The heart surgery forum
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The heart surgery forum · Jan 2008
Retrospective analysis of surgically treated infective endocarditis cases.
Prosthetic valve endocarditis (PVE) and native valve endocarditis (NVE) both cause high rates of morbidity and mortality and are significant health problems in our community. Optimal timing of the surgical intervention depends on the hemodynamic stability of the patient. In the present study, we retrospectively evaluated the clinical status, bacteriology, morbidity, and mortality parameters of infective endocarditis cases that were treated surgically. ⋯ Despite significant medical and surgical advances, both NVE and PVE still continue to be causes of high mortality and morbidity rates in cardiac surgery.
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The heart surgery forum · Jan 2008
Restrictive mitral valve annuloplasty for chronic ischemic mitral regurgitation: a 5-year clinical experience with the physio ring.
This study investigated the results of restrictive mitral annuloplasty with the semirigid Carpentier-Edwards Physio ring in patients with moderately severe to severe chronic ischemic mitral regurgitation (IMR) and advanced ischemic cardiomyopathy (ICM). ⋯ Restrictive mitral valve annuloplasty using the semirigid Physio ring corrected chronic IMR in ICM patients with very low mortality and improved contractility. Surgery also prevented recurrence of significant IMR in parallel with the phenomenon of postoperative continuous reverse myocardial remodeling.
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The heart surgery forum · Jan 2008
Comparative StudyPreoperative prophylaxis can decrease rates of atrial fibrillation in open heart surgery: a retrospective study.
We investigated the effects of preoperative administration of beta-blockers on the incidence of atrial fibrillation (AF) after cardiothoracic surgery and the resulting morbidity and mortality. ⋯ Postoperative AF increases the rates of morbidity and mortality and the length of hospital stay after CABG. The prophylactic use of beta-blockers decreases the rate of postoperative AF and thus AF-related complications.
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The heart surgery forum · Jan 2008
Achieving metrics during beating-heart ex-maze procedures improves outcomes.
Current surgical treatments for atrial fibrillation (AF) lack intraoperative metrics that predict long-term outcomes. The extracardiac maze (Ex-Maze) procedure is a beating-heart maze procedure that causes spontaneous conversion to sinus rhythm (SR) during lesion creation. Spontaneous conversion and confirmation of pulmonary vein exit block are 2 important predictors of long-term freedom from AF. ⋯ Recent advances in techniques and technologies permit the creation of a comprehensive biatrial lesion pattern on the epicardium of a beating heart. Observation of spontaneous conversion and confirmation of pulmonary vein exit block are important metrics that predict improved long-term outcomes.