The Journal of thoracic and cardiovascular surgery
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J. Thorac. Cardiovasc. Surg. · Oct 2022
Randomized Controlled TrialIntramuscular stimulation as a new modality to control postthoracotomy pain: A randomized clinical trial.
Postoperative pain after thoracic surgery primarily hinders patients' mobility, decreasing the quality of life. To date, various modalities have been suggested to improve postoperative pain. However, pain alleviation still remains a challenge, resulting in continued reliance on opioids. To tackle this problem, this study introduces a needle electrical twitch obtaining intramuscular stimulation (NETOIMS) as a new effective treatment modality for postoperative pain after thoracoscopic surgery. ⋯ NETOIMS appears to be an effective modality in alleviating postoperative pain after thoracoscopic surgery, thereby reducing the reliance on opioid use.
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J. Thorac. Cardiovasc. Surg. · Oct 2022
Artificial papillary muscle device for off-pump transapical mitral valve repair.
New transapical minimally invasive artificial chordae implantation devices are a promising alternative to traditional open-heart repair, with the potential for decreased postoperative morbidity and reduced recovery time. However, these devices can place increased stress on the artificial chordae. We designed an artificial papillary muscle to alleviate artificial chordae stresses and thus increase repair durability. ⋯ Our novel artificial papillary muscle could integrate with minimally invasive repairs to shorten the artificial chordae and behave as an elastic damper, thus reducing sharp increases in force. With our device, we have the potential to improve the durability of off-pump transapical mitral valve repair procedures.
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J. Thorac. Cardiovasc. Surg. · Oct 2022
Noninvasive surrogates are poor predictors of liver fibrosis in patients with Fontan circulation.
Patients with Fontan circulation exhibit a high incidence of liver fibrosis and cirrhosis. Transient elastography (TE) and the enhanced liver fibrosis (ELF) test have proven useful as noninvasive surrogate markers of liver fibrosis for other chronic liver diseases. We evaluated whether TE and the ELF score can predict the degree of liver fibrosis in patients with Fontan circulation. ⋯ TE and the ELF score were unable to predict the degree of liver fibrosis in Fontan patients. Liver biopsy remains as the only valid method to assess fibrotic burden in this population.
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J. Thorac. Cardiovasc. Surg. · Oct 2022
Lung transplantation for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease: A call to modify the lung allocation score to decrease waitlist mortality.
Approximately 40% of lung transplants for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) in the lung allocation score era are single lung transplantations (SLTs). We hypothesized that double lung transplantation (DLT) results in superior survival, but that mortality on the waitlist may compel clinicians to perform SLT. We investigated both waitlist mortality in COPD patients with restricted versus unrestricted listing preferences and posttransplant survival in SLT versus DLT to identify key predictors of mortality. ⋯ Restricted listing preference is associated with increased waitlist mortality, but DLT recipients have superior posttransplant survival. Because the lung allocation score does not prioritize COPD, concern for increased waitlist mortality with restricted listing preference may drive continued use of SLT despite better posttransplant survival in DLT.
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J. Thorac. Cardiovasc. Surg. · Oct 2022
Repair of complete atrioventricular septal defect between 2 and 3.5 kilograms: Defining the limits of safe repair.
Repair of complete atrioventricular septal defect (cAVSD) is routinely performed at around 3 months of age with good results. However, some patients require earlier surgery due to heart failure or failure to thrive. It is uncertain whether cAVSD repair performed on patients ≤3.5 kg leads to increased mortality and reoperation on the left atrioventricular valve. ⋯ Repair of cAVSD in children ≤3.5 kg appears to be safe, with similar overall survival and freedom from reoperation compared with those >3.5 kg. These findings add further support to an approach of early complete repair in children with severe heart failure or failure to thrive.