The Annals of thoracic surgery
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This study was undertaken to compare clinicopathologic features and survival between patients with unexpected N1 (clinical N0-pathologic N1) and expected N1 disease (clinical N1-pathologic N1) after operation for non-small cell lung cancer. ⋯ Patients with unexpected N1 disease showed better survival than did those with expected N1 disease, which seemed to be related to the pathologically minimal extent of the primary tumor and nodal involvement.
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Catheter-based ablation for atrial fibrillation (AF) performed percutaneously is shown to be limited in patients with nonparoxysmal AF (non-PAF). The full Cox-Maze surgical procedure demonstrated good success with non-PAF, but concerns were raised regarding increased morbidity eliminating the effect of the success rate. This study assessed the safety and efficacy of a stand-alone on-pump Cox-Maze procedure for non-PAF. ⋯ The long-term success rate after the Cox-Maze III procedure in a challenging group of non-PAF patients is acceptable. Our experience suggests the development of educational strategies to overcome the initial learning curve and patient selection criteria for AF surgical ablation.
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Intraoperative localization of ground-glass opacities is difficult because they are not easy to palpate and may be invisible at radioscopy. Therefore, various techniques have been developed to improve intraoperative localization of these lesions, allowing an adequate surgical resection. The aim of this study is to report two cases of preoperative localization of ground-glass opacities through computed tomography-guided placement of a metallic clip inside the lesion and to discuss this new technique in comparison with those previously described.
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Multicenter Study Comparative Study
Medium term outcomes of transapical aortic valve implantation: results from the Italian Registry of Trans-Apical Aortic Valve Implantation.
Transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI) has been proposed as a therapeutic option for high-risk or inoperable patients with severe symptomatic aortic valve stenosis. The aim of this multicenter study was to assess early and medium term outcomes of transapical aortic valve implantation (TA-TAVI). ⋯ Transapical TAVI provides good results in terms of early and midterm clinical and hemodynamic outcomes. Thus it appears to be a safe and effective alternative treatment for patients who are inoperable or have high surgical risk.
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Comparative Study
Transvalvular pacemaker leads increase the recurrence of regurgitation after tricuspid valve repair.
The impact of a transvalvular pacemaker lead on the progression of tricuspid regurgitation (TR) after tricuspid valve (TV) repair has not been clearly demonstrated. The aim of this study was to evaluate the presence of a transvalvular pacemaker lead as a risk factor for TR after TV repair in a large patient cohort. ⋯ In patients undergoing tricuspid valve surgery, the presence of a transvenous pacemaker implanted either preoperatively or within 30 days of surgery is associated with a significantly increased risk of persistent or recurrent TR at late follow-up.