The Annals of thoracic surgery
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Within the group of patients undergoing coarctectomy today, two subgroups can be identified: neonates with a critical coarctation and nonneonatal patients. We hypothesize that patients who have to undergo repair in the neonatal period will have more persistent impairment of ventricular performance postoperatively. Accordingly, we aimed to characterize biventricular performance after coarctectomy in neonatal and nonneonatal patients. ⋯ In both subgroups, LV diastolic performance does not recover to normal values within the first postoperative year. However, LV systolic performance remains more persistently impaired in patients who have to undergo repair in the neonatal period vs nonneonatal repair.
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Coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) is a well-established procedure for treating diabetic patients with multivessel disease, but extracorporeal circulation and cardioplegia-induced cardiac arrest introduce a severe burden to these patients. The present study investigated if off-pump CABG decreases 30-day mortality and mid-term mortality in diabetic patients in comparison with conventional CABG. ⋯ Our data indicate that in terms of postoperative complications and early and mid-term survival, off-pump CABG is superior to the on-pump technique in diabetic patients.
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Comparative Study
Surgical biopsy of suspected interstitial lung disease is superior to radiographic diagnosis.
Different modalities are used to diagnose interstitial lung disease. We compared the effectiveness of minimally invasive surgical biopsy versus high-resolution computed tomography for the diagnosis of interstitial lung disease and report the mortality of the procedure. ⋯ Surgical biopsy should remain the gold standard for diagnosis of interstitial lung disease. The mortality is low with proper patient selection. More than two surgical biopsy specimens may not be needed because the concordance rates among pathologic specimens are very high.
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Postoperative bleeding is common after cardiac surgery. Major bleeding (MB) is a determinant of red blood cell (RBC) transfusion, especially in patients with preoperative anemia. Preoperative anemia and RBC transfusions are recognized risk factors for operative mortality. The present study investigates the role of MB as an independent determinant of operative mortality in cardiac surgery. ⋯ Major bleeding is per se a risk factor for operative mortality. However, its deleterious effects are strongly enhanced by RBC transfusions and, to a lesser extent, preoperative anemia. Major bleeding is a partially modifiable risk factor, and adequate preemptive and treatment strategies should be applied to limit this event.
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The sarcoplasmic reticulum calcium ATPase (SERCA2a) is an important molecular regulator of contractile dysfunction in heart failure. Gene transfer of SERCA2a mediated by molecular cardiac surgery with recirculating delivery (MCARD) is a novel and clinically translatable strategy. ⋯ MCARD-mediated SERCA2a delivery results in robust cardiac specific gene expression, improved contractility, and a decrease in both myocyte apoptosis and myocyte hypertrophy.