Comparison of a coronary bypass surgery using a combination of both on-pump beating heart and cardioplegic arrest with conventional coronary bypass surgery using cardioplegic arrest on-pump.

Objective: Antegrade cardioplegia may cause maldistribution in patients with multivessel coronary artery disease. Surgically bypassing large epicardial vessels before the cross-clamp and then administering cardioplegia from both the aortic root and the anastomosed grafts significantly prevent maldistribution and provide better cardiac protection.

Methods: This study included 80 patients, all older than 70 years with an ejection fraction between 25 and 35%.

Circumflex coronary artery revascularization at the proximal atrioventricular groove.

Proximal circumflex coronary artery in the atrioventricular groove usually has large diameters. Arterial diameters in this region vary from 2.5 to 5 mm.

Can Right Ventricular Branch Bypass Alleviate Right Ventricular Dysfunction?

Background: Right ventricle (RV) dysfunction after a coronary artery bypass grafting procedure is a challenge that adversely affects RV filling pressure and contraction. This study sought to determine whether additional bypass of an RV branch would lessen RV dysfunction.

Methods: Patients with severe right coronary artery (RCA) stenosis were divided into 2 groups.

Repair of Gerbode defect and aortic neocuspidization by using bovine pericardium in aortic valve endocarditis.

Aortic valve endocarditis may be destructive and cause an acquired Gerbode-type defect. The use of biological material in the closure of the Gerbode defect and reconstruction of the aortic valve is essential for both early and long-term survival. Herein, we present a 62-year-old male patient whose Gerbode defect was repaired with bovine pericardium.

Inflammatory Myofibroblastic Tumor Invading the Left Atrium: Report of a Rare Case.

Inflammatory myofibroblastic tumors (IMTs) of the lung are rare solid tumors and usually affect children and young adults. We describe an unusual form of an IMT of the left lower lobe invading the left atrium. A 9-year-old male patient with recurrent cough was referred for an evaluation of left-lung pneumonia.

Chronic Otitis Media Resulting in Aortic Valve Replacement: A Case Report.

The bicuspid aortic valve is known to be the most common congenital cardiac malformation, with an approximate incidence rate of 1-2% in the general population. Most patients are unaware of the disease until the onset of infective endocarditis, which is a life-threatening complication that may affect a heart valve or other cardiac structures at the site of endothelial damage. A 22-year-old man presented to our internal medicine clinic with a complaint of acute onset dyspnea and fatigue.

Is chronic obstructive pulmonary disease a risk factor for epistaxis after coronary artery bypass graft surgery?

Background: Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) has customarily been associated with increased surgical morbidity and mortality rates after coronary artery bypass graft surgery (CABG). The aim of this study was to determine whether there is a relationship between epistaxis and COPD after CABG surgery.

Methods: There were 3 443 patients who consecutively underwent isolated CABG from January 2002 to March 2012.

[Effect of bosentan on intimal hyperplasia of carotid artery anastomoses in rabbits].

Objectives: We investigated the effect of bosentan on intimal hyperplasia of carotid artery anastomoses in rabbits.

Study Design: Eighteen New Zealand male rabbits were randomized into two groups, as drug (Group B) and non-drug (Group A). The right carotid artery of all the subjects was transected and anastomosed end-to-end with 10/0 polypropylene suture.

Surgical repair of aneurysm of arteriovenous fistula in patients with chronic renal failure.

The Aim Of The Study: The aim of the study was to show the efficacy and results of aneurysm reconstruction that was developed for relieving the patients from pain and mass effects and to give an early hemodialysis option.

Material And Methods: Medical records were retrospectively screened over a period of 17 years to identify patients diagnosed with and surgically treated for aneurysm of an AV fistula. Twenty-eight patients were included in this study.

Combined approach in ventricular septal defect and adult pulmonary hypertension.

Early closure of a large ventricular septal defect before the onset of elevated pulmonary vascular resistance is important. Pulmonary hypertensive events might cause significant morbidity or mortality, even when closure is performed after infancy. Therefore, treatment of pulmonary hypertension after surgery may be the most important issue affecting the prognosis.

Minimally invasive pediatric surgery in uncomplicated congenital heart disease.

Background: We aimed to highlight the use of a minimally invasive approach in uncomplicated congenital heart surgery.

Patients And Methods: We investigated retrospectively 32 children below 10 years of age who underwent elective closure of ostium secundum type (n = 27), sinus venosus type (n = 4) and ostium primum type (n = 1) atrial septal defects through a limited skin incision and partial lower sternotomy between August 2001 and December 2008. All patients had cannulation through the same incision for cardiopulmonary bypass.

Taurine attenuates lung ischemia-reperfusion injury after lung transplantation in rats.

Purpose: Taurine, the major intracellular free amino acid found in high concentrations in mammalian cells, is known to be an endogenous antioxidant and a membrane-stabilizing agent. It was hypothesized that taurine may be effective in reducing ischemia-reperfusion injury after lung transplantation and an experimental study was conducted in a rat model.

Methods: The number of Sprague-Dawley rats used in the study was 35.

Carotid intima-media thickness in patients with slow coronary flow and its association with neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio: a preliminary report.

Background: The slow coronary flow (SCF) is characterized by angiographically normal or near-normal coronary arteries with delayed progression of the contrast agent into distal vasculature. We aimed to investigate neutrophil-to-lymphocyte (N/L) ratio and the carotid intima-media thickness (CIMT) value in patients with SCF compared to patients with newly diagnosed coronary artery disease (CAD) and normal patients.

Materials And Methods: We enrolled 60 consecutive patients with SCF, 68 patients with CAD, and 72 normal patients.