Mitral valve repair with the semirigid MEMO 4D annuloplasty ring: early clinical and echocardiographic outcomes from the MANTRA study.

Objectives: Memo 4D is a semi-rigid ring with an exclusive saddle shape and progressive increased anteroposterior diameter. This preliminary analysis reports 30-day clinical and haemodynamic outcomes of the MANTRA Memo 4D sub-study.

Methods: MANTRA is an "umbrella" prospective, multicentre, worldwide post-market study to collect real-life safety and performance data on the Corcym devices.

Three-dimensional printing in modelling mitral valve interventions.

Mitral interventions remain technically challenging owing to the anatomical complexity and heterogeneity of mitral pathologies. As such, multi-disciplinary pre-procedural planning assisted by advanced cardiac imaging is pivotal to successful outcomes. Modern imaging techniques offer accurate 3D renderings of cardiac anatomy; however, users are required to derive a spatial understanding of complex mitral pathologies from a 2D projection thus generating an 'imaging gap' which limits procedural planning.

Clinical and hemodynamic outcomes of the Perceval sutureless aortic valve from a real-world registry.

Objectives: Perceval sutureless valve has been in clinical use for >15 years. The aim of this study is to report the real-word clinical and haemodynamic performance from the SURE-aortic valve replacement international prospective registry in patients who underwent aortic valve replacement with Perceval valve.

Methods: From 2011 to 2021, patients from 55 institutions received a Perceval valve.

The impact of complete versus partial preservation of the sub-valvular apparatus on left ventricular function in mitral valve replacement.

Introduction: In mitral valve replacement (MVR), sudden increases in afterload and disruption of the annular-chordal-papillary-left-ventricular wall causes left ventricular (LV) dysfunction in the early postoperative period. Preservation of the posterior mitral leaflet apparatus (MVR-P) has a favorable outcome on LV function. However, there is paucity of data on the impact of complete preservation of the sub-valvular apparatus (MVR-C).

Should more patients be offered repair for mitral valve endocarditis? a single-centre 15-year experience.

Objective: To describe the long-term outcomes of mitral valve repair (MVr) versus mitral valve replacement (MVR) in patients with native valve infective endocarditis (IE) at a centre with high-repair rates.

Methods: We conducted a retrospective single-centre cohort study. From 2005 to 2021, 183 patients with active or healed native valve IE were included.

Diagnostic value of F-FDG PET/CT in infective endocarditis.

Introduction: 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography (F-FDG-PET/CT) is not routinely recommended for the diagnosis of infective endocarditis (IE) due to the lack of clinical impact.

Materials And Methods: Between January 2016 and January 2020, clinical data from patients with a possible diagnosis of IE were reviewed retrospectively to evaluate the value of F-FDG-PET/CT in the diagnosis of IE. F-FDG PET/CT scan was performed as an additional diagnostic tool in possible IE when echocardiography was inconclusive or in patients with definite IE to identify extracardiac complications.

16S rDNA PCR for the aetiological diagnosis of culture-negative infective endocarditis.

Introduction: Culture-negative infective endocarditis (IE) accounts for 7-31% of all cases. Metagenomics has contributed to improving the aetiological diagnosis of IE patients undergoing valve surgery. We assessed the impact of 16S ribosomal DNA gene polymerase chain reaction (16S rDNA PCR) in the aetiological diagnosis of culture-negative IE.

Clinical outcomes after implantation of a sutureless aortic bioprosthesis with concomitant mitral valve surgery: the SURE-AVR registry.

Background: Early treatment of aortic valve stenosis is recommended in eligible symptomatic patients with severe aortic valve stenosis who would otherwise have a poor prognosis. The sutureless aortic valve bioprosthesis offers an alternative to standard aortic valve replacement with a sutured valve, but limited data are available in patients who have undergone multiple valve procedures involving the new, sutureless technology. We sought to investigate outcomes in high operative risk patients with previous or concomitant valve surgery who were implanted with a sutureless valve.

Aortic valve surgery in the UK, trends in activity and outcomes from a 15-year complete national series.

Objectives: Since the turn of the century, cardiac surgery has evolved quite notably. This study sought to investigate the trends in aortic valve surgery activity and subsequent outcomes in the UK by using a mandatory national cardiac surgical clinical database within the context of a comprehensive public healthcare system (National Health Service).

Methods: The UK National Adult Cardiac Surgery Audit database provided data for aortic valve surgery procedures performed between 2002 and 2016, and the data were validated and cleaned using reproducible algorithms.

