Expanded Petticoat technique to promote the reduction of contrasted false lumen volume in patients with chronic type B aortic dissection.

Objective: This study examined the outcomes of our novel concept of expanded provisional extension to induce complete attachment strategy (Petticoat) for safety, durability, and remodeling of chronic type B dissections.

Methods: Twenty patients with chronic type B aortic dissection with aneurysmal degeneration qualified for an expanded Petticoat strategy (stent graft in the thoracic, plus additional distal bare stent into the abdominal and infrarenal aorta, followed by parallel stent grafts into common iliac arteries). Computed tomography was performed preoperatively and at 1, 6, and 12 months after surgery.

Complications in cardiac surgery: An analysis of factors contributing to sternal dehiscence in patients who underwent surgery between 2010 and 2014 and a comparison with the 1990-2009 cohort.

Background: Sternal dehiscence is a serious postoperative complication of cardiac surgery observed in 0.2-5% of procedures performed by median sternotomy.

Objectives: Assessment of factors, including the method of sternum closure, which may affect the incidence of this complication.

The Efficacy of Inpatient vs. Home-Based Physiotherapy Following Coronary Artery Bypass Grafting.

: Intensive post-operative physiotherapy after cardiac surgery helps to reduce the number of complications, accelerating convalescence and decreasing peri-operative mortality. Cardiac rehabilitation is aimed at regaining lost function and sustaining the effect of cardiac surgery. The aim of this study was to compare the efficacy of inpatient and home-based phase II physiotherapy following coronary artery bypass grafting, and inpatient phase II post-operative physiotherapy based on the analysis of the spirometry results.

The influence of carbon dioxide field flooding in mitral valve operations with cardiopulmonary bypass on S100ß level in blood plasma in the aging brain.

Introduction: The risk of air microembolism during cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB) is high and influences the postoperative outcome, especially in elderly patients. The use of carbon dioxide (CO) atmosphere during cardiac surgery may reduce the risk of cerebral air microembolism. The aim of our study was to assess the influence of CO field flooding on microembolism-induced brain damage assessed by the level of S100ß protein, regarded as a marker of brain damage.

The association between blood pressure and long-term outcomes of patients with ischaemic cardiomyopathy with and without surgical revascularization: an analysis of the STICH trial.

Aims: Hypertension (HTN) is a well-known contributor to cardiovascular disease, including heart failure (HF) and coronary artery disease, and is the leading risk factor for premature death world-wide. A J- or U-shaped relationship has been suggested between blood pressure (BP) and clinical outcomes in different studies. However, there is little information about the significance of BP on the outcomes of patients with coronary artery disease and left ventricular dysfunction.

Postponed surgery of an acute aortic dissection (type A) in a Jehovah's Witness with significant hemostatic disorders.

In this case report, we present the treatment of an acute type A aortic dissection in a Jehovah's Witness patient. In accordance with the will of the patient, blood products were not used. Additionally, the patient had significant hemostatic disorders due to the use of antiplatelet drugs.

The Use of Vacuum-Assisted Closure in Purulent Complications and Difficult-To-Heal Wounds in Cardiac Surgery.

Background: Sternal wound infections are a serious and potentially fatal complication of cardiac surgery.

Objectives: The aim of the study was to analyze the results of using the vacuum-assisted closure (VAC) system over a 4-year period.

Material And Methods: Quantitative VAC performance data from a retrospective review of a consecutive cohort of 47 patients treated with VAC for post-cardiac surgery wound complications were collected and statistically analyzed.

Thoracic aorta aneurysm successfully operated on during pregnancy.

We present the case of an asymptomatic 26-year-old female patient with a huge thoracic aneurysm discovered at a routine echo screening. The patient had previously been operated on for coarctation of the aorta in childhood and also had diagnosed bicuspid aortic valve. The operation was carried out in extracorporeal circulation at the 22(nd) week of gestation without any complications.

Comparison of Transesophageal and Transthoracic Echocardiographic Measurements of Mechanism and Severity of Mitral Regurgitation in Ischemic Cardiomyopathy (from the Surgical Treatment of Ischemic Heart Failure Trial).

