RESUMEN
Tricuspid regurgitation (TR) is common after a heart transplant and is associated with worse clinical outcomes. The incidence ranges from 34% immediately after transplant to 20% by 10 years. Most patients can be managed medically; however, severe TR and symptomatic right heart failure warrant tricuspid valve replacement. The use of Melody transcatheter pulmonary valve in the tricuspid position is previously described. We report a unique case of posttransplant severe TR treated with surgical bioprosthetic tricuspid valve replacement who subsequently underwent successful transcatheter Melody valve placement in tricuspid position for progressive bioprosthetic valve stenosis with 11 years of follow-up.
RESUMEN
BACKGROUND: Thrombosis within extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) circuits is a common complication that dominates clinical management of patients receiving mechanical circulatory support. Prior studies have identified that over 80% of circuit thrombosis can be attributed to tubing-connector junctions. METHODS: A novel connector was designed that reduces local regions of flow stagnation at the tubing-connector junction to eliminate a primary source of ECMO circuit thrombi. To compare clotting between the novel connectors and the traditional connectors, both in vitro loops and an in vivo caprine model of long-term (48 h) ECMO were used to generate tubing-connector junction clots. RESULTS: In vitro, the traditional connectors uniformly (9/9) formed large thrombi, while novel connectors formed a small thrombus in only one of nine (p < 0.0001). In the long-term goat ECMO circuits, the traditional connectors exhibited more thrombi (p < 0.04), and these thrombi were more likely to protrude into the lumen of the tubing (p < 0.001). CONCLUSION: Both in vitro and in vivo validation experiments successfully recreated circuit thrombosis and demonstrate that the adoption of novel connectors can reduce the burden of circuit thrombosis.