One-year outcomes after rapid-deployment aortic valve replacement.

Objective: The goals of rapid-deployment aortic valve replacement include facilitation of minimally invasive surgery and reduced aortic crossclamp time. We report the short-term outcomes of a series of 493 patients undergoing rapid-deployment aortic valve replacement with the EDWARDS INTUITY valve system (Edwards Lifesciences, LLC, Irvine, Calif).

Methods: Assessing Standard oF Care and Clinical Outcomes UsiNg the EDWARDS INTUITY VAlve SysTem in a European multI-center, Active, pOst-market surveillaNce Study was a prospective, multicenter (n = 26) European registry designed to evaluate the safety and performance of the valve system.

Anomalous Origin of Right Coronary Artery From Left Coronary Sinus-13 Cases Treated With the Reimplantation Technique.

Objectives: Anomalous aortic origin of a coronary artery is uncommon but potentially clinically significant. Manifestations vary from asymptomatic patients to those who present with angina pectoris, myocardial infarction, heart failure, syncope, arrhythmias, and sudden death. We describe our experience with surgical reimplantation and results at midterm follow-up.

Puncture Versus Surgical Cutdown Complications of Transfemoral Aortic Valve Implantation (from the Spanish TAVI Registry).

Vascular complications in transcatheter aortic valve implantation using transfemoral approach are related to higher mortality. Complete percutaneous approach is currently the preferred technique for vascular access. However, some centers still perform surgical cutdown.

Severe Arterial Tortuosity.

Arterial tortuosity syndrome is a rare autosomal recessive connective tissue disease characterized by elongation, tortuosity, and aneurysmal formation of the large and middle-sized arteries sometimes associated with stenosis of the pulmonary arteries and/or aorta. We present three cases of severe arterial tortuosity with different manifestations. In two cases, the aortic arch was involved.

No patch technique for complete atrioventricular canal repair.

We describe our initial experience with a new technique, consisting in direct closure of the ventricular septal defect component of the AV canal, by directly attaching the common bridging leaflets to the crest of the ventricular septum with interrupted sutures. After closure of the cleft, the ostium primum defect was closed with a running suture suturing the border of the septum primum to the newly created AV valve annulus. Three patients were operated upon.

Triflusal versus oral anticoagulation for primary prevention of thromboembolism after bioprosthetic valve replacement (trac): prospective, randomized, co-operative trial.

Objective: Antiplatelet agents are used for prevention of thromboembolism in surgical patients and in patients with chronic atrial fibrillation. Up to date, however, results of randomized studies comparing antiplatelet agents and oral anticoagulation have not been reported. The aim of this study was to compare the efficacy and safety of triflusal (an antiplatelet agent) versus acenocoumarol for primary prevention of thromboembolism in the early postoperative period after implantation of a bioprosthesis.