The Aberrant Coronary Artery - The Management Approach.

Background: An aberrant coronary artery is a rare clinical occurrence with an incidence of 0.05-1.2%.

Mitral valve surgery and coronary artery bypass grafting for moderate-to-severe ischemic mitral regurgitation: Meta-analysis of clinical and echocardiographic outcomes.

Objective: This meta-analysis was conducted to compare clinical and echocardiographic outcomes following isolated coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) versus CABG and mitral valve (MV) surgery in patients with moderate-to-severe ischemic mitral regurgitation (IMR).

Methods: Seven databases were systematically searched to identify relevant studies. For eligibility, studies were required to report on the primary endpoint of perioperative or late mortality.

A systematic review on robotic coronary artery bypass graft surgery.

Background: Robotic-assisted coronary artery bypass graft surgery (CABG) has been performed over the past decade. Despite encouraging results from selected centres, there is a paucity of robust clinical data to establish its clinical safety and efficacy. The present systematic review aimed to identify all relevant clinical data on robotic CABG.

Surgical left atrial appendage occlusion during cardiac surgery for patients with atrial fibrillation: a meta-analysis.

Objectives: Concomitant left atrial appendage occlusion (LAAO) during surgical ablation has emerged as a potential treatment strategy to reduce stroke and perioperative mortality in patients with atrial fibrillation (AF). The present meta-analysis aims to assess current evidence on the efficacy and safety between LAAO and LAA preservation cohorts for patients undergoing cardiac surgery.

Methods: Electronic searches were performed using six electronic databases from their inception to November 2013, identifying all relevant comparative randomized and observational studies comparing LAAO with non-LAAO in AF patients undergoing cardiac surgery.

A meta-analysis of MitraClip system versus surgery for treatment of severe mitral regurgitation.

Background: Mitral regurgitation (MR) is the second most common valvular heart disease after aortic stenosis. Without intervention, prognosis is poor in patients with severe symptomatic MR. While surgical repair is recommended for many patients with severe degenerative MR (DMR), as many as 49% of patients do not qualify as they are at high surgical risk.

A systematic review on the safety and efficacy of percutaneous edge-to-edge mitral valve repair with the MitraClip system for high surgical risk candidates.

Background: MitraClip implantation has emerged as a viable option in high surgical risk patients with severe mitral regurgitation (MR). We performed the present systematic review to assess the safety and efficacy of the MitraClip system for high surgical risk candidates with severe organic and/or functional MR.

Methods: Six electronic databases were searched for original published studies from January 2000 to March 2013.

Angiographic outcomes of radial artery versus saphenous vein in coronary artery bypass graft surgery: a meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials.

Introduction: The efficacy of coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) surgery for patients with ischemic heart disease is dependent on the patency of the selected conduit. The left internal thoracic artery is considered to be the best conduit for CABG. However, the preferred conduit between the radial artery (RA) and saphenous vein (SV) remains controversial.

Percutaneous atrial appendage occlusion for stroke prevention in patients with atrial fibrillation: a systematic review.

This review aims to evaluate systematically the safety and efficacy of percutaneous left atrial appendage occlusion (PLAAO) in stroke prevention for patients with atrial fibrillation (AF). A systematic review of peer-reviewed journals on PLAAO before June 2011 was performed on three electronic databases. Fourteen studies were identified for evaluation.

A pharmacological review on intraperitoneal chemotherapy for peritoneal malignancy.

Perioperative intraperitoneal chemotherapy in combination with cytoreductive surgery has been shown to be of benefit for treating selected patients with peritoneal surface malignancy. It has become a new standard of care in the management of diffuse malignant peritoneal mesothelioma and peritoneal dissemination of appendiceal malignancy. Numerous recent publications on carcinomatosis from colorectal cancer and gastric cancer identify groups of patients that would benefit from this local-regional approach for prevention and treatment of carcinomatosis.

Malignant peritoneal mesothelioma.

Malignant mesothelioma is a highly aggressive neoplasm. The incidence of malignant mesothelioma is increasing worldwide. Diffuse malignant peritoneal mesothelioma (DMPM) represents one-fourth of all mesotheliomas.

True video-assisted thoracic surgery for early-stage non-small cell lung cancer.

Since its inception, minimally invasive surgery has made a dramatic impact on all branches of surgery. Video-assisted thoracic surgery (VATS) lobectomy for early-stage non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) was first described in the early 1990s and has since become popular in a number of tertiary referral centers. Proponents of this relatively new procedure cite a number of potentially favorable perioperative outcomes, possibly due to reduced surgical trauma and stress.