No-Touch Versus Conventional Vein Harvesting Techniques at 12 Months After Coronary Artery Bypass Grafting Surgery: Multicenter Randomized, Controlled Trial.

BACKGROUND: Vein graft occlusion is deemed a major challenge in coronary artery bypass grafting. Previous studies implied that the no-touch technique for vein graft harvesting could reduce occlusion rate compared with the conventional approach; however, evidence on the clinical benefit and generalizability of the no-touch technique is scare. METHODS: From April 2017 to June 2019, we randomly assigned 2655 patients undergoing coronary artery bypass grafting at 7 hospitals in a 1:1 ratio to receive no-touch technique or conventional approach for vein harvesting. The primary outcome was vein graft occlusion on computed tomography angiography at 3 months and the secondary outcomes included 12-month vein graft occlusion, recurrence of angina, and major adverse cardiac and cerebrovascular events. The generalized estimate equation model was used to account for the cluster effect of grafts from the same patient. RESULTS: During the follow-up, 2533 (96.0%) participants received computed tomography angiography at 3 months after coronary artery bypass grafting and 2434 (92.2%) received it at 12 months. The no-touch group had significantly lower rates of vein graft occlusion than the conventional group both at 3 months (2.8% versus 4.8%; odds ratio, 0.57 [95% CI, 0.41-0.80]; P<0.001) and 12 months (3.7% versus 6.5%; odds ratio, 0.56 [95% CI, 0.41-0.76]; P<0.001). Recurrence of angina was also less common in the no-touch group at 12 months (2.3% versus 4.1%; odds ratio, 0.55 [95% CI, 0.35-0.85]; P<0.01). Rates of major adverse cardiac and cerebrovascular events were of no significant difference between the 2 groups. The no-touch technique was associated with higher rates of leg wound surgical interventions at 3-month follow-up (10.3% versus 4.3%; odds ratio, 2.55 [95% CI, 1.85-3.52]; P<0.001). CONCLUSIONS: Compared with the conventional vein harvesting approach in coronary artery bypass grafting, the no-touch technique significantly reduced the risk of vein graft occlusion and improved patient prognosis. Registration: URL: https://www.clinicaltrials.gov; Unique identifier: NCT03126409.

Congenital coronary artery-to-pulmonary fistula with giant aneurysmal dilatation and thrombus formation: a case report and review of literature.

BACKGROUND: Coronary artery-to-pulmonary artery fistula is a rare disorder characterized by abnormal vascular communication between the coronary artery and pulmonary artery. While most patients remain asymptomatic, some might exhibit symptoms of myocardial ischemia, congestive heart failure, or even sudden cardiac death if coronary aneurysm, thrombosis, infective carditis, or other congenital cardiac defects coexist. Case presentation We present a 66-year-old male complaining of angina pectoris with a history of hypertension and active smoking. He was diagnosed with a coronary aneurysm based on coronary computed tomography angiography. We subsequently identified a coronary artery-to-pulmonary artery fistula with giant aneurysmal dilation on coronary angiography. Ultimately we conducted surgery ligation and aneurysmorrhaphy. During surgery, we discovered newly formed thrombus within the aneurysmal cavity. Histological analysis of the aneurysmal wall supported the diagnosis of the congenital disorder. Our patient was successfully discharged and remained asymptomatic at two months of follow-up. CONCLUSION: We presented a rare and complex combination of congenital coronary artery-to pulmonary artery fistula, giant coronary aneurysmal dilatation, and thrombosis through multi-modality evaluations.

Repair of traumatic ventricular septal defect and left ventricular aneurysm after blunt chest trauma.

Blunt chest trauma can cause a variety of cardiac injuries, either immediately or days after the trauma. We report a case of traumatic ventricular septal defect and ribbonlike left ventricular aneurysm, which was diagnosed 15 years after the initial blunt chest trauma. It was successfully repaired using the endoventricular patch technique with a satisfactory 1-year follow-up result.

A Novel Risk Stratification System for Predicting In-Hospital Mortality Following Coronary Artery Bypass Grafting Surgery with Impaired Left Ventricular Ejection Fraction.

