The Annals of thoracic surgery
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A patient with double inlet left ventricle with transposition of great arteries and severe coarctation of the aorta received aortoplasty and pulmonary artery banding, followed by bidirectional Glenn shunt and extracardiac total cavopulmonary connection (TCPC). Severe subaortic stenosis and increased atrioventricular valve regurgitation were noted 4 years after TCPC. ⋯ The TCPC was taken down with both caval veins reconnected to the right atrium; the neopulmonary artery was reconstructed. Biventricular conversion from TCPC was achieved.
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Randomized Controlled Trial Comparative Study
Patient-Controlled Paravertebral Block for Video-Assisted Thoracic Surgery: A Randomized Trial.
Paravertebral block (PVB) has been proven to be an efficient way to control postoperative pain in patients who have undergone a thoracotomy. This study explored whether the use of a patient-controlled PVB can provide benefits over intravenous patient-controlled analgesia (PCA) for 3-port single-intercostal video-assisted thoracic surgery. ⋯ PVB, which resulted in lower cumulative dezocine doses and produced fewer side effects than PCA, can provide effective pain relief for patients undergoing video-assisted thoracic surgery.
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Comparative Study
Valvectomy Versus Replacement for the Surgical Treatment of Tricuspid Endocarditis.
Optimal surgical treatment of infective tricuspid endocarditis is debatable, especially in the setting of inherent social and pathologic concerns. This study compared tricuspid valve repair, replacement, and excision for the treatment of infective endocarditis METHODS: A single-center cardiac surgery database was queried to identify patients aged older than 18 years who underwent tricuspid valve operations for infective endocarditis between 2012 and 2016. Patients were divided into three groups by the type of tricuspid valve operation: valvectomy, repair, or replacement. Patients were evaluated to identify differences between preoperative factors and outcomes, including death, length of stay, and complications. ⋯ Tricuspid valve endocarditis patients who undergo tricuspid valve excision, repair, and replacement have similar 30-day operative mortality, as defined by The Society of Thoracic Surgeons. Excision patients have significantly lower unplanned readmission rates at 1 year. Tricuspid valvectomy is an acceptable initial treatment in this high-risk group as part of a surgical strategy to identify patients who are candidates for eventual valve replacement. Further study of long-term outcomes and survival is warranted.
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Concern has been raised over inferior lung transplantation survival associated with traumatic brain injury (TBI) organ donors. Our purpose was to explore the relationship between TBI donors and lung transplantation survival in the lung allocation score (LAS) era. ⋯ In the largest analysis of TBI donors and the impact on lung transplantation survival to date, we found similar survival out to 5 years in lung transplant recipients of TBI versus non-TBI donors, alleviating concerns over continued transplantation with this unique donor population.