European journal of cardio-thoracic surgery : official journal of the European Association for Cardio-thoracic Surgery
-
Eur J Cardiothorac Surg · Oct 2009
Randomized Controlled Trial Multicenter StudyTachoSil surgical patch versus conventional haemostatic fleece material for control of bleeding in cardiovascular surgery: a randomised controlled trial.
Prolonged bleeding during cardiovascular surgery presents a risk for the patient and increases the time and cost of surgery. TachoSil is a ready-to-use haemostatic agent that consists of an equine collagen patch coated with human fibrinogen and thrombin. This trial evaluated the efficacy and safety (< or =30 days post-surgery) of TachoSil surgical patch compared with standard haemostatic fleece for the control of bleeding in patients undergoing cardiovascular surgery. ⋯ TachoSil was significantly superior to standard haemostatic fleece material in obtaining effective and fast intra-operative haemostasis in cardiovascular surgical procedures. TachoSil was safe and well tolerated.
-
Eur J Cardiothorac Surg · Aug 2009
Multicenter StudyThe management of trauma victims in England and Wales: a study by the National Confidential Enquiry into Patient Outcome and Death.
Trauma is the leading cause of death in the first four decades of life in western countries. A national prospective study was conducted in the UK to examine the process and quality of care of severely injured patients. We present a previously unpublished analysis of the severity of injury, place of treatment, quality of care and survival amongst patients with thoracic injuries. ⋯ Given that polytrauma patients rarely come under the care of thoracic surgeons and yet frequently have severe thoracic injuries there is a clear need for T and O surgeons and generalists to have a good grounding in thoracic procedures.
-
Eur J Cardiothorac Surg · Mar 2009
Randomized Controlled Trial Multicenter StudySurgical treatment of primary palmar hyperhidrosis: a prospective randomized study comparing T3 and T4 sympathicotomy.
Endoscopic thoracic sympathetic surgery was effective for palmar hyperhidrosis (PH), but side effects such as compensatory sweating and over dry hands were common. A multiple centers prospective randomized study was designed to compare the efficiency and side effects of T3 and T4 sympathicotomy in the treatment of PH. ⋯ T3 and T4 sympathicotomies are both effective for the treatment of PH. T4 sympathicotomy, decreases the side effects but do not compromise the therapeutic effects, and should be the method of choice.
-
Eur J Cardiothorac Surg · Mar 2009
Multicenter StudyPlasmapheresis before thymectomy in myasthenia gravis: routine versus selective protocols.
The value of thymectomy in management of myasthenia gravis (MG) is well recognized. Plasmapheresis (PMP) before thymectomy appears to improve the postoperative outcome. As PMP has its own complications, selective use of PMP preoperatively for patients at risk of post-thymectomy complications would improve the postoperative outcome, and decreases the PMP-related complications. The aim of this study is to evaluate the effectiveness and safety of routine versus selective use of PMP before thymectomy. ⋯ This study demonstrated that selective use of PMP before thymectomy may reduce the incidence of PMP-related complications without affecting the overall outcome.
-
Eur J Cardiothorac Surg · Feb 2009
Multicenter StudyProfitability of our lung retrieval program from non heart beating donors.
In 2002 the first lung transplant from non heart beating (NHB) donors took place in Madrid. The objective of this study was to analyse our Maastricht type I NHB lung donors retrieval program and to check out its profitability. ⋯ A total of 58.1% of preserved lungs were implanted. The ratio of obtained lungs was 11.4% of actual donors and 7.7% of total occurrences. However, this percentage could have been higher if we take into account the number of valid lungs that were not transplanted because of the lack of recipients.