Interactive cardiovascular and thoracic surgery
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Interact Cardiovasc Thorac Surg · Mar 2013
Aortic arch reconstruction in newborns with an autologous pericardial patch: contemporary results.
The incidence of recurrent aortic arch obstruction after Norwood procedure and other types of aortic arch reconstruction in newborns remains high. Biological and synthetic materials are used to enlarge the aorta. We report our experience using autologous pericardium to reconstruct the aortic arch in patients with hypoplastic left heart syndrome, aortic arch interruption and hypoplastic aortic arch. ⋯ The use of autologous pericardium in aortic arch reconstruction procedure is effective and associated with an acceptable incidence of recurrent arch obstruction. Its availability and characteristics make it an attractive alternative to other materials.
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Interact Cardiovasc Thorac Surg · Feb 2013
Comparative StudyCardiac surgical outcomes in abdominal solid organ (renal and hepatic) transplant recipients: a case-matched study.
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. ⋯ Cardiac surgery can be performed in patients with abdominal solid organ tranpslant recipients with acceptable early morbidity and mortality. However, long-term survival in transplant patients is poor. Infection remains the most common cause of death.
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Interact Cardiovasc Thorac Surg · Feb 2013
Comparative StudyDoes a gentamicin-impregnated collagen sponge reduce sternal wound infections in high-risk cardiac surgery patients?
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. ⋯ A gentamicin-collagen sponge was not effective in preventing deep sternal wound infections in high-risk patients. Our results suggest that a substantial proportion of wound contaminations occur after bypass surgery with bilateral internal mammary artery grafts.
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Interact Cardiovasc Thorac Surg · Feb 2013
Comparative StudyPost-recurrence survival of patients with non-small-cell lung cancer after curative resection with or without induction/adjuvant chemotherapy.
Recently, the prognosis of patients with non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) has improved, thanks to the standardization of adjuvant chemotherapy and the introduction of molecular-targeted drugs, notably epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) tyrosine kinase inhibitors and other new anti-cancer agents. However, the survival characteristics and prognosis of patients with recurrent NSCLC after curative resection are not well understood. ⋯ The prognosis of patients with NSCLC recurrence after surgery is currently improving. Our results suggested two new prognostic factors, adjuvant chemotherapy and EGFR mutations, neither of which have been previously reported. Treatment strategies for postoperative recurrence should be established based on a more detailed subdivision of factors, such as histology and molecular markers, in the future.
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Interact Cardiovasc Thorac Surg · Feb 2013
Potassium-induced conversion of ventricular fibrillation after aortic declamping.
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. ⋯ The results from this register study demonstrate that potassium infusion is an effective and convenient first-hand measure to convert post declamping VF on CPB.