therapy for BAI have significantly changed in recent years the treatment algorithm of this condition. Our objective was to identify findings associated with the aortic injury which would be the best predictor of prognosis, with the objective of guiding the decision-making process for selecting the optimal timing of aortic repair.

The Addition of Aortic Root Procedures During Elective Arch Surgery Does Not Confer Added Morbidity or Mortality.

Background: During elective aortic arch replacement, the addition of an aortic root procedure has an unknown effect on morbidity and mortality. The purpose of this study is to determine the effect of adding an aortic root procedure to elective aortic surgery using the ARCH international database.

Methods: The ARCH Database was queried for all elective aortic arch replacements with and without aortic root replacement using moderate hypothermic circulatory arrest and antegrade cerebral perfusion from 2000 to 2015.

A 20-year multicenter analysis of dialysis-dependent patients who had aortic or mitral valve replacement: Implications for valve selection.

Objective: Valve selection in dialysis-dependent patients can be difficult because long-term survival is diminished and bleeding risks during anticoagulation treatment are greater in patients with renal failure. In this study we analyzed long-term outcomes of dialysis-dependent patients who underwent valve replacement to help guide optimal prosthetic valve type selection.

Methods: Dialysis-dependent patients who underwent aortic and/or mitral valve replacement at 3 institutions over 20 years were examined.

Repair of Thoracic and Thoracoabdominal Mycotic Aneurysms and Infected Aortic Grafts Using Allograft.

Background: Mycotic aneurysm of the thoracic or thoracoabdominal aorta and infection of thoracic or thoracoabdominal aortic grafts are challenging problems with high mortality. In situ reconstruction with cryopreserved allograft (CPA) avoids placement of prosthetic material in an infected field and avoids suppressive antibiotics or autologous tissue coverage.

Methods: Fifty consecutive patients with infection of a thoracic or thoracoabdominal aortic graft or mycotic aneurysm underwent resection and replacement with CPA from 2006 to 2016.

Open repair of chronic thoracic and thoracoabdominal aortic dissection using deep hypothermia and circulatory arrest.

Background: Chronic dissection of the thoracic and thoracoabdominal aorta as sequela of a prior type A or B dissection is a challenging problem that requires close radiographic surveillance and prompt operative intervention in the presence of symptoms or aneurysm formation. Open repair of chronic thoracic and thoracoabdominal aortic dissection using deep hypothermia has been our preferred method to treat this complex pathology. The advantages of this technique include organ and spinal cord protection, the flexibility to extend the repair proximally into the arch, and the ability to limit ischemia to all vascular beds.

Acute aortic syndrome.

Acute aortic syndrome (AAS) is a term used to describe a constellation of life-threatening aortic diseases that have similar presentation, but appear to have distinct demographic, clinical, pathological and survival characteristics. Many believe that the three major entities that comprise AAS: aortic dissection (AD), intramural hematoma (IMH) and penetrating aortic ulcer (PAU), make up a spectrum of aortic disease in which one entity may evolve into or coexist with another. Much of the confusion in accurately classifying an AAS is that they present with similar symptoms: typically acute onset of severe chest or back pain, and may have similar radiographic features, since the disease entities all involve injury or disruption of the medial layer of the aortic wall.

Transcatheter Aortic Valve Replacement Versus Aortic Valve Bypass: A Comparison of Outcomes and Economics.

Background: Transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) is currently offered to patients who are high-risk candidates for conventional surgical aortic valve replacement. For the past 37 years, off-pump aortic valve bypass (AVB) has been used in elderly patients at our center for this similarly high-risk group. Although TAVR and AVB were offered to similar patients at our center, comparisons of clinical outcomes and hospital economics for each strategy were not reported.

The ARCH Projects: design and rationale (IAASSG 001).

Objective: A number of factors limit the effectiveness of current aortic arch studies in assessing optimal neuroprotection strategies, including insufficient patient numbers, heterogenous definitions of clinical variables, multiple technical strategies, inadequate reporting of surgical outcomes and a lack of collaborative effort. We have formed an international coalition of centres to provide more robust investigations into this topic.

Methods: High-volume aortic arch centres were identified from the literature and contacted for recruitment.

Open repair of chronic aortic dissections using deep hypothermia and circulatory arrest.

Background: There has been great enthusiasm for thoracic endograft repair of chronic thoracic or thoracoabdominal aortic dissection (ChAD) given the low operative morbidity and mortality. However long-term results are unknown and early reintervention is common. This study examines the early and late results of open repair of ChAD using deep hypothermia and circulatory arrest (DHCA).

Total arch and descending thoracic aortic replacement by left thoracotomy.

Background: The hybrid treatment of transverse aortic arch pathologies with supraaortic debranching and endovascular repair is associated with significant morbidity and death and lacks long-term follow-up. The traditional two-stage open surgical approach to extensive arch and descending thoracic aneurysms carries a significant interval mortality rate. We report the results of a single-stage technique of total arch and descending thoracic aortic replacement by a left thoracotomy.

Early and late results of descending thoracic and thoracoabdominal aortic aneurysm open repair with deep hypothermia and circulatory arrest.

Objective: Open repair of descending thoracic aortic and thoracoabdominal aortic aneurysms may carry low morbidity and mortality, depending on experience of the surgeon and operative technique used. Although thoracic endovascular aortic repair is less invasive, its limitations include anatomy and pathology of the aorta, proximity of major branches, and significant complication and reintervention rates. We retrospectively reviewed a 2-surgeon experience (J.

Long-term results with cryopreserved arterial allografts (CPAs) in the treatment of graft or primary arterial infections.

Objective: Our purpose was to evaluate our results with CPAs in patients with infected grafts or primary arterial infection with emphasis on long-term durability of these grafts.

Methods: To evaluate the long-term durability of CPAs, clinical outcomes were analyzed following their use for either graft or primary arterial infections at a single institution over a 9-y period (2000-2009). The 30-d mortality rate, 90-d mortality rate, and the cause of early mortality were determined in each case.

Characteristics of second primary lung malignancy in patients with known breast cancer.

Background: As breast cancer survival improves, the incidence of additional malignancies will likely rise. Identification of a lung nodule in a patient with known breast cancer poses a challenging diagnostic problem. This study outlines the management of such patients and identifies factors that correlate with survival.