Trifecta and Carpentier Edwards aortic bioprostheses: Comparison of six years follow-up outcomes.

Background: To compare mid-term clinical outcomes and hemodynamic performance of the stented pericardial Trifecta bioprosthesis for surgical aortic valve replacement (AVR) with a technically comparable commonly used surgical bioprosthesis.

Methods: Data from consecutive patients implanted with the TF or the Carpentier Edwards Magna Ease valve were retrospectively analyzed. Primary analysis was performed on a propensity score-matched cohort.

Hemodynamic oxygenator exchange-related effects during veno-venous extracorporeal membrane oxygenation for the treatment of acute SARS-CoV-2 respiratory distress syndrome.

Few patients with coronavirus disease 2019-associated severe acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) require veno-venous extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (VV-ECMO). Prolonged VV-ECMO support necessitates repeated oxygenator replacement, increasing the risk for complications. Transient hypoxemia, induced by VV-ECMO stop needed for this procedure, may induce transient myocardial ischemia and acutely declining cardiac output in critically ill patients without residual pulmonary function.

Usefulness of postoperative high-sensitive troponin T measurement and implications for defining type 5 infarction.

Background And Aim Of The Study: Guidelines indicate for type 5 myocardial infarction (MI) that postoperative troponin need not be exclusively ischemic but may also be caused by epicardial injury. Complexity arises from the introduction of high-sensitive troponin. This study attempts to contribute to the understanding of postoperative high-sensitive cardiac troponin T (hs-cTnT) increase.

Case Report: Are We Witnessing an Increase of Chronic Ascending Aortic Dissection as a Collateral Effect to the COVID-19 Pandemic?

The COVID-19 (coronavirus disease 2019) pandemic is reducing health care accessibility to non-life-threatening diseases, thus hiding their real incidence. Moreover, the incidence of potentially fatal conditions such as acute type A aortic dissection seems to have decreased since the pandemic began, whereas the number of cases of chronic ascending aortic dissections dramatically increased. We present two patients whose management has been affected by the exceptional sanitary situation we are dealing with.

Cardiac arrest and COVID-19: inflammation, angiotensin-converting enzyme 2, and the destabilization of non-significant coronary artery disease-a case report.

Background: The new β-coronavirus severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) appears to exhibit cardiovascular pathogenicity through use of angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) for cell entry and the development of a major systemic inflammation. Furthermore, cardiovascular comorbidities increase susceptibility to SARS-CoV-2 infection and the development of a severe form of COronaVIrus Disease 2019 (COVID-19).

Case Summary: We describe the case of a COVID-19 patient whose inaugural presentation was a refractory cardiac arrest secondary to the destabilization of known, non-significant coronary artery disease.

Early results of the Resilia Inspiris aortic valve in the old age patients - a retrospective comparison with the Carpentier Edwards Magna Ease.

The Inspiris Resilia aortic valve® (INSPIRIS) is a pericardial bio-prosthesis with a new sterilization procedure that shows promising results in terms of reduced calcification. The 30-day mortality and morbidity were analyzed, comparing the INSPIRIS implanted between May 2017 and the end of January 2019, with its "predecessor", the Carpentier-Edwards Perimound Magna Ease (ME). Echocardiography was performed one-week after surgery.

First Results of the Single Heartstring Aortotomy for Multiple Off-Pump Vein Grafts: A Case Series.

To validate the technique of the single Heartstring aortotomy for multiple off-pump venous bypass grafts (described in 2015), the results of a 38-month follow-up study of 18 patients, including high-risk patients, are presented. No early deaths or cardiac or cerebral complications occurred. During the follow-up period, 2 patients died of non-cardiac causes, and 3 developed coronary ischemia.

Type A aortic dissection in aneurysms having modelled pre-dissection maximum diameter below 45 mm: should we implement current guidelines to improve the survival benefit of prophylactic surgery?

Objectives: Current guidelines recommend prophylactic replacement of the ascending aorta at an aneurysmal diameter of >55 mm to prevent acute Type A aortic dissection (TAAD) in non-Marfan patients. Several publications have challenged this threshold, suggesting that surgery should be performed in smaller aneurysms to prevent this devastating disease. We reviewed our experience with measuring aortic size at the time of TAAD to validate the existing recommendation for prophylactic ascending aorta replacement.

Heart procurement in a multi-organ donor.

The first orthotopic heart transplant was performed in 1967. Following on from this achievement, the first major evolution in heart transplantation was the transition from biatrial anastomosis to separate caval anastomoses, in 1991. Various strategies for myocardial protection have been used for this.

Blood flow assessment by transit time flow measurement and its prognostic impact in coronary bypass surgery.

Background: The competitive coronary flow is influenced by the severity of the stenosis and may affect graft patency. Transit time flow measurement (TTFM) enables intraoperative graft evaluation and cardiac magnetic resonance (MRI) allows for graft evaluation during follow-up.

Methods: Competitive flow and target vessel diameters were determined in 35 patients undergoing off-pump coronary bypass graft surgery (CABG) and correlated to TTFM.

Traumatic brachiocephalic trunk dissection of a bovine arch.

