Left ventricular mass regression after aortic valve replacement with CryoLife-O'Brien stentless aortic bioprosthesis.

Background And Aim Of The Study: Left ventricular (LV) hypertrophy has been shown adversely to affect LV function and late outcome after aortic valve replacement (AVR). The study aim was to assess the time course of LV mass regression (LVMR) after AVR with a CryoLife-O'Brien stentless bioprosthesis, and to identify factors affecting late reduction of myocardial hypertrophy.

Methods: In total, 113 patients (60 males, 73 females; mean age 70.

Time course of left ventricular remodeling after stentless aortic valve replacement.

Background: Stentless aortic valves are associated with a significant decrease in left ventricular hypertrophy. This study examined the time course and factors affecting left ventricular mass regression (LVMR) after aortic valve replacement (AVR) with Cryolife O'Brien (CLOB) (Cryolife International, Atlanta, Ga) stentless valves.

Methods: Between 1993 and 2000, 130 consecutive patients underwent AVR with CLOB.

The A-Med right heart support for off-pump coronary artery bypass grafting.

Background: Off-pump coronary artery bypass grafting (OPCAB) presents several advantages but, mainly due to the impaired diastolic filling of the right ventricle, the displacement of the heart can cause hemodynamic instability. The aim of this study was to investigate the possible role of the A-Med right heart support during OPCAB.

Methods: We report our early experience with the A-Med system (A-Med, West Sacramento, CA, USA) during OPCAB.

HBV and HCV infections in heart transplant recipients.

Background: Heart transplant (HTx) recipients risk acquiring hepatotropic viral infections such as hepatitis B virus (HBV) and hepatitis C virus (HCV), and the impact of these infections on post-HTx survival remains unclear. The aim of the present study was to define the prevalence, clinical features, and natural history of HBV and HCV infections in a cohort of HTx recipients.

Methods: We retrospectively studied 360 consecutive patients who had undergone HTx.

Coronary artery bypass grafting in patients with dialysis-dependent renal failure: ten-year results.

Background: Coronary artery disease has been reported to be accelerated in patients with chronic renal failure on maintenance dialysis. Coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) in patients on long-term dialysis is still a debated issue.

Methods: We retrospectively reviewed 19 patients (12 men, 7 women, mean age 64 +/- 11.

Early and midterm results of model 300 CryoLife O'Brien stentless porcine aortic bioprosthesis.

Background: The Cryolife O'Brien (CLOB) is a composite stentless bioprosthesis constructed from noncoronary leaflets of three porcine aortic valves. This study aimed to investigate early and midterm results after aortic valve replacement with CLOB xenograft.

Methods: Between 1993 and 2000, the CLOB was implanted in 125 patients (62 men; mean age 71.

Aortic repair in Marfan's syndrome: prevention of mechanical leaflets damage.

Aortic incompetence in Marfan's syndrome results from distortion or dilatation of the sinuses of Valsalva, annuloaortic ectasia or a combination of these problems. Valve leaflets in these patients are macroscopically normal in spite of aortic insufficiency. Replacement of the ascending aorta, root and aortic valve with a composite graft was, for a long time, the treatment of choice for Marfan patients.

Autotransplantation procedure for giant left atrium repair.

Background: Giant left atrium has been associated with bronchopulmonary and left ventricular compression [Kawazoe 1983].

Case Report: We present a patient with severe congestive heart failure (CHF), respiratory insufficiency and a giant left atrium (GLA) following two previous mitral valve procedures and tricuspid valve annuloplasty in the distant past. Mitral prosthetic function and ventricular systolic function were felt to be normal leading to a tentative diagnosis of diastolic restriction from left ventricular compression and pericardial constriction.

The CryoLife O'Brien stentless porcine aortic bioprosthesis: 5-year follow-up.

Background: Mortality, morbidity, complication rates, and echo hemodynamic results using the Cryolife O'Brien stentless aortic bioprosthesis over a 5-year period are reported.

Methods: The stentless valve was implanted in 97 conscecutive patients, 54 male and 43 female, mean age 70.9 +/- 6.

Clinical and hemodynamic evaluation of 21 mm and 23 mm Cryolife-O'Brien stentless bioprostheses implanted in the aortic position.

Background: The aim of this study was to investigate early and mid-term results after aortic valve replacement with Cryolife-O'Brien stentless bioprosthesis, model 300.

Methods: Records of 59 patients who received a 21 or 23 mm (Group A) aortic Cryolife-O'Brien stentless valve were retrospectively reviewed and compared to 54 patients who received a valve > or = 25 mm (Group B). Group A patients were mainly female (p < 0.

Cyclosporin-induced endothelial dysfunction and hypertension: are nitric oxide system abnormality and oxidative stress involved?

