The Annals of thoracic surgery
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Comparative Study
Robotic Approach Offers Similar Nodal Upstaging to Open Lobectomy for Clinical Stage I Non-small Cell Lung Cancer.
Appropriate nodal dissection during pulmonary resection improves pathologic staging accuracy. Detection of unexpected nodal metastases can be a surrogate for nodal dissection adequacy and reflect oncologic resection quality. The goal of this study was to determine whether robotic lobectomy carries worse, same, or better incidence of nodal upstaging as open lobectomy for clinical stage I non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). ⋯ Robotic lobectomy for clinical stage I NSCLC is an equivalent to open lobectomy as assessed by similar nodal upstaging rates, completeness of resection, and overall survival. This suggests that the robotic technology has been adopted appropriately in early-stage NSCLC.
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Case Reports
Valve Sparing Aortic Root Replacement for Aortico-Left Ventricular Tunnel With Bicuspid Aortic Valve.
Aortico-left ventricular tunnel (ALVT) is a rare, abnormal, paravalvular communication between the aorta and the left ventricle. ALVT can be associated with a variety of congenital heart diseases, but there are only a few reports of ALVT associated with bicuspid aortic valve (BAV). Herein, we report a case of an 11-year-old boy who successfully underwent aortic valve sparing root replacement for ALVT with BAV and aortic root aneurysm.
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The COVID-19 pandemic necessitates aggressive infection mitigation strategies to reduce the risk to patients and healthcare providers. This document is intended to provide a framework for the adult cardiac surgeon to consider in this rapidly changing environment. Preoperative, intraoperative, and postoperative detailed protective measures are outlined. These are guidance recommendations during a pandemic surge to be used for all patients while local COVID-19 disease burden remains elevated.
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Practice Guideline
Committee Recommendations for Resuming Cardiac Surgery Activity in the SARS-CoV-2 Era: Guidance From an International Cardiac Surgery Consortium.
Recommendations for the safe and optimized resumption of cardiac surgery care, research, and education during the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) era were developed by a cardiovascular research consortium, based in 19 countries and representing a wide spectrum of experience with COVID-19. This guidance document provides a framework for restarting cardiac surgery in the outpatient and inpatient settings, in accordance with the current understanding of SARS-CoV-2, the risks posed by interrupted cardiovascular care, and the available recommendations from major societies.