The Annals of thoracic surgery
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The laterolateral anastomosis between the superior vena cava and the pulmonary artery trunk is presented as a modified technique for total cavopulmonary connection. This procedure was successfully performed on a 9-year-old girl, associated with the exclusion of the right atrium, for the treatment of tricuspid atresia and transposition of the great arteries.
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Chylothorax, a potentially lethal disorder that may cause profound respiratory, nutritional, and immunologic complications, has become increasingly common in recent years. Medical therapy has been found to have a significant failure rate. Therefore, surgical treatment of complicated chylothorax has become a mainstay of care. ⋯ In 2 cases, a video-assisted thoracic operation was used in conjunction with pleuroperitoneal shunting: a previously placed pleuroperitoneal shunt that was malfunctioning was repositioned thoracoscopically after a pleural adhesiolysis, and a pleural adhesiolysis was performed thoracoscopically before placement of a pleuroperitoneal shunt. In all cases the effusion resolved after the video-assisted thoracic operation without further intervention. Video-assisted thoracic surgery offers an effective means of treating chylothorax, regardless of cause, allowing the advantage of access to thoracic structures without the morbidity of more extensive procedures.
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Long-term survival at our institution for postcardiotomy cardiogenic shock patients supported with the BioPump is 36% (29/80 patients). A heparin-coated extracorporeal membrane oxygenator (ECMO), first introduced in 1991, may reduce organ injury associated with cardiopulmonary bypass. The device can be employed rapidly because it connects directly to the cardiopulmonary bypass cannula. ⋯ Extracorporeal membrane oxygenation without left ventricular drainage clearly is not effective in patients undergoing mitral valve operations as it does not effectively decompress the left ventricle, but it was highly effective in treating postcardiotomy cardiogenic shock in our coronary artery bypass grafting patients. Extracorporeal membrane oxygenation also proved to be safe as the patient-related complications of stroke, renal failure, and mediastinitis were low. Our preliminary success with heparin-coated ECMO now needs to be confirmed by studies from other centers with larger groups of patients.
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From January 1986 through June 1992, 512 elderly patients (70 years and older) underwent internal mammary artery grafting (IMAG). The operative mortality in these patients was 7.62% (39 of 512), which was significantly higher than that (1.97% [60 of 3,047]; p < 0.0001) in younger patients (under 70 years old). To investigate the risk factors in the elderly, the data from the 512 patients were evaluated by univariate analysis and multiple logistic regression. ⋯ The regression analysis demonstrated that right IMAG, reoperation, history of myocardial infarction, age, left main artery disease, history of smoking, and postoperative complications are the risk factors for the elderly undergoing IMAG. Therefore, particular care should be taken in those patients scheduled to undergo IMAG. The role of right IMAG in the elderly should be further clarified before universal acceptance of the technique in these patients.
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Homograft replacement of the aortic valve has inherent advantages for the patient in terms of decreased incidence of thromboembolism, endocarditis, and anticoagulation-related complications. Limitations in its use stem from a significant incidence of postoperative aortic regurgitation, related to difficulty with consistent commissural and sinotubular geometry when inserted in the subcoronary position. To minimize this complication, we used a homograft as a functional unit in 71 patients between 1986 and May 1993, either as a root replacement (n = 58) or as an intraaortic inclusion cylinder (n = 13). ⋯ Freedom from significant aortic regurgitation was 88% +/- 7% at 6-year follow-up. More consistent maintenance of the sinotubular and commissural geometry of the aortic homograft may be achieved with the root replacement or the inclusion cylinder techniques. This may reduce the incidence of postoperative aortic regurgitation and further benefit the patient by reducing the need for reoperation in the future.