The Journal of thoracic and cardiovascular surgery
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J. Thorac. Cardiovasc. Surg. · Aug 2003
Comparative StudyModification of surgical technique for ascending aortic atherosclerosis: impact on stroke reduction in coronary artery bypass grafting.
Use of epiaortic scanning in coronary surgery is still a matter of debate. It is unclear whether the findings obtained by epiaortic scanning lead to effective changes in surgical technique that may reduce stroke rates. ⋯ We conclude that intraoperative screening of coronary artery bypass grafting patients by epiaortic scanning can reveal useful information about the operative risk and with an aortic no-touch concept, perioperative stroke rates in high-risk patients may be lower than predicted.
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J. Thorac. Cardiovasc. Surg. · Aug 2003
Comparative StudyRight ventricle-pulmonary artery shunt in first-stage palliation of hypoplastic left heart syndrome.
Pulmonary overcirculation through a systemic-pulmonary shunt has been one of the major causes of early death after the Norwood procedure. To avoid this lethal complication, we constructed a right ventricle-pulmonary shunt in first-stage palliation of hypoplastic left heart syndrome. ⋯ Without delicate postoperative management to control pulmonary vascular resistance, the modified Norwood procedure using the right ventricle-pulmonary shunt provides a stable systemic circulation as well as adequate pulmonary blood flow. This novel operation may be particularly beneficial to low-birth-weight infants with hypoplastic left heart syndrome.
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J. Thorac. Cardiovasc. Surg. · Aug 2003
Comparative StudyInsertion of a left ventricular assist device in patients without thorough transplant evaluations: a worthwhile risk?
Patients in acute cardiogenic shock may require placement of left ventricular assist devices before undergoing standard pretransplant evaluations. This practice raises ethical and logistic concerns and has led us to investigate the short- and long-term outcomes for this patient population. Methods and results We examined our adult bridge-to-transplant left ventricular assist device population over a 6-year period to characterize those patients with acute cardiogenic shock who received left ventricular assist devices on an emergency basis (ie, placement of a device within 24 hours of being listed for cardiac transplantation). Outcomes before and after transplant were compared with those of candidates with nonemergency evaluations by Kaplan-Meier survival curves and the Fisher exact test where appropriate. Of the 115 patients who required left ventricular assist device support, 73 (63%) patients required emergency placement; 70% of these patients survived to transplant compared with 83% of those with nonurgent device implantation (not statistically significant). Posttransplant survival curves were similar for patients with emergency device placement and those with nonurgent placement (not statistically significant). Twenty-two patients having emergency device placement did not undergo heart transplantation because of multisystem organ failure (14), device support withdrawal from irreversible neurologic injury (4), device or technical problems (2), and left ventricular assist device explant due to myocardial recovery (2). ⋯ At our institution, the majority of left ventricular assist devices are placed on an emergency basis. Few of these patients require discontinuation of device support due to undetected conditions during abbreviated preoperative evaluation. Survival before and after transplant is comparable with those of patients who undergo nonurgent left ventricular assist device placement or medical therapy.
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J. Thorac. Cardiovasc. Surg. · Aug 2003
Comparative StudyPharmacologic platelet anesthesia by glycoprotein IIb/IIIa complex antagonist and argatroban during in vitro extracorporeal circulation.
Contact between blood and the synthetic surfaces of a cardiopulmonary bypass circuit leads to platelet activation, and resultant platelet dysfunction contributes to postoperative bleeding. We compared the effects of various platelet inhibitors on preservation of platelet function during simulated cardiopulmonary bypass circulation. ⋯ The inhibition of both platelet adhesion and thrombin may be effective to preserve platelet number and function during cardiopulmonary bypass circulation.
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J. Thorac. Cardiovasc. Surg. · Aug 2003
Living-donor lobar lung transplantation for various lung diseases.
We report on our early experience in living-donor lobar lung transplantation for patients with various lung diseases including restrictive, obstructive, septic, and hypertensive lung diseases. ⋯ Living-donor lobar lung transplantation can be applied to restrictive, obstructive, septic, and hypertensive lung diseases. This type of procedure can be an alternative to conventional cadaveric lung transplantation for both pediatric and adult patients who would die soon otherwise.