Distal Aortic Remodeling after Type A Dissection Repair: An Ongoing Mirage.

Remodeling is a commonly encountered term in the field of cardiothoracic surgery that is often used to describe various pathophysiological changes in the dimension, structure, and function of various cardiac chambers, including the aorta. Stanford type A or DeBakey type 1 aortic dissection (TAAD) is a perplexing pathologic condition that can present surgical teams with the need to navigate a maze of complex decision-making. Ascending or hemi-arch replacement leaves behind a significant amount of distal diseased aortic tissue, which might have a persistent false lumen or primary or secondary intimal tears (or communications between lumina), which can lead to dilatation of the aortic arch.

Risk stratification using serum lactate in patients undergoing surgical pulmonary embolectomy.

Background: Surgical pulmonary embolectomy (SPE) has been around since the early days of cardiac surgery. But with the increase in thrombolytic and intervention options, indications of SPE have been limited. Literature suggests that risk stratification has been a key step in getting good results.

"Pulmonary slit" procedure for preventing tension on the left internal thoracic artery graft.

The gold-standard bypass graft to the left anterior descending coronary artery is the left internal thoracic artery harvested with its pedicle. At times, however, the length of the internal thoracic artery is insufficient for distal anastomosis. Different methods of lengthening the internal thoracic artery or of reducing the distance to the anastomosis site have been described, but at times even these may be inadequate.

Spindle cell lipoma of the aortic valve: a rare cardiac finding.

Introduction: A 64-year-old female presented with a 2-year history of worsening angina.

Methods: Subsequent investigations revealed aortic valve tumor. The patient had history of hypertension, coronary artery disease, atrial fibrillation, hyperlipidemia, and hyperthyroidism.

Novel strategies for recurrent cardiac myxoma.

A 21-year-old man presented with a stroke. Subsequent investigations revealed cardiac tumors in his left atrium and right ventricle. These were removed by conventional techniques.

Aortic regurgitation with ventricular septal defect in the young.

This study was carried out to assess the outcome in patients who had aortic valve replacement compared to those who underwent aortic valve repair for aortic regurgitation associated with a ventricular septal defect. Of 300 patients undergoing ventricular septal defect closure between May 1990 and December 2003, 36 (12%) had moderate to severe aortic regurgitation; 7 underwent concomitant aortic valve repair and 29 had aortic valve replacement. The mean age of these 36 patients was 17.