Interactive cardiovascular and thoracic surgery
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Interact Cardiovasc Thorac Surg · May 2010
Sutureless pericardial repair of total anomalous pulmonary venous connection in patients with right atrial isomerism.
Surgical repair of total anomalous pulmonary venous connection (TAPVC) in patients with right atrial isomerism is associated with a significant risk of recurrent pulmonary venous obstruction (PVO). We evaluate the effect of sutureless repair to reduce the risk of recurrent PVO. Since November 2007, five patients, including three neonates, with right atrial isomerism underwent sutureless repair of TAPVC. ⋯ Two patients underwent a bidirectional Glenn shunt after the sutureless repair. The pulmonary venous confluence was confirmed to be left open at the time of the Glenn surgery. The sutureless technique may be useful not only for postrepair PVO but also for non-operated TAPVC in neonates with right atrial isomerism.
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Interact Cardiovasc Thorac Surg · May 2010
Randomized Controlled Trial Multicenter Study Comparative StudyA prospective randomized multicenter trial shows improvement of sternum related complications in cardiac surgery with the Posthorax support vest.
Sternal instability, dehiscence and mediastinitis are major causes of morbidity and mortality in cardiac surgery. The aim of this analysis is to determine the effect of a Posthorax support vest (Epple Inc, Vienna, Austria) after median sternotomy. One thousand five hundred and sixty cases were included in a prospective randomized multicenter trial. ⋯ Reoperation rates were as follows: 3.9% in group A and 0.6% in group B (P<0.05). The use of the Posthorax sternum support vest is a valuable adjunct to prevent sternum-related complications after cardiac surgery. In the 90 days follow-up period, additional surgical procedures were significantly reduced by the use of the support vest.