Modified Fixed Loop-in-Loop Technique in Mitral Valve Repair for Children.

For adults, the standard procedure for mitral valve repair of Carpentier classification type II mitral regurgitation is reconstruction with artificial chordae. In children, placement of artificial chordae of precise length between the papillary muscle and prolapsed mitral leaflet in the restricted mitral subvalvular space is technically difficult. We successfully performed mitral valve repair in 3 pediatric patients using a modified fixed loop-in-loop technique.

Partial cardiopulmonary bypass through left thoracotomy for coarctation repair in children.

Background: A left thoracotomy approach is anatomically appropriate for childhood aortic coarctation; however, the pediatric femoral arteriovenous diameters are too small for cardiopulmonary bypass cannulation. We aimed to determine the safety of a partial cardiopulmonary bypass through the main pulmonary artery and the descending aorta in pediatric aortic coarctation repair.

Methods: We retrospectively reviewed 10 patients who underwent coarctation repair under partial main pulmonary artery-to-descending aorta cardiopulmonary bypass with a left thoracotomy as the CPB group.

Hypothermia Inhibits the Expression of Receptor Interacting Protein Kinases 1 and 3 After Transient Spinal Cord Ischaemia in Rabbits.

Objectives: Necroptosis, a form of regulated necrosis, might be a potential mechanism of delayed paraplegia; therefore, its role in transient spinal cord ischaemia was investigated by immunohistochemical analysis of necroptosis related protein receptor interacting protein kinase (RIP) 1, RIP3, and cellular inhibitor of apoptosis protein (cIAP) 1/2.

Methods: This study used rabbit normothermic (n = 24) and hypothermic (n = 24) transient spinal cord ischaemia models and sham controls (n = 6). Neurological function was assessed according to a modified Tarlov score at 8 h, 1, 2, and 7 days after reperfusion (n = 6 each).

Thoracic endografting increases cardiac afterload and leads to left ventricular hypertrophy in dogs.

Objectives: Aortic endografting can cause aortic stiffening. We aimed to determine the chronic effect of thoracic endografting on cardiac afterload, function and remodelling.

Methods: Eleven dogs were included, and all except 1 was successfully assessed [endograft, n = 5; sham operation (control), n = 5].

Primary Cardiac T-Cell Lymphoma Localized in the Mitral Valve.

Primary cardiac lymphoma is a rare cardiac tumor, and usually originates from B cells and involves the right side of the heart. We present an extremely rare case of primary cardiac T-cell lymphoma involving the mitral valve alone. A 58-year-old woman who was positive for human T-cell leukemia virus 1 underwent mitral valve replacement because of severe mitral regurgitation.

Midterm Results of Sternal Band Closure in Open Heart Surgery and Risk Analysis of Sternal Band Removal.

Sternal dehiscence, which is responsible for the development of mediastinitis, is a serious complication after cardiothoracic surgery. We retrospectively compared the results of two methods for sternal closure after cardiothoracic surgery performed during January 2009 to May 2012. The methods comprised closure with sternal bands and steel wires (group A, n = 92) versus conventional closure using steel wires alone (group B, n = 442).

Ventricular energetics early after surgery for chronic mitral regurgitation: repair versus replacement.

Background And Aim Of The Study: The study aim was to compare the effects of mitral valve (MV) repair and replacement with partial (posterior leaflet only) chordal preservation on left ventricular (LV) performance in chronic degenerative mitral regurgitation (MR) by assessing ventricular energetics.

Methods: Contractility (end-systolic elastance), afterload (effective arterial elastance), and ventricular efficiency (ventriculoarterial coupling and the ratio of stroke work to pressure-volume area were determined using transthoracic echocardiography data obtained before and at one month after surgery in 29 patients undergoing MV repair, and in 12 patients undergoing partial chordal-sparing MV replacement. A two-way analysis of variance with repeated measures was used for comparisons among patients who underwent MV surgery (valve repair versus valve replacement).

Repair of acute aortic dissection in an octogenarian with prior thoracoplasty.

Cardiovascular surgery is challenging in patients who have previously undergone thoracoplasty because of severe chest deformity and impaired pulmonary function. We report a case of an octogenarian with prior left thoracoplasty, who successfully underwent surgical repair of an acute aortic dissection through a standard median sternotomy. We suggest that prior thoracoplasty might not necessarily be an exclusion criterion for aortic surgery in cases with adequate pulmonary function.