European journal of cardio-thoracic surgery : official journal of the European Association for Cardio-thoracic Surgery
-
Eur J Cardiothorac Surg · Sep 1998
Case ReportsAortic valve stenosis causing a left-to-right shunt in persistent left superior vena cava communicating with the left atrium.
This study demonstrated a rare anomaly of a persistent left superior vena cava draining into the left atrium in a patient with developing left-to-right shunt caused by bicuspid aortic stenosis. The venous system, including the coronary sinus, was otherwise normal. ⋯ At operation, the aortic valve was replaced with a mechanical prosthesis and the anomalous vein was ligated. The convalescence was uneventful.
-
Eur J Cardiothorac Surg · Sep 1998
Case ReportsStent implantation for post-Mustard systemic venous obstruction.
In this paper, we report on the use of stents in the treatment of late-onset post-Mustard systemic venous obstruction in three patients with clinical signs of obstructive caval syndrome. After unsuccessful balloon dilation, Palmaz-Schatz stents were implanted at the veno-atrial junction. ⋯ After 26+/-4 months of non-invasive follow-up, no signs of recurrent stenosis were observed. Stent implantation is effective in the treatment of systemic venous obstruction after Mustard operation.
-
Eur J Cardiothorac Surg · Sep 1998
Comparative StudyPreconditioning of the latissimus dorsi muscle in cardiomyoplasty: vascular delay or chronic electrical stimulation.
In standard single stage cardiomyoplasty (CMP), the latissimus dorsi muscle (LDM) is not preconditioned prior to surgery. We hypothesized that latissimus dorsi preconditioning by vascular delay or by chronic electrical stimulation would result in an improved LV hemodynamic function early (14 days) after CMP. ⋯ Preconditioning the LDM may play an important role in providing early cardiac assistance in CMP. Preconditioning the LDM with vascular delay resulted in improving performance of the LDM with consistent increases in LV hemodynamics. This was not observed after preconditioning with chronic electrical stimulation. Vascular delay of the latissimus dorsi can significantly improve muscle performance in CMP and could provide hemodynamic assistance early after surgery.
-
Eur J Cardiothorac Surg · Sep 1998
Comparative StudyAdvantage of post-operative oral administration of UFT (tegafur and uracil) for completely resected p-stage I-IIIa non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC).
Although adjuvant therapy after surgery for non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) has been reported to be ineffective, it has been recently reported in prospective randomised studies conducted by two different groups in Japan that oral administration of a 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) derivative drug, UFT (a combination drug of tegafur and uracil) can improve the post-operative survival [The Study Group of Adjuvant Chemotherapy for Lung Cancer (Chubu, Japan). A randomized trial of postoperative adjuvant chemotherapy in non-small cell lung cancer (the second cooperative study). Eu J Surg Oncol 1995;21:69-77; Wada, H., Hitomi, S., Teramatsu, T, West Japan Study Group for Lung Cancer Surgery. Adjuvant chemotherapy after complete resection in non-small-cell lung cancer. J Clin Oncol 1996;14:1048-1054]. To examine the efficacy of UFT as post-operative adjuvant therapy, a retrospective study was performed. ⋯ Efficacy of oral administration of UFT as post-operative adjuvant therapy for completely resected NSCLC was proposed. To confirm the efficacy, a prospective randomized study for a more homogenous patient group is needed.
-
Eur J Cardiothorac Surg · Sep 1998
Comparative StudyResults of primary and two-stage repair of interrupted aortic arch.
Early results of primary and two-stage repair of interrupted aortic arch have improved. Experience with different surgical approaches should be analysed and compared. ⋯ Our experience confirmed better results after the primary repair of interrupted aortic arch, which was associated with lower mortality, prevalence of severe complications and need for re-intervention. Higher prevalence of subaortic stenosis after primary repair could be explained by patient selection early in our experience. We recommend the primary repair of interrupted aortic arch and associated heart lesions in neonates, however, in unfavourable conditions an individualised surgical approach with initial palliative surgery should be considered.