European journal of cardio-thoracic surgery : official journal of the European Association for Cardio-thoracic Surgery
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Eur J Cardiothorac Surg · Aug 2020
A call to action becomes practice: cardiac and vascular surgery during the COVID-19 pandemic based on the Lombardy emergency guidelines.
During the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome-Coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) pandemic, Northern Italy had to completely reorganize its hospital activity. In Lombardy, the hub-and-spoke system was introduced to guarantee emergency and urgent cardiovascular surgery, whereas most hospitals were dedicated to patients with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). The aim of this study was to analyse the results of the hub-and-spoke organization system. ⋯ The hub-and-spoke organization system efficiently safeguards access to heart and vascular surgical services for patients who require ND, urgent and emergency treatment. Further reorganization will be needed at the end of this pandemic when elective cases will again be scheduled, with a daily increase in the number of operations.
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Eur J Cardiothorac Surg · Aug 2020
Preclosing of the femoral artery allows total percutaneous venoarterial extracorporeal membrane oxygenation and prevents groin wound infection after lung transplantation.
In lung transplantation (LT), femoral venoarterial extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (VA-ECMO) usually requires an open approach that may be associated with severe groin wound infection. In endovascular aortic procedures, preclosing of the femoral artery (PFA) with vascular closure devices allows the percutaneous insertion and withdrawal of large-bore cannulae. We sought to evaluate whether this innovative technique could be applied in the specific setting of LT to achieve total percutaneous VA-ECMO and decrease groin wound infection. ⋯ In LT patients, PFA is associated with a high rate of total percutaneous VA-ECMO, thus preventing the occurrence of groin wound infection.
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Eur J Cardiothorac Surg · Aug 2020
Early protein expression profile in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid and clinical outcomes in primary graft dysfunction after lung transplantation.
Primary graft dysfunction (PGD) remains a major post-transplant complication and is associated with increased morbidity and mortality. Mechanisms evoking PGD are not completely clear, but inflammation plays a central role. We investigated the association between PGD and inflammatory proteins present in immediate postoperative bronchoalveolar lavage. ⋯ Expression profiles of key inflammatory mediators in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid differed significantly between lung transplant recipients with severe versus mild PGD and correlated with clinical outcome variables. Further research should focus on the early mechanisms leading to PGD.
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Eur J Cardiothorac Surg · Aug 2020
Technical aspects of uniportal video-assisted thoracoscopic double sleeve bronchovascular resections.
Double sleeve, bronchial and vascular reconstructions are challenging procedures indicated for centrally located tumours to avoid pneumonectomy. Traditionally, these resections have been performed by thoracotomy, but thanks to advances in imaging systems, better surgical instruments and the gained experience in video-assisted thoracic surgery (VATS), the scenario now is different. During the last decade, we have seen a rapid evolution of the uniportal VATS technique from simple lobectomies to advanced double sleeve bronchovascular procedures and carinal resections. ⋯ However, when a double bronchial and vascular sleeve resection is required, the adoption rate of minimally invasive surgery is still very low even for very experienced VATS surgeons. The difficulty of tumour mobilization, complexity of the suturing technique and the concern about possible uncontrolled massive bleeding during VATS are the main reasons for this low rate of adoption. In this article, we describe the technical aspects and tricks of this procedure when it is done by the uniportal VATS approach.