Mitral regurgitation (MR) is common in ischemic heart disease and contributes to symptoms and mortality. This report compares the results of baseline transesophageal echocardiography (TEE) and transthoracic echocardiography (TTE) imaging of the mechanism and severity of functional MR in patients with ischemic cardiomyopathy in the Surgical Treatment for Ischemic Heart Failure (STICH) trial. Independent core laboratories measured both TTE and TEE images on 196 STICH participants.

[Complications of cardiac surgery: sternal dehiscence after median sternotomy. Analysis of 14,171 cases operated on in years 1990–2009].

Introduction: Dehiscence of the sternum is one of the most serious complications following cardiac surgery. It occurs after 0.2–5% of interventions with sternotomy access.

Mechanisms of functional mitral regurgitation in ischemic cardiomyopathy determined by transesophageal echocardiography (from the Surgical Treatment for Ischemic Heart Failure Trial).

The mechanisms underlying functional mitral regurgitation (MR) and the relation between mechanism and severity of MR have not been evaluated in a large, multicenter, randomized controlled trial. Transesophageal echocardiography (TEE) was performed in 215 patients at 17 centers in the Surgical Treatment for Ischemic Heart Failure (STICH) trial. Both 2-dimensional (n = 215) and 3-dimensional (n = 81) TEEs were used to assess multiple quantitative measurements of the mechanism and severity of MR.

The Gerbode defect - a frequent echocardiographic pitfall.

We present a case of Gerbode type defect (left ventricular to right atrial communication) discovered in a 52 year-old man with atrial and ventricular septal defects. The patient was diagnosed using two-dimensional colour Doppler and transoesophageal echocardiography. We describe the echocardiographic features and review the anatomical consequences of such defects.

Influence of mitral regurgitation repair on survival in the surgical treatment for ischemic heart failure trial.

Background: Whether mitral valve repair during coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) improves survival in patients with ischemic mitral regurgitation (MR) remains unknown.

Methods And Results: Patients with ejection fraction ≤35% and coronary artery disease amenable to CABG were randomized at 99 sites worldwide to medical therapy with or without CABG. The decision to treat the mitral valve during CABG was left to the surgeon.

Evaluation of the level of antibodies against Chlamydophila (Chlamydia) pneumoniae in post-surgery heart ischaemia patients and their clinical conditions - a six-year study.

Introduction: Inflammatory conditions modulated by Chlamydophila (Chlamydia) pneumoniae are considered to play an important role in the onset of atherosclerosis. In this paper we present the results of progressive observation of C. pneumoniae antibody titres in patients who underwent coronary artery bypass graft (CABG).

[Cardiovascular abnormalities in systemic lupus erythematosus patients in echocardiographic assessment].

Unlabelled: Cardiovascular system involvement is the third most common reason of death in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). The aim of this study was to assess the cardiac involvement in the SLE patients with a regard to clinical, serological and environmental risk factors.

Material And Methods: 103 patients were included into the study, 91 women and 12 men, aged 16-74 yrs, the control group included 25 subjects.

Effect of quercetin on experimental hyperlipidemia and atherosclerosis in rabbits.

Cardiovascular disease is currently the leading cause of death in the West, and a search for factors limiting its occurrence is ongoing. Accumulated data indicate that quercetin, the major flavonol in the plant kingdom, may possess beneficial effects in atherosclerosis. The present study aimed at determination of effects of quercetin on hyperlipidemia and development of atherosclerotic lesions in two animal models, i.

[Use of minimally invasive direct coronary bypass (MIDCAB) in reoperative coronary surgery].

The authors presented the method and early results of minimally invasive direct coronary arteries reoperation in 5 patients, approximately 7, 5 years after the first CABG operation. In all patients venous grafts were occluded. there was a different approach used in every patient: small left or right anterior thoracotomy through IV or V intercostal space, laparotomy with partial low sternotomy or simultaneous combined approach through thoracotomy and sternotomy/laparotomy.