The Journal of thoracic and cardiovascular surgery
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J. Thorac. Cardiovasc. Surg. · Jul 2023
Surgical implantation of balloon-expandable heart valves for the treatment of mitral annular calcification.
The treatment of mitral valve disease in the presence of mitral annular calcification (MAC) is associated with an increased risk of cardiovascular and all-cause mortality. Various surgical and transcatheter techniques for the treatment of mitral disease with severe MAC have been described. However, these procedures are associated with high risk of operative morbidity and mortality. We describe our experience with open surgical implantation of a balloon-expandable valve (BEV) in patients with severe MAC as an alternative approach. ⋯ Surgical implantation of a BEV in the mitral position offers a treatment option for patients with mitral valve disease complicated by severe MAC who are at increased risk for conventional surgical approaches and at risk for left ventricular outflow tract obstruction with transcatheter approaches.
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J. Thorac. Cardiovasc. Surg. · Jul 2023
Minimally invasive surgery is associated with decreased postoperative complications after esophagectomy.
Although some studies have compared esophagectomy outcomes by technique or approach, there is opportunity to strengthen our knowledge surrounding these outcomes. We aimed to perform a comprehensive comparison of esophagectomy postoperative complications. ⋯ Patients undergoing minimally invasive esophagectomy have lower rates of postoperative complications regardless of esophagectomy techniques. The minimally invasive approach was associated with reduced complication variance among 3 common esophagectomy techniques.
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J. Thorac. Cardiovasc. Surg. · Jul 2023
Emergency arterial switch: Rescue therapy for life-threatening hypoxemia in infants with transposition of great arteries with intact intraventricular septum.
A small percentage of infants with d-loop transposition of the great arteries with intact intraventricular septum have life-threatening refractory hypoxemia often due to coexistent persistent pulmonary hypertension of the newborn. In this case series we describe the outcomes of a "rescue" emergency arterial switch operation (ASO). ⋯ An emergency ASO is a definitive rescue therapy that can be undertaken with acceptable mortality and neurodevelopmental outcome with consideration of the preoperative clinical state.
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J. Thorac. Cardiovasc. Surg. · Jul 2023
Intra-tracheally injected human induced pluripotent stem cell-derived pneumocytes and endothelial cells engraft in the distal lung and ameliorate emphysema in a rat model.
Pulmonary emphysema is characterized by the destruction of alveolar units and reduced gas exchange capacity. In the present study, we aimed to deliver induced pluripotent stem cell-derived endothelial cells and pneumocytes to repair and regenerate distal lung tissue in an elastase-induced emphysema model. ⋯ Our findings suggest that human induced pluripotent stem cell-derived distal lung cells can engraft in emphysematous lungs and participate in the formation of functional distal lung units to ameliorate the progression of emphysema.