Publications by authors named "Vida V"

Adult patients with congenital heart disease (ACHD) requiring heart transplantation (HT) usually show complex anatomies, posing surgical challenges. Consequently, we analyzed technical aspects and early and long-term outcomes of additional surgical repairs during HT in ACHD. Forty patients were identified (23 males, median age: 38 years, interquartile range [IQR]: 26-50).

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Article Synopsis
  • - Metabolomics can help identify high-risk infants undergoing surgery for complex congenital heart disease (CHD), as it provides insights into their metabolic profiles and how genetics and environment influence health outcomes.
  • - A systematic review of seven studies, involving 509 infants, showed links between specific metabolites (like amino acids) and adverse outcomes such as mortality and acute kidney injury post-surgery.
  • - While the evidence is limited because of varying study designs and small sample sizes, the research suggests metabolomics could be useful for predicting complications in infants undergoing cardiac surgery.
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Objectives: The functional roles of ventricular dominance and additional ventricular chamber after Fontan operation are still uncertain. We aim to assess and correlate such anatomical features to late clinical outcomes.

Methods: Fontan patients undergoing cardiac MRI and cardiopulmonary exercise test between January 2020 and December 2022 were retrospectively reviewed.

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  • The study focuses on the long-term effects of chronic pulmonary insufficiency after surgical repairs for tetralogy of Fallot (TOF) and evaluates new techniques for preserving the pulmonary valve (PV).
  • It includes 134 patients who underwent surgery from 2008 to 2022, comparing those treated with traditional methods and those using PV preservation techniques.
  • Results showed that 73.9% of patients successfully maintained their pulmonary valve function with preservation techniques, leading to improved right ventricular performance and reduced pulmonary insufficiency compared to the traditional method.
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Despite the clinical results of the Fontan operation have certainly improved, it still presents with an inherent surgical risk of death and early morbidities. This is a retrospective clinical study of children undergoing Fontan operation in 9 congenital cardiac centers in Italy between 1990 and 2023. Clinical and surgical data were collected via a dedicated RedCap database.

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Article Synopsis
  • The Fontan operation is the preferred surgical treatment for patients with univentricular physiology, but it is only a temporary solution that leads to complications as they reach adulthood.
  • These patients often face severe health issues, such as liver failure and arrhythmias, and heart transplantation is the ideal treatment, although it is frequently delayed and complicated by donor shortages.
  • Mechanical circulatory support options are emerging as potential solutions, with ongoing research into intravascular pumps, but they currently require high-risk surgeries and are still experimental.
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Background: We evaluated outcomes of neonatal cardiac surgery at hospitals affiliated with the European Congenital Heart Surgeons Association (ECHSA).

Methods: All patients ≤30 days of life undergoing a cardiac surgical procedure during a 10-year period between January 2013 and December 2022 were selected from the ECHSA Congenital Database. Reoperations during the same hospitalization, percutaneous procedures, and noncardiac surgical procedures were excluded.

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  • - The study investigates the long-term outcomes of two surgical procedures for congenital heart diseases: the Fontan procedure and the one-and-half ventricle repair (1.5VR), focusing on young patients with borderline hypoplastic right ventricle (HRV).
  • - It involved a retrospective analysis of cardiopulmonary exercise tests (CPETs) from 43 patients over a 10-year follow-up, comparing cardiorespiratory fitness and efficiency among those who underwent each procedure.
  • - Results showed that after 10 years, patients who had the 1.5VR demonstrated better cardiorespiratory fitness and efficiency than those who had Fontan procedures, indicating potential superiority of 1.5VR for selected patients
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  • - This study explores the effectiveness of personalized 3D-printed models of fetal hearts compared to traditional 2D images in helping parents understand congenital heart disease (CHD) diagnosed during pregnancy.
  • - Pregnant women with fetuses diagnosed with CHD were split into two groups: one received standard counseling with 2D visuals, while the other received advanced counseling with customized 3D printed heart models created from 3D ultrasound data.
  • - Results showed that parents who viewed 3D models had a better understanding of CHD and expressed a desire for their own 1:1 scale heart model, highlighting the benefits of using 3D technology for informed parental decision-making regarding their child's care.
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The current use of intracorporeal left ventricular assist devices in children is still limited by small body dimensions. Many children weighing of less than 30 kg requiring durable mechanical circulatory support are implanted with the Berlin Heart EXCOR, a paracorporeal device. We present the case of a girl aged 10 years with a body surface area of 1.

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Unlabelled: Down syndrome is one of the most common genetic diseases, generally associated with an increased probability of congenital heart diseases. This increased risk contributes to escalated levels of morbidity and mortality. In this study, we sought to analyze nationwide data of pediatric and adult patients with Down syndrome and congenital heart disease over a 15-year period.

