Neonatal management of aortic coarctation with ventricular septal defect: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

Introduction: Neonatal management of aortic coarctation with ventricular septal defect is still under debate between the one-stage full repair by sternotomy versus the staged repair of the coarctation first by thoracotomy (with or without banding the pulmonary artery) followed later by subsequent closure of the ventricular septal defect.

Evidence Acquisition: The aim of this review was to synthesize the evidence in literature since 1980 for the neonatal population. A meta-analysis compared mortality between the two strategies.

The modified Fontan procedure with use of extracardiac conduit in adults: analysis of 32 consecutive patients.

Background: Uncommonly, adults with functionally univentricular hearts are becoming candidates for a Fontan procedure. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the course of patients undergoing the modified Fontan procedure with an extracardiac conduit in recent years.

Methods: Between January 2003 and December 2013, 32 adult patients (17 female and 15 male) underwent total cavopulmonary connection (TCPC) with extracardiac conduit.

To spare or not to spare…? The aortic valve in scleroderma and aortic root aneurysm.

Acute valve-sparing procedures are effective in the treatment of aortic root dilation when there is no valve pathology. In this review, we discuss the role of aortic valve-sparing procedures in the presence of connective tissue disorders such as scleroderma.