The Annals of thoracic surgery
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Acute kidney injury requiring renal replacement therapy (RRT) is associated with increased mortality after cardiac surgery. Studies examining the impact of RRT after lung transplantation (LTx) are limited. We evaluated risk factors and outcomes associated with RRT after LTx. ⋯ In the largest study to evaluate acute kidney injury after LTx, the incidence of RRT is 5.51%. The need for post-LTx RRT dramatically increases both short- and long-term mortality. Several variables, including preoperative renal function, are predictors of post-LTx RRT and could be used to identify transplant candidates at risk for acute kidney injury.
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Although commonly reserved as a last line of defense, experienced centers have reported excellent results with pulmonary embolectomy for massive and submassive pulmonary embolism (PE). We present a contemporary surgical series for PE that demonstrates the utility of peripheral extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (pECMO) for high-risk surgical candidates. ⋯ Heparin therapy with pECMO support is a rapid, effective option for patients who might benefit from pulmonary embolectomy but are at high risk for surgery.
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Case Reports
Repair of prosthetic mitral valve paravalvular leak using an off-pump transapical approach.
Patients who present with significant paravalvular regurgitation after mitral valve replacement remain a difficult patient population and high-risk surgical candidates. We present 3 cases of transapical closure of mitral valve paravalvular leak (PVL) after mitral valve replacement using Amplatzer closure devices (AGA Medical Corp, Plymouth, MN). All 3 patients experienced decreased regurgitation at the site of the closure as well as symptomatic improvement in their heart failure.
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Morbid obesity is associated with increased resource utilization in coronary artery bypass grafting.
Studies have shown good outcomes for morbidly obese patients who undergo cardiac surgery. However, little is known about how much additional resource utilization treating these challenging patients requires. We hypothesized that morbidly obese patients (body mass index ≥40 kg/m(2)) undergoing coronary artery bypass grafting needed longer operating room times and had longer hospital and intensive care unit stays than non-morbidly obese patients. ⋯ Although good outcomes can be achieved for morbidly obese patients who undergo coronary artery bypass grafting, these patients require considerably more resource utilization in the operating room and intensive care unit, and they spend more time in the hospital after surgery. At a cardiac surgical operating room cost of approximately $50 per minute and $4,500 per intensive care unit day, the financial implications for morbidly obese patients who need coronary artery bypass grafting are not insignificant.