Journal of cardiac surgery
-
The role of Swan-Ganz catheterization for cardiac surgery and perioperative management has recently been scrutinized. ⋯ The incidence of serious Swan-Ganz catheter complications in our patient population is comparable to the incidence reported in the literature. Based on these results the use of Swan-Ganz catheters in cardiac surgery is still justified since the rate of associated serious complications is extremely low. Despite the rare occurrence of serious complications and the infrequent fatal outcomes, the benefit of its use in selected cases of cardiac surgery overweight its associated complications.
-
Comparative Study
Postoperative chylothorax: differences between patients who received median sternotomy or lateral thoracotomy for congenital heart disease.
Chylothorax after surgery for congenital heart disease is rare. We wanted to compare the different presentations of chylothorax in patients who received median sternotomy or lateral thoracotomy. ⋯ The majority of pediatric patients who develop chylothorax after cardiac surgery can be successfully managed by medical treatment only. To avoid complications in pediatric patients after cardiac surgery, chylothorax should be suspected for patients with unexplainable, prolonged, and abundant pleural effusion.
-
Case Reports
Iatrogenic coronary artery stenosis and late ventricular septal defect after penetrating cardiac trauma repair.
We report herein a 20-year-old male who has apical myocardial infarction due to suturing of the distal left anterior descending artery and late ventricular septal defect after penetrating cardiac trauma repair.
-
Case Reports
Central cannulation through a standard left thoracotomy for surgery on the descending thoracic aorta.
Surgery on the descending thoracic aorta is often performed with hypothermic cardiopulmonary bypass established via the femoral vessels. This, however, produces retrograde flow, which may potentially dislodge atheromatous debris from a diseased descending aorta or results in malperfusion due to cannulation of the false lumen in patients with descending aortic dissection. In view of this, we have described a technique of central cannulation of the ascending aorta and main pulmonary artery, established via a standard left thoracotomy, providing antegrade flow and limiting the cerebral ischemic time.