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Background: Mechanical cardiac support is currently an effective strategy to reduce morbidity and mortality in pediatric patients. However, solid evidence regarding the feasibility of intracorporeal devices in children still needs to be provided. We report our 10-year experience with intracorporeal left ventricular assist devices (LVAD) in children.

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Aims: Training in congenital cardiac surgery has become more and more difficult because of the reduced opportunities for trainees in the operating room and the high patient anatomical variability. The aim of this study was to perform a pilot evaluation of surgical simulation on a simple 3D-printed heart model in training of young surgeons and its potential inclusion in the curriculum of residency programs.

Methods: A group of 11 residents performed a surgical correction of aortic coarctation using a 3D-printed surgical model.

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Redo aortic surgery poses significant challenges, particularly in complex scenarios involving congenital heart conditions that have been previously operated on several years prior. The integration of three-dimensional (3D) reconstruction and printing holds immense potential to greatly improve surgical precision, particularly in critical situations.

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Aim: Transcatheter Pulmonary Valve Implantation (TPVI), when feasible, is the first-line approach to pulmonary valve replacement. Our aim was to obtain a picture of current TPVI practice in Italy.

Methods: After conducting a literature review on TPVI, online surveys were devised by an Advisory Board of 10 experts from the three Italian reference centers for congenital heart diseases and sent electronically to physicians working either in implanting center or in referral non-implanting cardiologic centers.

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Article Synopsis
  • The arterial switch operation (ASO) is now the main surgery for treating d-transposition of the great arteries, leading to better survival rates, but some patients develop a condition called gothic aortic arch (GAA).
  • The GAA is linked to changes in heart function, blood flow, and exercise ability, with studies showing negative effects like reduced aorta flexibility and increased cardiovascular risks.
  • Various imaging techniques are essential for understanding the GAA’s impact, but there are still gaps in knowledge about its long-term effects, prompting research into advanced imaging and modeling for better patient outcomes.
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The (WCPCCS) will be held in Washington DC, USA, from Saturday, 26 August, 2023 to Friday, 1 September, 2023, inclusive. The will be the largest and most comprehensive scientific meeting dedicated to paediatric and congenital cardiac care ever held. At the time of the writing of this manuscript, has 5,037 registered attendees (and rising) from 117 countries, a truly diverse and international faculty of over 925 individuals from 89 countries, over 2,000 individual abstracts and poster presenters from 101 countries, and a Best Abstract Competition featuring 153 oral abstracts from 34 countries.

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The European Congenital Heart Surgeons Association (ECHSA) Congenital Database (CD) is the second largest clinical pediatric and congenital cardiac surgical database in the world and the largest in Europe, where various smaller national or regional databases exist. Despite the dramatic increase in interventional cardiology procedures over recent years, only scattered national or regional databases of such procedures exist in Europe. Most importantly, no congenital cardiac database exists in the world that seamlessly combines both surgical and interventional cardiology data on an international level; therefore, the outcomes of surgical and interventional procedures performed on the same or similar patients cannot easily be tracked, assessed, and analyzed.

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To date, evidence supporting the efficacy of tricuspid valve (TV) repair in interrupting the progression of systemic right ventricular (RV) adverse remodeling in hypoplastic left heart syndrome (HLHS) is conflicting. We conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis of scientific literature to assess the impact of TV repair in effectively modifying the prognosis of patients with HLHS. We conducted a systematic review of PubMed, Web of Science, and Scopus databases.

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The European Congenital Heart Surgeons Association (ECHSA) Congenital Database (CD) is the second largest clinical pediatric and congenital cardiac surgical database in the world and the largest in Europe, where various smaller national or regional databases exist. Despite the dramatic increase in interventional cardiology procedures over recent years, only scattered national or regional databases of such procedures exist in Europe. Most importantly, no congenital cardiac database exists in the world that seamlessly combines both surgical and interventional cardiology data on an international level; therefore, the outcomes of surgical and interventional procedures performed on the same or similar patients cannot easily be tracked, assessed, and analyzed.

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Objectives: Two limitations of the clinical use of 3-dimensional (3D) reconstruction and virtual reality systems are the relatively high cost and the amount of experience required to use hardware and software to effectively explore medical images. We have tried to simplify the process and validate a new tool developed for this purpose with a novel software package.

Methods: Five patients with right partial anomalous pulmonary venous return with adequate preoperative images acquired with magnetic resonance imaging were enrolled.

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  • The study investigates how pulmonary artery banding (PAB) affects the heart's left ventricle in children with dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM), focusing on the rehabilitation process through echocardiographic and magnetic imaging techniques.
  • Among 9 patients treated with PAB, 7 showed significant improvements, with a notable increase in left ventricular ejection fraction and a decrease in end-diastolic volume within 4 months post-treatment.
  • While the positive response in heart function was sustained for up to 1.5 years, all patients exhibited residual myocardial fibrosis, indicating past heart injury, the implications of which remain uncertain.
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