The Journal of thoracic and cardiovascular surgery
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J. Thorac. Cardiovasc. Surg. · Mar 2018
Aortic annulus does not dilate over time after aortic root remodeling with or without annuloplasty.
The lack of annular stabilization is the drawback of aortic root remodeling, and recently the addition of annuloplasty has been proposed. Limited data, however, exist on late annular size after remodeling. We studied annular size over time. ⋯ Aortic annulus rarely dilates over time after remodeling. In the case of annular dilatation, annuloplasty normalizes annular size and may prevent further dilatation by enhancing cusp coaptation. Even without annuloplasty, the aortic annulus becomes smaller compared with preoperative dimensions when aortic valve remains competent.
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J. Thorac. Cardiovasc. Surg. · Mar 2018
Quality of life improves after thoracoscopic surgical ablation of advanced atrial fibrillation: Results of the Atrial Fibrillation Ablation and Autonomic Modulation via Thoracoscopic Surgery (AFACT) study.
We evaluated health-related quality of life at 12 months after thoracoscopic surgical ablation in patients enrolled in the Atrial Fibrillation Ablation and Autonomic Modulation via Thoracoscopic Surgery study. The Atrial Fibrillation Ablation and Autonomic Modulation via Thoracoscopic Surgery study assessed the efficacy and safety of ganglion plexus ablation in patients with symptomatic advanced atrial fibrillation undergoing thoracoscopic surgical ablation. ⋯ Thoracoscopic surgery for advanced atrial fibrillation results in improvement in quality of life, regardless of additional ganglion plexus ablation. Quality of life in patients with no or 1 atrial fibrillation recurrence increased to the level of the general Dutch population, whereas in patients with multiple atrial fibrillation recurrences quality of life remained lower. Irreversible but not reversible procedural complications were associated with persistently lower quality of life.