Prior reconstruction of an isolated left vertebral artery for Stanford type A aortic dissection.

Although isolated left vertebral artery is a supra-aortic trunk variant, it is not so rare. It may pose additional difficulties during total arch replacement surgeries. The aim of this study was to present our experience with prior reconstruction of isolated left vertebral artery by isolated left vertebral artery-left common carotid artery during total arch replacement combined with stented elephant trunk implantation.

Thoracoscope-assisted Right Vertical Infra-axillary Mini-incision for Cardiac Surgery.

Background: The thoracoscope and minimally invasive techniques have been effectively used in cardiac surgery.

Methods: The study included 27 consecutive patients (aged 24.8±17.

Anti-inflammatory and anti-proliferative effects of CBS3830 in arterialized vein grafts in rats.

Objective: To investigated whether CBS3830, a highly selectively inhibitor of p38MAPK, could ameliorate inflammation and intimal hyperplasia in arterialized vein grafts (AVGs).

Methods: Sixty male Sprague-Dawley rats underwent a reversed right jugular vein to common carotid artery interposition graft and were randomly treatment with vehicle (control) or single-dose (3 mg/kg, preoperative) or double-dose (3 mg/kg, preoperative and 4 d postoperative) CBS3830. Twenty rats underwent sham operation.

p38 MAPK inhibitor, CBS3830 limits vascular remodelling in arterialised vein grafts.

Objective: Following bypass surgery vein grafts undergo a remodelling process that can lead to restenosis and ultimately vein graft failure. Signalling through mitogen activated protein kinases (MAPKs) is a key mechanism involved in vein graft failure. Here, we investigated whether CBS3830 (c-a-i-r biosciences GmbH, Tübingen, Germany), a new highly selectively inhibitor of p38 MAPK, has a significant effect on inhibiting intimal, medial and adventitial hyperplasia.

Right vertical infra-axillary mini-incision for repair of simple congenital heart defects: a matched-pair analysis.

Objectives: To evaluate the efficacy and safety of the right vertical infra-axillary mini-incision (RVAI) used for the repair of simple congenital heart defects.

Methods: We performed a retrospective 1:1 matched-pair analysis on the patients with simple congenital heart defects who were operated on from February 2003 to October 2010. All the recruited patients were treated through either RVAI (RVAI group) or median sternotomy incision (MSI group).