Cystic partially differentiated nephroblastoma in an 18-month-old girl: a case report.

Introduction And Importance: Cystic partially differentiated nephroblastoma (CPDN) is a rare cystic tumor that affects the kidney. It has a low potential for malignancy. It usually presents as an abdominal mass.

Surgical repair of large pulmonary artery to left atrium fistula.

We report a successful surgical closure of a rught pulmonary artery to left atrium fistula (RPALAF) with secondary atrial septal defect (ASD) in a 3.5 years old girl. These fistulae are rare cause of cyanosis and require early diagnosis and treatment to prevent the serious complications of them.

Update on the mitral pulmonary autograft.

Between July 1997 and August 2004, 92 patients with irreparable mitral valves underwent replacement with a pulmonary autograft. This report brings the follow-up data of these patients up to date. Eighty-eight patients had a successful Ross II operation; 4 were lost to follow-up.

Reflections on a heart surgery career with insights for Western-trained medical specialists in developing countries.

Herein, I describe my experience (spanning 40 years) in helping to develop the specialty of cardiovascular surgery in Syria. Especially in the early years, the challenges were daunting. We initially performed thoracic, vascular, and closed-heart operations while dealing with inadequate facilities, bureaucratic delays, and poorly qualified personnel.

Surgical experience with cardiac echinococcosis.

Cardiac echinococcosis is a rare affliction of the heart encountered in areas where the tapeworm Echinococcus is endemic. During the 15 years to September 2005, 19 consecutive patients (11 female; mean age, 25.6 +/- 12.

Analysis of 92 mitral pulmonary autograft replacement (Ross II) operations.

Objective: The study objective was to find a mitral valve substitute that does not require lifelong anticoagulation and is not affected by tissue degeneration in the long term.

Methods: Between July 14, 1997, and August 8, 2004, a total of 92 patients with irreparable mitral valve disease underwent mitral valve replacement with the pulmonary autograft encased within a Dacron tubing for support. In 4 patients, the autograft had to be sacrificed at the initial operation.

Ablation of atrial fibrillation using microwave energy--early experience.

Between Dec 12, 2002 and Aug 22, 2004, 84 operative patients with chronic atrial fibrillation (AF) were subjected to AF ablation with microwave energy. Of these, 49 patients were female; their ages ranged between 20 and 72 years (mean, 43.1 years).

The mitral pulmonary autograft: assessment at midterm.

Background: There is a dire need, especially in emergent societies, for a mitral substitute that does not require anticoagulation, and is not affected by early degeneration.

Methods: Between 1997 and 2003, 80 patients had successful mitral valve replacement with a pulmonary autograft. Fifty-five patients were female, and the mean age was 39.

Left ventricular volume reduction surgery in the middle East.

Heart transplantation is not yet socially acceptable in the Middle East, and left ventricular assist facilities are not generally available in this region. Therefore, left ventricular volume reduction surgery was attempted in 41 patients with end-stage heart failure (33 males; median age, 36.3 years) in 4 Middle Eastern tertiary referral centers between February 1996 and January 2001.

Technique for replacing the mitral valve with a pulmonary autograft: the Ross-Kabbani operation.

Replacing the mitral valve with a pulmonary autograft is an important option at the disposal of surgeons working in areas where lifelong anticoagulation is impractical. In this article we describe the technique of this operation as it has evolved through our experience with 51 patients operated on since July 1997.

Use of the pulmonary autograft for mitral replacement: short- and medium-term experience.

Objectives: In an effort to find a suitable mitral substitute for our young rheumatic patients who cannot follow a proper anticoagulation regimen for life, we resorted to an old concept reported by one of the authors (D.N.R.

The mitral pulmonary autograft: a follow up cautionary report.

Background And Aim Of The Study: The study aim was to alert surgeons embarking on mitral replacement with the pulmonary autograft to the possibility of graft stenosis resulting from kinking of the Dacron tube support.

Methods And Results: After having used old-style Dacron tubing for pulmonary autograft support in 32 patients, a change was made to a softer variety. This, together with routine retention of the posterior subvalvular apparatus, resulted in Dacron tube angulation and autograft stenosis detected at intraoperative echocardiography in four consecutive patients, This sequela was corrected in one patient by re-adjusting the pericardial collar, and in another by severing the retained chordae.

Early experience with left ventricular volume reduction surgery in Syria.

Objective: To review our early experience with left ventricular volume reduction surgery (the Batista operation) in the management of patients with end-stage heart failure.

Methods: Between December 1996 and April 1998, 10 patients (9 males, mean age 32yr) with advanced symptomatic cardiomyopathy underwent left ventricular volume reduction surgery at Damascus University Cardiovascular Surgical Center. The cause of cardiomyopathy was idiopathic in three patients, valvular in four, ischemic in two, and viral myocarditis in one patient.

Mitral valve replacement with a pulmonary autograft: initial experience.

Background And Aim Of The Study: For long-term substitution of the mitral valve, mechanical prostheses require life-long anticoagulation which is impractical in developing countries, xenografts degenerate early in our young population, and mitral homografts have not yet been established as being suitable. We therefore returned to an original concept first reported by one of the authors (D.N.

Atrial myxoma: report of 24 operations using the biatrial approach.

Between October 1978 and June 1993, 24 consecutive operations for atrial myxoma were performed on 23 patients at the Damascus University Cardiovascular Surgical Center, using the biatrial approach. Fifteen of the patients were female; ages ranged between 4 and 71 years. Nineteen patients had symptoms of left and 3 of right atrioventricular obstruction.