Persistence of Reduced Left Ventricular Function after Aortic Valve Surgery for Aortic Valve Regurgitation: Bicuspid versus Tricuspid.

Objective:  Long-term prognosis of patients with aortic regurgitation (AR) and reduced left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) who undergo aortic valve surgery (AVS) is unknown. Due to the congenital origin, bicuspid aortic valve (BAV) morphotype might be associated with a more severe cardiomyopathy. We aimed to evaluate the LVEF recovery after aortic valve replacement (AVR) surgery in patients with AR and reduced preoperative LVEF.

The Italian Pain Questionnaire.

In order to overcome the cross-cultural semantic barriers related to the literal translation of the McGill Pain Questionnaire (MPQ) in non-English speaking areas, an Italian Pain Questionnaire (IPQ) has been developed, based on the 3 factorial structures proposed by Melzack and Torgerson: sensory, affective and evaluative. A group of 30 normal subjects (15 doctors and 15 university students) was used to define 5 anchor words of the intensity verbal scale by means of a visual analogue scale, and a 5-point Present Pain Intensity (PPI) verbal scale was derived. For the semantic key, a first group of 80 subjects (30 university students and patients, respectively, and 20 doctors) was asked to sort out appropriate pain descriptors from 203 pain-related words with the help of clinical literature and Italian dictionaries.

[Leg oedema after surgery of varicose veins (author's transl)].

Following surgery of varicose veins by stripping we observed leg oedema due to iatrogenic damage of lymphatic vessels. In cases of preexisting swelling of the leg in combination with varicose veins the authors recommend preoperative lymphography. After vein stripping compression therapy for 3 to 6 weeks should be obligatory.