BACKGROUND: Coronary artery disease (CAD) is the most common cause of heart failure (HF), and impaired ejection fraction (EF<50%) is a crucial precursor to HF. Coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) is an effective surgical solution to CAD-related HF. In light of the high risk of cardiac surgery, appropriate scores for groups of patients are of great importance. We aimed to establish a novel score to predict in-hospital mortality for impaired EF patients undergoing CABG. METHODS: Clinical information of 1,976 consecutive CABG patients with EF<50% was collected from January 2012 to December 2017. A novel system was developed using the logistic regression model to predict in-hospital mortality among patients with EF<50% who were to undergo CABG. The scoring system was named PGLANCE, which is short for seven identified risk factors, including previous cardiac surgery, gender, load of surgery, aortic surgery, NYHA stage, creatinine, and EF. AUC statistic was used to test discrimination of the model, and the calibration of this model was assessed by the Hosmer-lemeshow (HL) statistic. We also evaluated the applicability of PGLANCE to predict in-hospital mortality by comparing the 95% CI of expected mortality to the observed one. Results were compared with the European Risk System in Cardiac Operations (EuroSCORE), EuroSCORE II, and Sino System for Coronary Operative Risk Evaluation (SinoSCORE). RESULTS: By comparing with EuroSCORE, EuroSCORE II and SinoSCORE, PGLANCE was well calibrated (HL P = 0.311) and demonstrated powerful discrimination (AUC=0.846) in prediction of in-hospital mortality among impaired EF CABG patients. Furthermore, the 95% CI of mortality estimated by PGLANCE was closest to the observed value. CONCLUSION: PGLANCE is better with predicting in-hospital mortality than EuroSCORE, EuroSCORE II, and SinoSCORE for Chinese impaired EF CABG patients.

Clinical presentation and surgical treatment of primary pulmonary artery sarcoma.

OBJECTIVES: Pulmonary artery sarcoma (PAS) is a rare and devastating disease. The diagnosis modality and optimal surgical strategy remain unclear. The aim of this study was to report our surgical experience in this disease. METHODS: Between 2000 and 2017, 13 patients underwent operations for PAS at our institution. Five patients underwent tumour resection alone, whereas the other 8 patients received pulmonary endarterectomy. The medical records were retrospectively reviewed to evaluate the clinical characteristics, operative findings and the postoperative outcomes. RESULTS: There were 2 perioperative deaths, both had unresolved severe pulmonary hypertension. Follow-up was completed for all patients with a mean duration of 14.3 months (1-48 months). During follow-up, 6 patients died after a mean survival time of 20.2 months (4-48 months). For the 5 patients alive at follow-up (mean duration of 7.2 months), 3 already had local recurrence. For all 13 patients, the cumulative survival rates at 1, 2 and 3 years were 56.4, 37.6 and 18.8%, respectively. The 8 patients treated with pulmonary endarterectomy seemed to have a better survival rate compared with the remaining 5 patients without endarterectomy, although the difference was not statistically significant. CONCLUSIONS: Primary PAS is often mistaken for chronic pulmonary thromboembolism. Surgical intervention is the mainstay of treatment for PAS, but the prognosis after surgery remains poor. Compared to isolated tumour resection, pulmonary endarterectomy seemed to yield a better survival rate.

Surgical treatment of aortico-left ventricular tunnel: a 12-year experience.

OBJECTIVES: This study reviews 9 patients with aortico-left ventricular tunnel (ALVT) and aims to establish the optimal surgical strategies for this exceptional and rare pathology. METHODS: 54,882 patients underwent open-heart surgery at the Fuwai Hospital between July 1996 and May 2008. Nine of these patients were diagnosed with ALVT. One patient died of acute heart failure before operation. The remaining 8 patients underwent operation. The mean age of these 8 patients was 22.5 years. Clinical, echocardiographic and surgical details were reviewed. RESULTS: At operation the diagnosis was confirmed, and then repaired by direct suture closure (n = 1), single patch closure of the aortic end of the ALVT (n = 4), or aortic valve replacement (n = 3). In 5 patients, the aortic opening of the tunnel was above the right coronary sinus of Valsalva while in the other 3 it was above the left coronary sinus. All patients recovered safely. There was 1 late death (from perivalvular leak). The remaining patients remain asymptomatic at a mean follow up of 30.1 months. CONCLUSIONS: ALVT is a rare cardiac entity that should be treated soon after the diagnosis is made. The specific surgical operation should be individualized based on unique cardiac anomaly of each patient.

[Anatomic repair of congenitally corrected transposition of the great artery by double switch operation: two cases report].

OBJECTIVE: To report two patients with congenitally corrected transposition of the great artery were performed double switch operation. METHODS: Two patients with corrected transposition of the great artery underwent double switch operation. One was 9-month years old boy, associated with ventricular septal defect (VSD), pulmonary artery hypertension. He had senning procedure and artery switch operation (ASO). The other was a 23 years old man, associated with VSD, tricuspid valve regurgitation, and pulmonary stenosis. He had senning procedure and Rastelli operation. RESULTS: There was no operation death, one got heart block before operation requiring pacemaker. The echo of postoperation showed the patients had normal ventricle function and there were no stenosis of tunnel and conduit, no tricuspid valve regurgitation. CONCLUSION: Double switch operation is a good option for congenitally corrected transposition of the great artery.