European journal of cardio-thoracic surgery : official journal of the European Association for Cardio-thoracic Surgery
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Eur J Cardiothorac Surg · Jan 2013
Meta AnalysisMeta-analysis of 5,674 patients treated with percutaneous coronary intervention and drug-eluting stents or coronary artery bypass graft surgery for unprotected left main coronary artery stenosis.
To compare the safety and efficacy of coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) with percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) using drug-eluting stents (DES) in patients with unprotected left main coronary artery (ULMCA) disease. ⋯ CABG surgery remains the best option of treatment for patients with ULMCA disease, with less need of TVR and lower MACCE rates.
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Eur J Cardiothorac Surg · Jan 2013
ReviewThe present and future of thoracic surgery within the European Association for Cardio-Thoracic Surgery (EACTS).
On 10 February 2012, a Strategic Conference was organized by the European Association for Cardio-Thoracic Surgery (EACTS) in Windsor during the inauguration of the newly acquired EACTS house. In this review, the present and future of thoracic surgery are discussed. With the creation of the Thoracic Domain, thoracic surgery has been strengthened and made clearly visible within the general EACTS structure. ⋯ Harmonization of thoracic training within Europe is necessary to allow better exchange between different countries. Guidelines dealing with specific thoracic procedures should be further developed. The Thoracic Domain of EACTS will remain a key player in promoting thoracic surgery in Europe and internationally, and in providing high-level scientific output, education and training in thoracic surgery and diseases of the chest, which requires continuous, close cooperation between thoracic and cardiothoracic surgeons.
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At least every ten years, each specialty should reflect upon its past, its present and its future, in order to be able to reconfirm the direction in which it is headed, to adopt suggestions from inside and outside and, consequently, to improve. As such, the aim of this manuscript is to provide the interested reader with an overview of how aortic surgery and (perhaps more accurately) aortic medicine has evolved in Europe, and its present standing; also to provide a glimpse into the future, trying to disseminate the thoughts of a group of people actively involved in the development of aortic medicine in Europe, namely the Vascular Domain of the European Association of Cardio-Thoracic Surgery (EACTS).
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Eur J Cardiothorac Surg · Jan 2013
Case ReportsEmergency laparotomy helped the resection of an intralobar pulmonary sequestration with haemorrhagic shock.
Massive intrapulmonary haemorrhage and haemothorax are uncommon presentations associated with pulmonary sequestration. Here, we describe the case of a 40-year-old man who suffered from high fever and haemoptysis for 1 week before he was admitted to our hospital with a complaint of chest discomfort with shock. ⋯ A pulmonary sequestration has a severe complication resulting in shock due to intrapulmonary haemorrhage and haemothorax. Accordingly, early resection of a sequestered lung should be the choice of the treatment in these cases.
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Eur J Cardiothorac Surg · Jan 2013
Randomized Controlled TrialLeukocyte filtration of blood cardioplegia attenuates myocardial damage and inflammation.
Leukocyte filtration of blood cardioplegia (cLkF) is postulated to reduce ischaemia-reperfusion myocardial injury. Contradictory results have been published and few studies have addressed perioperative cytokine leakage and haemodynamic status after LkF. ⋯ cLkF during blood cardioplegia attenuates myocardial ischaemia/reperfusion injury and reduces perioperative leakage of TnI, lactate and pro-inflammatory cytokines. These data did not result in a better haemodynamic status.