European journal of cardio-thoracic surgery : official journal of the European Association for Cardio-thoracic Surgery
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Eur J Cardiothorac Surg · Feb 2006
Indexed effective orifice area after mechanical aortic valve replacement does not affect left ventricular mass regression in elderly.
After aortic valve replacement, the effects of a small functional prosthesis on the extent and pattern of regression of left ventricular hypertrophy and on clinical outcomes may be less significant in older patients with low cardiac output requirements. The objective of this study was therefore to determine whether patient-prosthesis mismatch affects left ventricular mass regression in the elderly. ⋯ The major finding of our study is that patient-prosthesis mismatch does not affect left ventricular mass regression in patients older than 65 with pure aortic stenosis who underwent mechanical aortic valve replacement. In older patients with low cardiac output requirements, even a small change in the valve effective orifice area after aortic valve replacement with modern efficient mechanical prosthesis, will result in a marked reduction of pressure gradient and this will be associated with a significant regression of left ventricular mass.
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Eur J Cardiothorac Surg · Feb 2006
Review Case ReportsTracheal replacement with an aortic autograft.
Tracheal replacement after extensive resection remains a challenge for the thoracic surgeon. We propose an innovative solution: the use of an aortic autograft. After an experimental work on animals with aortic autografts and allografts [Martinod E, Seguin A, Pfeuty K, Fornes P, Kambouchner M, Azorin JF, Carpentier AF. ⋯ The stent was removed at three months. The patient died at six months from an acute pulmonary infection without any sign of anastomosis leakage or graft rupture. A new field of clinical study has to be investigated.
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Eur J Cardiothorac Surg · Feb 2006
Randomized Controlled TrialResidual air in the venous cannula increases cerebral embolization at the onset of cardiopulmonary bypass.
When the right atrium (RA) cannula is connected to the venous return line of the cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB) circuit, air is often introduced. Air in the venous cannula may increase cerebral air embolization at initiation of CPB despite the arterial line filter. We measured the volume of air present in the venous cannula after cannulation of the RA. Transcranial Doppler quantified emboli as high-intensity transient-signals (HITS) in both middle-cerebral arteries (MCA) at the beginning of CPB. ⋯ Air in the venous cannula can result in HITS in the MCA. Minimizing the volume of air introduced into the venous cannula after cannulation of the RA can decrease cerebral air embolization at the beginning of CPB.
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Eur J Cardiothorac Surg · Feb 2006
Performance at 10 years of the CarboMedics "Top-Hat" valve. Postclamping time is a predictor of mortality.
The CarboMedics "Top-Hat" supraannular prosthesis was designed to permit the implantation of a larger prosthesis. We evaluated the outcome at 10 years in patients with this prosthesis. ⋯ Using the CarboMedics supraannular prosthesis allows implantation of a larger prosthesis without increasing valve-related complications. Postclamping time appears as a strong predictor of both hospital mortality and late cardiac-related death.
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Eur J Cardiothorac Surg · Feb 2006
Multicenter StudyAprotinin decreases reperfusion injury and allograft dysfunction in clinical lung transplantation.
Primary graft dysfunction caused by ischemia-reperfusion injury is one of the most frequent causes of early morbidity and death after lung transplantation. We hypothesized that the perioperative management with aprotinin decreases the incidence of allograft reperfusion injury and dysfunction after clinical lung transplantation. ⋯ Severe PTRI increased short-term morbidity and mortality. The incidence of reperfusion injury was not dependent upon the duration of donor organ ischemia. The use of aprotinin in the perioperative patient management in lung transplantation had strong beneficial effects on the patient outcomes and decreased the incidence of post-transplant ischemia-reperfusion injury significantly.