Sutureless Valve in Repeated Aortic Valve Replacement: Results from an International Prospective Registry.

Objective: To report early and midterm results registry of patients undergoing repeated aortic valve replacement (RAVR) with sutureless prostheses from an international prospective registry (SURE-AVR).

Methods: Between March 2011 and June 2019, 69 patients underwent RAVR with self-expandable sutureless aortic bioprostheses at 22 international cardiac centers.

Results: Overall mortality was 2.

Minimally invasive versus conventional sternotomy for Mitral valve repair: protocol for a multicentre randomised controlled trial (UK Mini Mitral).

Introduction: Numbers of patients undergoing mitral valve repair (MVr) surgery for severe mitral regurgitation have grown and will continue to rise. MVr is routinely performed via median sternotomy; however, there is a move towards less invasive surgical approaches.There is debate within the clinical and National Health Service (NHS) commissioning community about widespread adoption of minimally invasive MVr surgery in the absence of robust research evidence; implementation requires investment in staff and infrastructure.

Acute aortic dissection type A: Impact of aortic specialists on short and long term outcomes.

Objectives: Acute aortic dissection type-A (AADA) is a life threatening condition which requires emergency surgery. Surgery is usually performed by cardiac surgeons with various levels of aortic surgical experience. We compared the short-term perioperative outcome and long-term survival of patients operated by specialist aortic surgeons (SASs)and those who were operated by surgeons without specialist expertise.

BISMICS consensus statement: implementing a safe minimally invasive mitral programme in the UK healthcare setting.

Disseminating the practice of minimally invasive mitral surgery (mini-MVS) can be challenging, despite its original case reports a few decades ago. The penetration of this technology into clinical practice has been limited to centres of excellence, and mitral surgery in most general cardiothoracic centres remains to be conducted via sternotomy access as a first line. The process for the uptake of mini-MVS requires clearer guidance and standardisation for the processes involved in its implementation.

Management of pneumothorax in mechanically ventilated COVID-19 patients: early experience.

A significant proportion of patients infected with the novel coronavirus, now termed severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), require intensive care admission and subsequent mechanical ventilation. Pneumothorax, a potential fatal complication of mechanical ventilation, can further complicate the management of COVID-19 patients, whilst chest drain insertion may increase the risk of transmission of attending staff. We present a case series and a suggested best-practice protocol for how to manage and treat pneumothoraces in COVID-19 patients in an intensive care unit setting.

Pulmonary valve papillary fibroelastoma.

We present a case of a 70-year-old woman with exertional shortness of breath. A transthoracic echocardiogram showed a large mass on the ventricular side of the pulmonary valve. The anatomy of the mass was additionally investigated with a transesophageal echocardiogram, which delineated the anatomical details of the structure.

Minimally Invasive Aortic Valve Replacement with Sutureless Valves: Results From an International Prospective Registry.

Objective: To report the early and mid-term results of patients who underwent minimally invasive aortic valve replacement (MI-AVR) with a sutureless prosthesis from an international prospective registry.

Methods: Between March 2011 and September 2018, among 957 patients included in the prospective observational SURE-AVR (Sorin Universal REgistry on Aortic Valve Replacement) registry, 480 patients underwent MI-AVR with self-expandable Perceval aortic bioprosthesis (LivaNova PLC, London, UK) in 29 international institutions through either minithoracotomy ( = 266) or ministernotomy ( = 214). Postoperative, follow-up, and echocardiographic outcomes were analyzed for all patients.

Calculated plasma volume status and outcomes in patients undergoing coronary bypass graft surgery.

Objectives: Congestion is associated with worse outcomes in critically ill surgical patients but can be difficult to quantify noninvasively. We hypothesised that plasma volume status (PVS), estimated preoperatively using a validated formula that enumerates percentage change from ideal plasma volume (PV), would provide incremental prognostic utility after coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) surgery.

Methods: In this retrospective cohort study, patients who underwent CABG surgery (1999-2010) were identified from a prospectively collected database.

Inception of the 'endocarditis team' is associated with improved survival in patients with infective endocarditis who are managed medically: findings from a before-and-after study.

Objective: Despite improvements in its management, infective endocarditis (IE) is associated with poor survival. The aim of this study was to evaluate the impact of a multidisciplinary endocarditis team (ET), including a cardiologist, microbiologist and a cardiac surgeon, on the outcome of patients with acute IE according to medical or surgical treatment strategies.

Methods: We conducted an observational before-and-after study of 196 consecutive patients with definite IE, who were treated at a tertiary reference centre between 2009 and 2015.