Giant posterolateral left ventricular aneurysm diagnosed 6 weeks after incomplete surgical revascularization.

We report the surgical repair of a true left ventricular aneurysm diagnosed 6 weeks after incomplete surgical revascularization.

Thrombotic gene polymorphisms and postoperative outcome after coronary artery bypass graft surgery.

Background: Emerging perioperative genomics may influence the direction of risk assessment and surgical strategies in cardiac surgery. The aim of this study was to investigate whether single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNP) affect the clinical presentation and predispose to increased risk for postoperative adverse events in patients undergoing coronary artery bypass grafting surgery (CABG).

Methods: A total of 220 patients undergoing first-time CABG between January 2005 and May 2008 were screened for factor V gene G1691A (FVL), prothrombin/factor II G20210A (PT G20210A), angiotensin I-converting enzyme insertion/deletion (ACE-ins/del) polymorphisms by PCR and Real Time PCR.

A rare complication of radial artery catheterization.

An arterial pseudoaneurysm is a cavity which does not consist of three layers of arterial wall and is generally seen at femoral and radial artery sites due to bone fractures, arterial injuries and iatrogenic reasons such as catheterization. The treatment choice may be either surgical or conservative. Patients with pseudoaneurysm should be carefully followed and the treatment choice should be immediately decided to avoid possible complications.

[Clinical outcome and factors affecting surgical decision for repair versus replacement in patients with mitral regurgitation].

Objective: We aimed to identify characteristics differentiating patients undergoing mitral valve replacement versus valve repair for mitral regurgitation (MR) and to investigate retrospectively mid-term clinical and functional outcomes.

Methods: From January, 2004 to January, 2009 146 patients underwent mitral valve surgery (62 male / 84 female; age: 55.9+/-13.

Effects of prophylactic indomethacin treatment on postoperative pericardial effusion after aortic surgery.

Objective: This prospective, randomized study assessed the prophylactic effects of indomethacin treatment on pericardial effusion after aortic surgery.

Methods: Eighty-five patients were found eligible to participate in this double-blind study. Patients were assigned to a control group receiving oral placebo or to an indomethacin group receiving 25 mg oral indomethacin 3 times daily for 7 days preoperatively.

Micronized purified flavonoid fraction in pretreating CABG patients.

The aim of the present study was to determine whether oral pretreatment with micronized purified flavonoid fraction (Daflon) has beneficial effects on cardiac function and outcome after cardiac operations. This prospective, randomized trial enrolled 43 patients who had an impaired preoperative left ventricular ejection fraction of less than 0.50 (mean, 0.

Sodium nitroprusside infusion prevents hypothyroidism in patients undergoing coronary artery bypass grafting: a prospective randomized clinical trial.

Objective: The level of thyroid hormones is an important factor in determining the outcome of coronary artery bypass patients. Sodium nitroprusside (SNP) is a natural donor of nitric oxide which has been shown to interfere with thyroid hormone synthesis. Whether clinical use of sodium nitroprusside has any effect on thyroid function has not yet been investigated.

Native valve Brucella endocarditis.

Objective: Brucellosis is frequently seen in Mediterranean and Middle East countries, including Turkey. We report the medical and surgical management of 31 cases of native endocarditis.

Material And Method: Thirty-one patients were admitted to our clinic with suspected Brucella Endocarditis.

Vacuum-assisted closure and bilateral pectoralis muscle flaps for different stages of mediastinitis after cardiac surgery.

Purpose: To assess the results of bilateral pectoralis major muscle flaps (BPMMF) and vacuum-assisted closure (VAC) at different stages of postcardiac surgery mediastinitis.

Methods: Of 65 patients with a deep sternal wound infection (DSWI) after cardiac surgery, 33 with a stable sternum were treated with VAC (59.3 +/- 11.

Five-year follow-up after transepicardial implantation of autologous bone marrow mononuclear cells to ungraftable coronary territories for patients with ischaemic cardiomyopathy.

Objective: Cell therapy for patients with ischaemic cardiomyopathy (IC) is still an open issue. We aimed to assess the long-term safety and therapeutic potency of autologous bone marrow mononuclear cell (ABMMNC) implantation into ungraftable coronary artery (UCA) territories in patients with IC.

Methods: Bone marrow was aspirated from the iliac crest, and transepicardial ABMMNC implantation (n=25, 24 men, aged 57+/-7 years) as an adjunct to coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) was performed into an area of reversible ischaemia within the territory of UCA (1.

Timing of induction of cardiomyocyte differentiation for in vitro cultured mesenchymal stem cells: a perspective for emergencies.

Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) have the capacity to differentiate into osteoblasts, chondrocytes, adipocytes, myocytes, and cardiomyocytes. Several established methods are presently available for in vitro isolation of MSCs from bone marrow. However, the duration necessary to culture them can be a major handicap to cell-based therapies needed for such urgent cardiovascular conditions as acute myocardial infarction and acute hindlimb ischemia.

