The Journal of thoracic and cardiovascular surgery
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J. Thorac. Cardiovasc. Surg. · Nov 2012
Comparative StudyTwenty-four-hour ambulatory blood pressure monitoring detects a high prevalence of hypertension late after coarctation repair in patients with hypoplastic arches.
To determine by 24-hour blood pressure monitoring the risk of hypertension late after coarctation repair in patients with arch hypoplasia. ⋯ Patients with a hypoplastic arch operated via thoracotomy have an alarming prevalence of hypertension. Regular follow-up with 24-hour ambulatory blood pressure monitoring is warranted, especially in patients who have had a smaller aortic arch at the time of the initial operation.
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J. Thorac. Cardiovasc. Surg. · Nov 2012
Multicenter StudyRobot-aided thoracoscopic thymectomy for early-stage thymoma: a multicenter European study.
Minimally invasive thymectomy for stage I to stage II thymoma has been suggested in recent years and considered technically feasible. However, because of the lack of data on long-term results, controversies still exist on surgical access indication. We sought to evaluate the results after robot-assisted thoracoscopic thymectomy in early-stage thymoma. ⋯ Our data indicate that robot-enhanced thoracoscopic thymectomy for early-stage thymoma is a technically sound and safe procedure with a low complication rate and a short hospital stay. Oncologic outcome seems good, but a longer follow-up is needed to consider this as a standard approach definitively.
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J. Thorac. Cardiovasc. Surg. · Nov 2012
Multicenter Study Comparative StudySutureless aortic valve replacement as an alternative treatment for patients belonging to the "gray zone" between transcatheter aortic valve implantation and conventional surgery: a propensity-matched, multicenter analysis.
The aim of this propensity-matched, multicenter study was to compare early clinical and echocardiographic outcomes of patients undergoing transapical aortic valve implantation (TA-TAVI) versus patients undergoing sutureless aortic valve replacement (SU-AVR) for severe symptomatic aortic valve stenosis. ⋯ This preliminary experience showed that, in patients at high risk for conventional surgery, SU-AVR is as safe and effective as TA-TAVI and that it is associated with a lower rate of postprocedural paravalvular leak.
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J. Thorac. Cardiovasc. Surg. · Nov 2012
Survival and quality of life at least 1 year after pneumonectomy.
Quality of life after pulmonary resection is becoming an increasingly important part of the conversation between patients and surgeons. Pneumonectomy is often called a disease. The objective of this study was to assess the physical and mental aspects of patients' quality of life at least 1 year after pneumonectomy. ⋯ Pneumonectomy is tolerated in carefully selected patients. The physical quality-of-life score 1 year after resection is significantly lower than the average population, yet the mental score in these patients is higher. Future studies on quality of life should be considered for all medical therapies, and stratification of the mental score from the physical score should be reported.