The Thoracic and cardiovascular surgeon
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Thorac Cardiovasc Surg · Jan 2013
Comparative StudyGender does matter: gender-specific outcome analysis of 67,855 heart transplants.
Gender differences between donor and recipient might have an impact on the outcome after heart transplantation (HT). Data of more than 67,000 patients registered at the International Society of Heart Lung Transplantation (ISHLT) were reviewed focusing on the influence of gender differences on short- and long-term outcome after HT. ⋯ The combination male recipient/female donor carries a higher risk for early mortality, whereas female recipients/male donor reveals favorable short-term results. Gender-matched HT would be ideal, but not suitable in practice because of the shortage of organs.
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Thorac Cardiovasc Surg · Jan 2013
Comparative StudyGender-dependent differences in patients undergoing tricuspid valve surgery.
The proportion of women in tricuspid valve (TV) surgery is almost 60% and above, especially in redo surgery. Is there a different epidemiology for male or female patients regarding the incidence of TV regurgitation? Are there differences in the peri- and postoperative outcome in male and female patients? In these questions, we were interested in and investigated our database of patients with isolated TV surgery. ⋯ We were not able to find significant gender-dependent differences in the postoperative outcome after isolated TV surgery, but there seem to be demographic gender-dependent differences regarding the reasons for TV surgery, which could influence the treatment of patients.
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Thorac Cardiovasc Surg · Jan 2013
Case ReportsLeft-sided catamenial pneumothorax associated with diaphragmatic fenestrations.
Catamenial pneumothorax is a rare disorder with an unknown etiology. It is characterized by recurrent spontaneous pneumothorax during or preceding menstruation. ⋯ The majority of catamenial pneumothorax is right sided. We report a left-sided catamenial pneumothorax associated with multiple diaphragmatic fenestrations.
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Thorac Cardiovasc Surg · Dec 2012
Case ReportsBilateral tension pneumothoraces leading to cardiac arrest after coronary artery bypass surgery.
Bilateral pneumothoraces are a very rare event. In clinical settings, inadvertent incursion into the pleural space resulting from diagnostic or therapeutic medical interventions such as bilateral venipunctures or damage to the lung parenchyma due to high pressure ventilation may be causative. Bilateral pneumothoraces postcardiac surgery are rarely reported. ⋯ Thoracic chest tubes (retrosternal and intrapericardial) and a left pleural tube were removed 24 hours prior to the incident. Diffuse sternal pain sensation accompanied by slow progressive respiratory distress and confusion shortly before the incident were all developed over a period of 12 hours. A prompt cardiopulmonary resuscitation and bilateral chest tube insertion had prevented a fatality in the patient.