I read with great interest the paper by Bakker et al [1]. The Cox-maze III procedure achieved high curative rates and has become the surgical gold standard
Atrial fibrillation is the most common cardiac arrhythmia and is associated with significant morbidity and mortality. The classic cut-and-sew maze procedure is successful in 85–95% of patients. However, the technical complexity has prompted modifications of the maze procedure. The objective of this study was to retrospectively evaluate the clinical safety and efficacy of the maze...
The anti-fibrillatory effect of potassium is well recognized from experimental models. There have, however, been very few clinical reports on the use of potassium to convert ventricular fibrillation (VF) after cardioplegic arrest.
I read with great interest the paper by Birgand et al. regarding the use of gentamicin-collagen sponges in closure of sternal wounds in high- risk cardiac
I read with interest and a lot of attention the article by Birgand et al. regarding the results of their quasi-experimental single-centre prospective cohor
Sternal wound infections occurring after cardiac surgery have a critical impact on morbidity, mortality and hospital costs. This study evaluated the efficacy of a gentamicin–collagen sponge in decreasing deep sternal-wound infections in high-risk cardiac surgery patients.
We congratulate Liu and colleagues for their admirable efforts in treating patients with autologous pericardial aortic valve (APAV) replacement [1]. The su
Reports on adverse neurological events following transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI) have focused on strokes, while more subtle postoperative cognitive decline has not yet been systematically investigated. In this study, we prospectively examined neurological and cognitive outcomes in patients undergoing transapical (TA) and surgical aortic valve replacement (AVR).
This study aims to investigate the outcomes of cardiac surgery in patients with abdominal solid organ transplants and to compare them with the case-matched population undergoing cardiac surgery.
We have read with great interest the paper by Verberkmoes and Verberkmoes-Broeders [1]. They aimed to develop a low-fidelity, reusable and portable simulat
Papillary fibroelastomas are rare benign tumours of the endocardium, accounting for the most common primary valvular tumours of the heart. They typically originate from left-sided heart valves, whereas pulmonary valve involvement is anecdotal. They rarely cause valvular dysfunction, but they can cause turbulent flow and thrombus formation with consequent cerebral, retinal...
Left ventricular pseudoaneurysm (LVPA) is a known serious complication of myocardial infarction or mitral valve replacement. As an alternative option, transmitral patch repair for LVPA has been reported. However, it is very difficult to complete the procedure for LVPA with a large defect. A 68-year old man with a history of inferior myocardial infarction had undergone mitral...
We read with great interest the manuscript by Yano et al. regarding the surgical treartment of a mycotic aneurysm of ascending aorta [1]. We agree with the
We read with great interest the paper by Yano et al. regarding the successful surgical management of an 81-year old female patient with a septic aortic pse
A 71-year old male who underwent total aortic arch replacement using a newly developed uncoated vascular prosthesis (Triplex®) developed postoperative mediastinitis due to a methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus infection. The Triplex® vascular prosthesis has a unique three-layer structure with a non-porous elastomer middle layer material and has several advantages over more...
We read with interest the article by Renaud et al. on radiofrequency ablation or stereotactic ablative radiotherapy as the best treatment for radically tre
A best evidence topic was constructed according to a structured protocol. The question addressed was whether radiofrequency (RF) offers better results than stereotactic ablative therapy in patients suffering from primary non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) unfit for surgery. Of the 90 papers found using a report search for RF, 5 represented the best evidence to answer this...
A best evidence topic was written according to a structured protocol. The question addressed was whether muscle-sparing thoracotomy (MST), as opposed to posterolateral thoracotomy (PLT), results in better recovery. A total of 108 papers were found using the reported searches of which eight represented the best evidence to answer the clinical question. The authors, date, journal...
We read with great interest the article by Nosotti et al. [1]. The authors presented their experience with the use of veno-venous extracorporeal membrane o
It is generally believed that Heller's cardiomyotomy (HCM) cannot improve dysphagia in patients with marked dilatation and axis deviation or sigmoid oesophagus. Conventional management for sigmoid oesophagus has been oesophagectomy. We report our surgical experience in the management of 8 patients with sigmoid oesophagus with laparoscopic HCM.
Animal and clinical studies have demonstrated the feasibility of tracheal replacement by silicone-stented allogenic aortas. In clinical trials, however, this graft did not show mature cartilage regeneration into the grafts as was observed in animal models. To solve this issue, we investigated tracheal replacement with a composite graft based on a fascial flap-wrapped allogenic...
Late outcomes of repair of coarctation with arch hypoplasia have not yet been described. Hypertension and arch reobstruction frequently occur after standard coarctation repair and thus we sought to determine the long-term results of repair in the subset of patients with arch hypoplasia at a single institution over a 20-year period.
Long-term survival after cardiac surgery is determined by a number of different risk factors. Central venous oxygen saturation (SvO2) measures the balance between oxygen delivery and demand. SvO2 levels in the intensive care situation are reported to be associated with patient outcome. The present report explores the connection between SvO2 during cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB) and...
The diagnostic accuracy of multiplane bi-dimensional transoesophageal echocardiography (TEE) in detecting aortic valve bicuspidy is good, but is less reliable when the leaflets are moderately or severely calcified. We hypothesized that systolic colour Doppler analysis might improve the accuracy of diagnosing aortic bicuspidy by TEE in patients with severe symptomatic aortic...
Extracellular matrix (ECM) remodelling of the vessel wall is hypothesized to be an important step in atherosclerosis. Changes of the ECM are associated with the gradual progression of an atherosclerotic lesion from a lipid streak to complicated unstable plaque, leading to a complete vessel occlusion and eventually myocardial infarction (MI). Understanding of this process is...