General thoracic and cardiovascular surgery
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The aim of our study was to describe our protocol of non-heart-beating-donor (NHBD) lung transplantation and discuss data regarding the situation of NHBD and lung transplantation in Spain. ⋯ NHBD is no longer just a promising source of organs for lung transplantations, it is a real one. We hope that in the near future many other units will develop similar protocols to improve the use of these grafts and decrease the mortality rate among those on the waiting lists.
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Gen Thorac Cardiovasc Surg · Jan 2011
Case ReportsExtrapleural hematoma as a complication following thoracotomy for pulmonary lobectomy.
Extrapleural hematoma as a complication following thoracic surgery is rare. We report a case of an extrapleural hematoma following pleural lobectomy that resolved completely with nonsurgical treatment. A 63-year-old woman underwent left lower lobectomy for lung cancer through a left posterolateral thoracotomy. ⋯ She became symptomatic after rapid infusion. The hematoma resolved without an invasive intervention. The CT results 189 days after the onset showed almost complete regression of the hematoma.
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Gen Thorac Cardiovasc Surg · Jan 2011
Neurohumoral and inflammatory markers for prediction of right ventricular failure after implantation of a left ventricular assist device.
Implantation of a left ventricular assist device (LVAD) is an established treatment for end-stage heart failure. Right ventricular dysfunction develops in 20%-50% of patients after device implantation, leading to prolonged hospital stays and elevated mortality rates. However, prediction of right ventricular failure remains difficult. ⋯ Preoperative evaluation of markers of inflammation and neurohumoral activation may provide additional information for predicting right ventricular failure after implantation of an LVAD.
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Gen Thorac Cardiovasc Surg · Jan 2011
Case ReportsDelayed cardiac rupture occurring two months after blunt chest trauma.
We describe a rare case of successful repair of delayed cardiac rupture due to blunt chest trauma; the cardiac rupture occurred 74 days after the trauma. A 75-year-old woman with a history of blunt chest trauma that caused multiple rib fractures underwent an emergent thoracotomy due to left hemothorax. A coin-sized pericardial defect and cardiac rupture on the left ventricle was found to be close to a fractured rib, which was thought to have damaged the myocardium and thus induced time-dependent myocardial degeneration. The cardiac rupture and the pericardial defect did not induce life-threatening cardiac tamponade; however, the cardiac rupture did induce hemothorax, which could be successfully treated.
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Gen Thorac Cardiovasc Surg · Jan 2011
Case ReportsModified Norwood procedure with a handmade down-sizing valved right ventricle-to-pulmonary artery conduit.
First-stage palliation of hypoplastic left heart syndrome has been revolutionized by the recent introduction of a right ventricle-to-pulmonary artery (RV-PA) conduit as an alternative to a systemic-to-pulmonary shunt. However, most conduits are unvalved, and the use of valved xenografts was abandoned during the early era of this operation. ⋯ The postoperative course was uneventful with well-balanced pulmonary and arterial perfusion. We believe that minimization of the regurgitant volume from an unvalved prosthetic conduit by utilizing this modification might be of benefit in this particular group of patients.