The Annals of thoracic surgery
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The risks and limitations of surgical resection and reconstruction for tracheobronchial strictures demand consideration of other therapeutic options that can alleviate the distressing symptoms of tracheobronchial obstruction. One alternative is to stent the obstructive lesion until surgical advances allow primary reconstruction or replacement of the critically diseased airway or until an ideal endoprosthesis is found. The latter requires uniformity in the distribution of expansile force, conformability and stability within the tracheobronchial tree, and ease of placement. ⋯ We had no complications from our technique of stenting. There has been no evidence of restenosis or occlusion within the stented segment of airway. The complementary use of expandable metal and Silastic endobronchial stents provided symptomatic and functional improvement in our patients during follow-up ranging from 5 to 24 months.
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We retrospectively evaluated the hemostatic system of 13 patients during implantation (2 to 35 days) of the Jarvik 7-70 total artificial heart (TAH). Although all patients were clinically manageable while on the TAH, 5 had excessive generalized bleeding. After the heart transplant procedure, 2 patients had neurological events and 1 patient, thrombosis of the leg. ⋯ A hypercoagulable state (increased fibrinogen and thrombin-antithrombin complex and decreased antithrombin III and protein C), decreased fibrinolysis (decreased tissue plasminogen activator and D-dimer), activated platelets (increased thromboxane B2), or combinations of these were associated with thrombosis. The hemostatic activation returned to normal 1 day after removal of the TAH. These data suggest that the patient with a TAH requires more sophisticated laboratory monitoring and individualized treatment for excessive fibrinolysis, hypercoagulable state, or platelet activation to avoid thrombotic and hemorrhagic complications.
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The effects of cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB) on the expression of leukocyte adhesive receptors, ie, complement receptor type 3 (CR3), were studied in 16 patients. The CR3 expression on leukocytes was determined by time-resolved fluoroimmunoassay on a standardized number of cells isolated from blood samples taken during various times during CPB. The results demonstrated that CR3 expression on leukocytes increased immediately after the start of CPB (p less than 0.05), concomitant with an early sharp increase of plasma concentrations of C3a (p less than 0.01). ⋯ However, the mechanisms for the second peak of leukocyte CR3 expression during CPB remain to be further elucidated. In conclusion, CR3 expression on leukocytes increased immediately after the start of CPB and was followed by a second peak of expression in the late phase of CPB. Pharmacological blockage of these adhesive receptors might reduce the leukocyte-mediated deleterious effects of CPB.