Patch angioplasty for isolated ostial stenosis of the left main coronary artery.

Background: Conventional coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) is recognized as the treatment of choice for left main coronary artery stenosis (LMCA) with excellent results. Patch angioplasty is an alternative method in selected cases for ostial stenosis of the LMCA. However, the long-term outcome data of this surgical technique are lacking.

Risk of stroke for carotid endarterectomy patients with contralateral carotid occlusion.

The role of a contralateral carotid occlusion in the appearance of neurological complications after carotid endarterectomy (CEA) operations is a matter of some debate. In the North American Symptomatic Carotid Endarterectomy Trial, the risk of perioperative stroke was found to be higher in patients with a contralateral carotid occlusion. In a literature survey in 2004, however, a significantly increased risk of perioperative stroke was found in only one out of 17 studies on contralateral carotid occlusion patients.

Regional hyperthermic fibrinolytic perfusion after unsuccessful venous thrombectomy of extensive deep venous thrombosis.

Objective: Because of the dose-dependent increase in bleeding complications, the intraoperative administration of fibrinolytic agents is limited. This limitation impairs the efficacy of fibrinolytic therapy because low-dose fibrinolysis often fails in the treatment of complex deep venous thrombosis (DVT). The aim of this study was to investigate the efficacy and safety of intraoperative high-dose fibrinolytic therapy for extended DVT, which was performed with the regional hyperthermic fibrinolytic perfusion (RHFP) technique.