Interactive cardiovascular and thoracic surgery
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Interact Cardiovasc Thorac Surg · May 2012
Case ReportsDiscrete subaortic stenosis 37 years after repair of a ventricular septal defect.
Discrete subaortic stenosis (DSS) is uncommon in adults after surgical correction of congenital heart defects. There are only a few published reports on the occurrence of DSS in adults. ⋯ Thirty-seven years later, she presented with congestive heart failure associated with severe subaortic membranous stenosis and atrial fibrillation (AF) that required surgical repair. We report successful surgical treatment of this adult patient with DSS and AF 37 years after repair of a VSD.
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Interact Cardiovasc Thorac Surg · May 2012
Insertion of paravertebral block catheters intraoperatively to reduce incidence of block failure.
Paravertebral block catheters are a recognized method of regional pain control after a thoractomy. We describe a technique of insertion with the belief that it provides a superior positioning of the paravertebral (extra-pleural) catheter resulting in a better distribution of the local anaesthetic and better pain control.
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Interact Cardiovasc Thorac Surg · May 2012
Case ReportsSuccessful thrombolysis of major pulmonary embolism 5 days after lobectomy.
Aggressive intravenous thrombolysis of pulmonary emboli after major thoracic surgery has rarely been reported and is controversial because of an assumed risk of fatal bleeding. We report a 62-year old female who underwent left upper lobectomy. Her postoperative course was complicated with symptomatic pulmonary embolism and on postoperative day 5 she was successfully treated with intravenous thrombolysis using alteplase (Actilyse(®)) without signs of bleeding. She was discharged from the hospital 12 days postoperatively.