The Journal of thoracic and cardiovascular surgery
-
J. Thorac. Cardiovasc. Surg. · Dec 2017
Favorable late survival after aortic surgery under straight deep hypothermic circulatory arrest.
Surgical and cerebral protection strategies in aortic arch surgery remain under debate. Perioperative results using deep hypothermic circulatory arrest (DHCA) have been associated with favorable short-term mortality and stroke rates. The present study focuses on late survival in patients undergoing aortic surgery using DHCA. ⋯ Aortic surgery with DHCA can be performed with favorable late survival, with the duration of DHCA period having only a limited impact. However, these results cannot be generalized for very long durations of DHCA (>50 minutes), when perfusion methods may be preferable. In elective, nondissection first-time surgeries, a late survival comparable to that in a reference population can be achieved. Early survival is adversely affected by aortic dissection, redo status, and disease extent.
-
J. Thorac. Cardiovasc. Surg. · Dec 2017
CommentImplementation of a novel portfolio of structured, curriculum-aligned, simulation-based, cardiothoracic surgery training courses: Evolving the delivery of surgical education.
The provision of high-quality cardiothoracic surgical training faces many challenges. This has generated an increased interest in simulation-based learning, which can provide a less stressful environment for deliberate practice. We developed a comprehensive, structured program of knowledge and simulation-based learning aligned to the official cardiothoracic surgery curriculum. ⋯ This study has described the implementation of the only extensive program of structured simulation-based courses that has been developed to complement clinical training in cardiothoracic surgery.