Aortic dissections after deceleration traumas are mainly located in the region of the proximal descending thoracic aorta. Less common are brachiocephalic trunk ruptures, which are not automatically amenable to an endovascular treatment. We present a poly-traumatized patient with an intimal tear at the origin of the brachiocephalic tunk with intramural haematoma extension to the ascending aorta.

Total Endovascular Repair of Post-Trauma Ascending Aortic Pseudoaneurysm and Secondary Superior Vena Cava Syndrome.

Background: Clavicular fracture or sternoclavicular luxation is observed in 10% of all polytrauma patients and is frequently associated with concomitant intrathoracic life-threatening injuries. Posterior sternoclavicular luxation is well known to induce underlying great vessels damage. The gold standard treatment usually is a combined orthopedic and cardiovascular surgical procedure associating vascular repair, clavicular open reduction, and internal fixation.

Sternotomy wound healing disorders due to neoplasia: a diagnostic challenge.

Localized neoplastic infiltration of the post-sternotomy scar is a rare late healing disorder. We present 2 patients admitted with the suspicion of chronic osteomyelitis, 1 and 5 years after cardiac surgery. Microbiological analyses were negative.

18-Fluorodeoxyglucose Positron Emission Tomography-Computed Tomography to Guide Aortic Arch Replacement in Relapsing Polychondritis.

Relapsing polychondritis (RP) is a rare progressive autoimmune disease. The cardiovascular system is rarely involved. The authors report the case of a young woman with RP aortic arch aneurysm and symptomatic cerebral vessels stenosis.

Acute peri-operative coronary subclavian steal syndrome: A diagnostic and treatment challenge.

The coronary subclavian steal syndrome (CSSS) generally occurs during follow up after coronary surgery. The case demonstrates an immediate peri-operative CSSS followed by myocardial infarction, notwithstanding a preoperative computed tomography scan quantifying subclavian artery calcifications as non-stenosing, and a subjective patent blood flow through the transected left internal mammary artery (LIMA). Blood flow inversion in the LIMA to anterior descending artery (LAD) bypass was detected by transit time flow measurement (TTFM).

Sarcoma of the heart: survival after surgery.

Objectives: Malignant intracardiac tumours are rare, and consensus concerning the optimal therapeutic approach is lacking. We performed a retrospective medical analysis, identifying 9 patients having been operated for cardiac sarcomas. All of them had a complete postoperative long-term follow-up.

Low pacemaker incidence with continuous-sutured valves: a retrospective analysis.

Background Permanent pacemaker implantation after surgical aortic valve replacement depends on patient selection and risk factors for conduction disorders. We aimed to identify risk criteria and obtain a selected group comparable to patients assigned to transcatheter aortic valve implantation. Methods Isolated sutured aortic valve replacements in 994 patients treated from 2007 to 2015 were reviewed.

Spontaneous Regression of a Large Iatrogenic Dissection of the Ascending Aorta.

A 74-year-old woman was admitted for right coronary angioplasty. During the procedure, she complained about chest pain, and contrast injection showed an iatrogenic dissection of the ascending aorta. A contrast computed tomography (CT) scan confirmed the diagnosis via visualization of a large non-circulating false lumen, which involved nearly the entire ascending aorta.

Techniques and standards in intraoperative graft verification by transit time flow measurement after coronary artery bypass graft surgery: a critical review.

Transit time flow measurement (TTFM) is a quality control tool for intraoperative graft evaluation in coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) surgery. A critical review of the literature available using TTFM in CABG surgery is the focus of this article. The main objectives will be to detail precise parameters for flow evaluation, to show limitations of TTFM and to prove its predictive impact on postoperative graft failure rate.

Double-stage venous cannulation combined with Avalon® cannula for potential prolongation of respiratory ECMO in end-stage pulmonary disease.

Veno-venous extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (VV-ECMO) is a treatment option to correct blood oxygenation in cases of severe respiratory failure. However, it is time-limited and, in cases of no- recovery, it is a bridge-to-lung transplant therapy. We report our experience of two patients waiting for emergency lung transplantation under VV-ECMO using the Avalon® cannula.

Successful Surgical Pulmonary Embolectomy for Massive Perinatal Embolism after Emergency Cesarean Section.

Pregnant women are exposed to an increased risk for developing pulmonary embolism (PE), a main cause for maternal mortality. Surgical pulmonary embolectomy is one important therapeutic and potential life-saving armamentarium, considering pregnancy as a relative contraindication for thrombolysis. We present a case of a 36-year-old woman with massive bilateral PE after emergent caesarean delivery, requiring reanimation by external heart massage.

Survival after surgical drainage of malignant pericardial effusion.

Objectives: Management of malignant pericardial effusion (PE) is complex. Cardiac surgeons are not necessarily familiar with or are challenged by the many underlying etiologies. Analyzing risk factors for mortality may help to estimate the benefit of surgery in high-risk patients.

Percutaneous coronary interventions prior to coronary artery bypass surgery.

Background And Aim Of The Study: Percutaneous coronary interventions (PCI) are frequently performed before coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) surgery. This study sought to evaluate postoperative outcomes, and incidence of recurrent target ischemia in vessels with prior PCI in patients who had PCI prior to CABG compared to only CABG patients.

Methods: A review included CABG patients operated from 2000 to 2012.