The Journal of thoracic and cardiovascular surgery
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J. Thorac. Cardiovasc. Surg. · Jan 2018
Comparative StudyMitral valve surgery in the US Veterans Administration health system: 10-year outcomes and trends.
To compare mitral valve repair (MVRepair) and mitral valve replacement (MVReplace) trends in the Veterans Affairs (VA) Surgical Quality Improvement Program. ⋯ In the VA Health System, mortality after MV operations is low. Despite the survival advantage associated with MV repair in primary mitral regurgitation, repair is infrequent at some centers, representing an opportunity for quality improvement.
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J. Thorac. Cardiovasc. Surg. · Jan 2018
Rarity of invasiveness in right-sided infective endocarditis.
The rarity of invasiveness of right-sided infective endocarditis (IE) compared with left-sided has not been well recognized and evaluated. Thus, we compared invasiveness of right- versus left-sided IE in surgically treated patients. ⋯ Rarity of right-sided invasion even when caused by S aureus suggests that invasion and development of cavities/"abscesses" in patients with IE may be driven more by chamber pressure than organism, along with other reported host-microbial interactions. The lesser invasiveness of MV compared with AV IE suggests a similar mechanism: decompression of MV annulus invasion site(s) toward the left atrium.