The Annals of thoracic surgery
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Reexploration of the mediastinum for bleeding is required in 3% to 7% of patients after cardiac operation, with many proving to have no surgically correctable cause. In spite of a "negative exploration," the bleeding often ceases. We propose the hypothesis that such a negative exploration can be therapeutic by reducing marked fibrinolytic activity in the mediastinal cavity. ⋯ Our data confirm that fibrinolytic activity can be extremely high in the mediastinum in response to clot formation. This may explain the hemostatic effects of a negative reexploration, where irrigation and the removal of clots may reduce the fibrinolytic process; this may allow the bleeding ends of capillaries and small vessels to thrombose. Decreased levels of alpha2-antiplasmin observed suggest that lysine analogs, such as epsilon-aminocaproic acid, may have a beneficial role when locally delivered into the mediastinum.
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A case of traumatic right lung herniation to an area of anterior costal sternal separation and right hemothorax is presented. Application of a thoracoscopic approach to a traumatic lung hernia of the chest wall in this case is discussed.
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Stenosis of the branch pulmonary arteries after tetralogy of Fallot repair can result from several mechanisms. In patients with free pulmonary regurgitation and right ventricular dilatation after transannular patch repair, we have observed that the pulmonary outflow tract can dilate and elongate craniad and rotate to the left, resulting in kinking and obstruction of the previously normal left pulmonary artery. ⋯ Left pulmonary artery kinking should be suspected at long-term follow-up after tetralogy repair in patients with significant pulmonary regurgitation and right-sided dilatation, even if previous evaluations showed no evidence of left pulmonary arterial abnormality. Because unilateral obstruction caused by kinking may lead to asymmetric pulmonary flow, it can exacerbate pulmonary regurgitation and right ventricular dilatation, in effect accelerating the processes that led to kinking in the first place. Kinking can be relieved successfully with the techniques described in this report.
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With the increasing population of patients with prior mediastinal irradiation, cardiac surgeons will encounter patients with radiation-induced damage to the heart and the great vessels. Awareness of the pathology and the surgical management is essential to provide optimal care for these patients. ⋯ Surgeons should be well versed in all the manifestations and the management of radiation-induced heart disease.
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Comparative Study
Mechanisms of cardiomyoplasty: comparative effects of adynamic versus dynamic cardiomyoplasty.
The apparent paradox seen in patients who have undergone dynamic cardiomyoplasty and shown substantial clinical and functional improvements with only modest hemodynamic changes may be due to inappropriate end points chosen for study, a result of incomplete understanding of mechanisms involved. The purpose of this study was to compare the relative role of the passive "girdling effect" and the dynamic "systolic squeezing effect" of the wrapped muscle in cardiomyoplasty. ⋯ By reducing myocardial stress, both the passive girdling effect and the dynamic systolic squeezing effect have complementary roles in the mechanisms of dynamic cardiomyoplasty.