The number of postoperative surgical or diagnostic procedures following congenital heart surgery correlates with both mortality and hospital length of stay.

BACKGROUND: Outcomes for congenital heart disease have dramatically improved over the past several decades. However, there are patients who encounter intraoperative or postoperative complications and ultimately do not survive. It was our hypothesis that the number of postoperative procedures (including surgical and unplanned diagnostic procedures) would correlate with hospital length of stay and operative mortality. METHODS: This was a retrospective review of 938 consecutive patients undergoing congenital heart surgery at a single institution over a 2-year timeframe. The number of postoperative surgical and unplanned diagnostic procedures were counted and the impact on hospital length of stay and mortality was assessed. RESULTS: 581 of the 938 (62%) patients had zero postoperative diagnostic or surgical procedures. These patients had a median length of stay of 6 days with a single operative mortality (0.2%). 357 of the 938 (38%) patients had one or more postoperative diagnostic or surgical procedures. These patients had a total of 1586 postoperative procedures. There was a significant correlation between the number of postoperative procedures and both hospital length of stay and mortality (p < .001). Patients who required 10 or more postoperative procedures had a median hospital length of stay of 89 days and had a 50% mortality. There were no survivors in patients who had 15 or more postoperative procedures. CONCLUSIONS: The data demonstrate that the number of postoperative procedures was highly correlated with both hospital length of stay and mortality.

Deletion of 22q11 chromosome is associated with postoperative morbidity after unifocalisation surgery.

BACKGROUND: A 22q11 chromosome deletion is common in patients with tetralogy of Fallot, pulmonary atresia, and major aortopulmonary collaterals. We sought to determine whether 22q11 chromosome deletion is associated with increased postoperative morbidity after unifocalisation surgery. METHODS: We included all patients with this diagnosis undergoing primary or revision unifocalisation ± ventricular septal defect closure at our institution from 2008 to 2016, and we excluded patients with unknown 22q11 status. Demographic and surgical data were collected. We compared outcomes between those with 22q11 chromosome deletion and those without using non-parametric analysis. RESULTS: We included 180 patients, 41% of whom were documented to have a chromosome 22q11 deletion. Complete unifocalisation was performed in all patients, and intracardiac repair was performed with similar frequency regardless of 22q11 chromosome status. Duration of mechanical ventilation was longer in 22q11 deletion patients. This difference remained significant after adjustment for delayed sternal closure and/or intracardiac repair. Duration of ICU stay was longer in patients with 22q11 deletion, although no longer significant when adjusted for delayed sternal closure and intracardiac repair. Finally, length of hospital stay was longer in 22q11-deleted patients, but this difference was not significant on unadjusted or adjusted analysis. CONCLUSION: Children with tetralogy of Fallot, pulmonary atresia, and major aortopulmonary collaterals and 22q11 deletion are at risk for greater prolonged mechanical ventilation after unifocalisation surgery. Careful attention should be given to the co-morbidities of this population in the perioperative period to mitigate risks that may complicate the postoperative course.

Acute tonsillitis.

Acute tonsillitis is an inflammatory process of the tonsillar tissues and is usually infectious in nature. Acute infections of the palatine tonsils predominantly occur in school-aged children, but patients of any age may be affected. Tonsillitis of viral origin is usually treated with supportive care. Bacterial tonsillitis is most commonly caused by Streptococcus pyogenes. Polymicrobial infections and viral pathogens are also important sources of infection. Penicillins remain the treatment of choice for S. pyogenes tonsillitis, and augmented aminopenicillins have gained utility in concert with the increasing incidence of beta-lactamase producing bacteria. We describe the anatomic features and the immunologic function of the palatine tonsils, including a detailed discussion of history and physical examination findings, treatment recommendations, and possible complications of acute tonsillitis. Establishing an accurate diagnosis and initiating appropriate treatment are key components of managing this common pathologic process.

Spurious decline in intraoperative parathyroid hormone: false positives in parathyroid surgery.

OBJECTIVES: The aims of this study were to (1) describe a false-positive result using a highly sensitive intraoperative parathyroid hormone (PTH) assay in an adult patient with primary hyperparathyroidism and (2) discuss the potential pitfalls of revision parathyroid surgery and the implication of various localization techniques described in the literature. METHODS: A case report is described from a tertiary care university hospital. A literature review detailing diagnostic tools used to improve outcomes in parathyroid surgery is presented. The potential inaccuracies of intraoperative PTH assays are discussed. RESULTS: We present a 71-year-old woman with primary hyperparathyroidism who was referred to our institution for revision surgery. The patient had preoperative sestamibi imaging that localized a right inferior parathyroid lesion. Intraoperatively, a specimen consistent with parathyroid tissue was removed and sent for frozen section. The intraoperative PTH levels were noted to decrease from 154 pg/mL (preincision) to 28 pg/mL (20 minutes postexcision). The frozen section results were consistent with a lymph node. This stimulated a 4-gland exploration, which confirmed normal left superior and inferior parathyroid glands. A 1.5-cm right retroesophageal parathyroid was subsequently discovered and excised. Final intraoperative PTH levels were 20 pg/mL. CONCLUSION: Rapid PTH assays have become the mainstay of parathyroid surgery at many institutions; however, despite their accuracy, false-positive results are known to occur. We present a case of an inaccurate decline in intraoperative PTH and use this case report as a means to highlight some potential pitfalls of the test.

The use of ultrasonic shears for the harvest of perforator free flaps.

A retrospective chart review was performed at a university medical center to evaluate the use of ultrasonic shears for the harvest of perforator free flaps over an 18-month period. The anterolateral thigh (ALT) was the perforator free flap site selected for the study. The site of origin and the number of musculocutaneous perforator vessels that were dissected using ultrasonic shears were recorded, and ALT flap viability and wound-healing complications were evaluated to assess safety. Seventeen patients underwent harvest of ALT perforator free flaps. Successful dissection of musculocutaneous perforators was achieved in 96% (27 of 28) of the descending branch perforators and in 100% (9 of 9) of the transverse branch perforators. Flap viability was 100% (17 of 17). We found that ultrasonic shears were effective and safe to use for harvesting perforator free flaps. According to these preliminary findings, the use of ultrasonic shears appears promising, yet further prospective analysis is needed.