Hypertension is a major side effect of cyclosporin (CsA). While the mechanism(s) responsible are unclear, CsA-induced endothelial dysfunction and CsA-induced hypertension have been attributed to the CsA effect on the endothelial-derived factors controlling vasomotor tone. Endothelial nitric oxide (NO) is crucial in the maintenance of a state of basal vasodilation, and recent studies have suggested an NO-mediated counterregulatory mechanism protective from CsA-induced vasoconstriction.

Lymphoproliferative disorders in heart transplant recipients: role of hepatitis C virus (HCV) and Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) infection.

Post-transplant lymphoproliferative disorders (PTLD) are a well known complication after orthotopic heart transplantation (OHT). Although Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) infection has long been implicated in the pathogenesis of such disorders, other factors may play a part. Because of its lymphotropic properties, hepatitis C virus (HCV) may induce clonal expansion of B-lymphocytes and lead to PTLD.

Angiographic presentation of coronary artery spasm in heart transplant recipients.

We describe the angiographic characteristics of coronary artery spasm observed in 12 out of 247 (4.9%) patients who underwent 808 coronary angiographies after heart transplantation. Coronary artery spasm was diagnosed when localized and reversible narrowing of the coronary lumen was identified.

Discordance between pre and post cardiac transplant diagnosis: implications for pre- and postoperative decision making.

A correct clinical diagnosis in end-stage patients undergoing cardiac transplantation may have important prognostic and therapeutic implications. A retrospective clinico-pathologic study was carried out in 257 patients who had undergone cardiac transplantation at the University of Padua. A discrepancy between clinical and pathological diagnosis was found in 20 cases (8%).

Skin cancer in heart transplant recipients: frequency and risk factor analysis.

Background: The frequency of skin cancer is increased among organ transplant recipients, but the predisposing risk factors are controversial. It is also unclear whether heart transplant patients face an increased risk compared to recipients of other organs, e.g.

Histologic findings in the conduction system after cardiac transplantation and correlation with electrocardiographic findings.

The study of the sinus node and the specialized atrioventricular junction by serial sections in cardiac transplantation revealed that acute rejection involving the conduction system was equally severe as the working myocardium, with the exception of the His bundle. During acute rejection, the sudden appearance of a first-degree atrioventricular block may suggest severe involvement of the conduction system with impending cardiac arrest.

Enteroviral genome in native hearts may influence outcome of patients who undergo cardiac transplantation.

The Enterovirus may be the most common agent responsible for viral myocarditis and cardiomyopathy. Very little of the literature is available concerning the follow-up of patients who underwent transplantation with enteroviral positivity in native hearts. In the present study, 45 explanted hearts from patients who underwent orthotopic heart transplant at University of Padova were studied by reverse transcriptase (RT)-polymerase chain reaction (PCR): 27 patients had dilated cardiomyopathy (DC), 12 had ischemic cardiopathy (IC), 2 had valvular disease (VD), 2 had arrhythmogenic right ventricular cardiomyopathy (ARVC), 1 had giant cell myocarditis (GCM), and 1 had lymphocytic myocarditis (LM).

Multicenter study on hepatitis C virus infection in patients with dilated cardiomyopathy. North Italy Transplant Program (NITP).

Preliminary epidemiological and histological studies from Japan suggested that hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection has a role in the development of dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM). This multicenter study was conducted to verify this hypothesis on a large cohort of Italian patients with end-stage heart failure. Antibodies to HCV were determined in the 752 consecutive patients (608 males and 144 females; age, 53 +/- 13 years) who entered the waiting list for cardiac transplantation from 1995 to 1997 at the six cardiac surgery centers participating in the North Italy Transplant program.

Cardiac transplantation in a Duchenne muscular dystrophy carrier.

We report here for the first time the case of a symptomatic DMD carrier, who had a heart transplant for a severe dilated cardiomyopathy. Dystrophin immunohistochemistry, western blot and analysis of X-chromosome inactivation on leucocytes, and skeletal and cardiac muscle biopsies on the explanted heart were performed. The patient was a heterozygote for exons 50-52 deletion in the dystrophin gene.

Photopheresis for the prevention of rejection in cardiac transplantation. Photopheresis Transplantation Study Group.

Background: Photopheresis is an immunoregulatory technique in which lymphocytes are reinfused after exposure to a photoactive compound (methoxsalen) and ultraviolet A light. We performed a preliminary study to assess the safety and efficacy of photopheresis in the prevention of acute rejection of cardiac allografts.

Methods: A total of 60 consecutive eligible recipients of primary cardiac transplants were randomly assigned to standard triple-drug immunosuppressive therapy (cyclosporine, azathioprine, and prednisone) alone or in conjunction with photopheresis.

HIV infection in the first heart transplantation in Italy: fatal outcome. Case report.

A 46-year-old man with alcoholic dilated cardiomyopathy underwent heart transplantation on November 14, 1985. It was the first cardiac transplant in Italy and at that time no HIV antibody screening test was available in this country. The patient remained in good health for 6 years postoperatively, with only one episode of rejection (type 3A).