Update on the mitral pulmonary autograft.

Between July 1997 and August 2004, 92 patients with irreparable mitral valves underwent replacement with a pulmonary autograft. This report brings the follow-up data of these patients up to date. Eighty-eight patients had a successful Ross II operation; 4 were lost to follow-up.

Reflections on a heart surgery career with insights for Western-trained medical specialists in developing countries.

Herein, I describe my experience (spanning 40 years) in helping to develop the specialty of cardiovascular surgery in Syria. Especially in the early years, the challenges were daunting. We initially performed thoracic, vascular, and closed-heart operations while dealing with inadequate facilities, bureaucratic delays, and poorly qualified personnel.

Surgical experience with cardiac echinococcosis.

Cardiac echinococcosis is a rare affliction of the heart encountered in areas where the tapeworm Echinococcus is endemic. During the 15 years to September 2005, 19 consecutive patients (11 female; mean age, 25.6 +/- 12.

Analysis of 92 mitral pulmonary autograft replacement (Ross II) operations.

Objective: The study objective was to find a mitral valve substitute that does not require lifelong anticoagulation and is not affected by tissue degeneration in the long term.

Methods: Between July 14, 1997, and August 8, 2004, a total of 92 patients with irreparable mitral valve disease underwent mitral valve replacement with the pulmonary autograft encased within a Dacron tubing for support. In 4 patients, the autograft had to be sacrificed at the initial operation.

Ablation of atrial fibrillation using microwave energy--early experience.

Between Dec 12, 2002 and Aug 22, 2004, 84 operative patients with chronic atrial fibrillation (AF) were subjected to AF ablation with microwave energy. Of these, 49 patients were female; their ages ranged between 20 and 72 years (mean, 43.1 years).

The mitral pulmonary autograft: assessment at midterm.

Background: There is a dire need, especially in emergent societies, for a mitral substitute that does not require anticoagulation, and is not affected by early degeneration.

Methods: Between 1997 and 2003, 80 patients had successful mitral valve replacement with a pulmonary autograft. Fifty-five patients were female, and the mean age was 39.

Giant substernal goiter with chylothorax.

A 60-year-old woman presented with a huge goiter extending from the lower jaw to the diaphragm. Right pleurocentesis produced chylous fluid. A cervicothoracic incision was used to totally excise the substernal goiter, with near-total excision of the cervical goiter, and repair of the lymphatic leakage.

Left ventricular volume reduction surgery in the middle East.

Heart transplantation is not yet socially acceptable in the Middle East, and left ventricular assist facilities are not generally available in this region. Therefore, left ventricular volume reduction surgery was attempted in 41 patients with end-stage heart failure (33 males; median age, 36.3 years) in 4 Middle Eastern tertiary referral centers between February 1996 and January 2001.