Mid-segment harvesting of right internal thoracic artery decreases sternal ischemia.

Objective: We aimed to preserve sternal vascularity better by harvesting only midsegment of the right internal thoracic artery (RITA) than using conventional bilateral internal thoracic artery (BITA) harvesting method, and we evaluated the sternal vascularity with single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT).

Methods: In this prospective clinical randomized investigation, 135 patients undergoing coronary artery bypass surgery (CABG) were divided into three groups: Full-RITA group who had a full length of both ITA as a graft for CABG (n=45); mid-RITA group - a midsegment of RITA and left internal thoracic artery (LITA) (n=45); and non-RITA group who had only LITA (n=45). Before and after surgery, all patients underwent a bone scan with single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) to evaluate the sternal vascular activity.

Failing heart; remodel, replace or repair?

In the era of proton-antiproton collisions, stem cell field has emerged as the newly recognized protons of regenerative medicine. Great interest and enthusiasm were depending on their behavioral difference such as self-renewal, clonogenicity and differentiation into functional progeny that may become vehicles for regenerative medicine. Although progress has evolved dramatically strategies using stem-cell-driven cardiac regeneration involve extremely complex and dynamic molecular mechanisms.

Effects of carbamazepine on spinal cord ischemia.

Background: Prophylactic treatment with carbamazepine has been shown to reduce the cerebral damage and neurologic deficit in ischemic conditions. A randomized controlled study based on a rabbit model was designed to study the effect of carbamazepine on a spinal cord ischemic reperfusion injury.

Methods: Thirty New Zealand rabbits were randomly assigned to 1 of the 2 groups (n = 15 per group): group I (control group) and group II (carbamazepine group).

Biotechnology and stem cell research: a glance into the future.

The present review addresses the issues related to innovative contributions in biotechnology and their potential role in stem cell research at present and in the future. We can expect that future developments and applications in biotechnological sciences and industry will effect the direction of emerging cellular therapies. The use of these advances may offer a unique opportunity to investigate the mechanisms related to the journey from embryonic cells or bone-marrow derived stem/progenitor cells to cardiomyocytes or endothelial cells and the molecular regulators of cell differentiation.

Does sodium nitroprusside decrease the incidence of atrial fibrillation after myocardial revascularization?: a pilot study.

Background: Atrial fibrillation (AF) often occurs after coronary artery bypass grafting and can result in increased morbidity and mortality. In the present pilot study, our aim was to investigate whether sodium nitroprusside (SNP), as a nitric oxide donor, can reduce the frequency of post-coronary artery bypass grafting AF.

Methods And Results: To investigate the effectiveness of SNP in the prophylaxis of AF, we conducted a prospective, randomized, placebo-controlled clinical study on 100 consecutive patients in whom we performed elective and initial CABG operations.

Coexistence of left-sided inferior vena cava, deep vein thrombosis of the upper and lower extremities and prothrombotic polymorphisms in a young patient: a case report.

A literature review suggests an interaction between an anomaly of the inferior vena cava and thrombophilia in the pathogenesis of deep vein thrombosis. Genetic thrombotic abnormalities have been found in some of the subjects having venous thromboembolic diseases. We report a case of a young man presenting with venous thrombosis of the upper and lower extremities, left-sided vena cava inferior and with combination of heterozygosity of the mutation of the genes Methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase 677 and Factor V 1691.

Multiple hydatid cystectomy of the heart necessitating LIMA to LAD anastomosis in a young patient.

Cardiac hydatid disease is very rare, even in endemic regions. Clinical manifestations included chest pain, anaphylactic shock, constrictive pericarditis, congestive heart failure, and arterial embolism. Surgery is the exclusive therapy, where the cysts are excised during open-heart surgery.

Coronary artery bypass grafting ameliorates the decreased plasma adiponectin level in atherosclerotic patients.

Adiponectin functions as an anti-inflammatory and anti-atherogenic factor, and the decreased plasma adiponectin is a risk factor for coronary disease. The aim of this study was to determine the changes in plasma levels of adiponectin, a potential parameter for atherosclerosis, in patients underwent surgical revascularization. We included forty patients with atherosclerosis (age, 58 +/- 9 years; body mass index [BMI] 26.

Early clinical experience with the On-X prosthetic heart valve.

The study aimed to assess the performance of the On-X valve (Medical Carbon Research Institute, Austin, TX). Between December 2000 and January 2003 On-X valves were implanted in 400 patients aged 19-85 years (mean: 55.6+/-16), 290 males and 210 females.

Report of the anatomic variation of the brachial artery in a patient undergoing transradial cardiac catheterization.

The arterial pattern of the upper limb is one of the systems that shows a large number of variations in the adult human body. Most of these variations occur in either the radial or ulnar artery; brachial artery variations are less common. In this case report we describe the anomaly in the formation of the brachial artery system.