The Thoracic and cardiovascular surgeon
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Thorac Cardiovasc Surg · Oct 2005
Surgical drainage of late cardiac tamponade following open heart surgery.
There are few reports on postoperative late cardiac tamponade with surgical therapy in the literature. ⋯ Bleeding due to dense adhesions between the epicardium and the sternum may be encountered during subxiphoid drainage for postoperative late cardiac tamponade and lead to a 3 % mortality rate.
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Thorac Cardiovasc Surg · Oct 2005
Controlled Clinical TrialBrachial plexus injury during open heart surgery--controlled prospective study.
Postoperative brachial plexus injury is often reported because the brachial plexus is stretched by sternotomy and the use of sternal retractors during open heart surgery. In many studies, brachial plexus injuries have been demonstrated by postoperative electrophysiological studies in susceptible patients. In this study, we estimated the incidence, severity, and type of brachial plexus injuries by routine preoperative and postoperative electrophysiological studies of patients undergoing open heart surgery. ⋯ There are no reports in the literature of routine preoperative and postoperative electrophysiological studies in large patient groups to evaluate brachial plexus injury during open heart surgery. It is known that heart surgery sometimes causes partial brachial plexus injury, especially in the lower trunk. However, these peripheral nerve problems are usually not considered clinically important and are not investigated. Patients undergoing open heart surgery must be closely followed up for peripheral nerve injury during the postoperative period.