Annals of surgery
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Since November 1985, 14 neonates and young infants have undergone orthotopic heart transplantation at Loma Linda University Medical Center (LLUMC) as therapy for hypoplastic aortic tract complex. Eleven (78%) survived surgery and are living and well today. Three perioperative deaths resulted: one due to perforated peptic ulcer, one due to necrotizing pneumonitis, and one due to graft failure unrelated to rejection. ⋯ All survivors were normotensive. There was no late renal dysfunction. Although inadequate donor resources remain a significant limiting factor for transplantation therapy during early life, these results suggest that cardiac transplantation is effective therapy for selected neonates and young infants with incurable congenital heart disease.
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OKT3 is a murine monoclonal antibody that is reactive against the CD3 surface antigen on T lymphocytes. This antigen appears to be essential for recognition of foreign antigen and for initiation of the process of cell-mediated rejection. ⋯ In this group of patients, the time to the first rejection was 76 +/- 11 days (mean +/- SEM), and 85% were successfully weaned from maintenance steroids. Avoidance of the side effects of cyclosporine and/or high dose steroids during the perioperative period, combined with a long rejection-free interval and the likelihood of long-term maintenance free of steroids, make the use of OKT3 or similar agents an attractive alternative to conventional immunosuppression.
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Operation was employed in the treatment of 546 patients for complications of aortic dissection during the 32-year period of 1956-1988. Current concepts and operative techniques evolved during this period. Fortunately, about half the patients were treated during the latter 4 years, as modern therapy became standardized. ⋯ The 546 patients were followed, and a total of 838 operations were finally employed, resulting in total aortic replacement in 18, near total replacement in 41, entire thoracic aorta in 22, near total thoracic aorta in 33, and the entire thoracoabdominal aorta in 148 patients. Long-term survival in 439 patients after final operation was 66% and 44% at 5 and 10 years, respectively, despite the fact that the median age at first admission was 59. Operative treatment appears to be well-established for this disease.
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From July 1983 through December 1987, 300 consecutive patients with penetrating gunshot wounds of the abdomen causing visceral or vascular injuries were treated. Resuscitative thoracotomy was required in 20 patients (6.6%), and only two survived. The most commonly injured organs were the small bowel (60%), colon (41.6%), liver (29.3%), vascular structures (24.6%), stomach (17.3%), and kidney (17.0%). ⋯ The cause of death was perioperative shock in 30 patients (85.7%), whereas five patients (14.3%) died of sepsis and multiple organ failure. The most common postoperative complication in survivors and patients who died later in the study was an intra-abdominal abscess (3.0%). Rapid conservative operative techniques for civilian gunshot wounds leads to few postoperative complications and an excellent survival rate, especially if vascular injuries are not present.
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Pulmonary complications remain the most important cause of postoperative morbidity and mortality. The many advances of modern surgical care over the last 30 years have not appreciably altered the incidence of these complications. Many risk factors have been shown to contribute to this problem, but no studies have examined the impact of preoperative protein depletion on respiratory function and related this to the development of postoperative pulmonary complications. 80 patients (42 men, 38 women, median age of 64 years, with a range of 15-91 years) awaiting major elective gastrointestinal (G. ⋯ There was a significant difference between these two categories of patients in regard to respiratory muscle strength (p less than .025), vital capacity (p less than .05), and peak expiratory flow rate (p less than .005). Pneumonia developed in a significantly higher proportion of protein-depleted patients with atelectasis (p less than .05), and their stay in the hospital after surgery was longer (p less than .05). These data show that protein depletion is associated with an impairment of respiratory function, and is in itself a significant risk factor in the development of postoperative pneumonia.