Protocolized screening effectively identifies myocardial recovery following destination therapy left ventricular assist device implantation.

BACKGROUND: Myocardial recovery following left ventricular assist device (LVAD) implantation has been of interest in transplant candidates with non-ischemic cardiomyopathy but is rare. Evidence suggests that a combination of left ventricular unloading and pharmacologic reverse remodeling is beneficial. Recovery in non-transplant candidates (i.e., destination therapy [DT]) patients is believed to be even rarer. METHODS: All DT LVADs between January 1, 2017 and November 23, 2020 were reviewed. All patients were subjected to an institutional protocol consisting of combined pharmacologic remodeling and mechanical unloading with proactive screening for recovery. The primary outcome of interest was the cumulative incidence of myocardial recovery. Baseline characteristics and operative outcomes were compared between recovered and non-recovered DT patients using non-parametric tests to identify predictive factors. RESULTS: A total of 49 patients received DT LVADs. Nine patients were identified as myocardial recovery candidates using the protocol screening criteria. Overall, 11 patients underwent formal confirmatory testing for recovery, of which 10 were deemed recovered and underwent LVAD explant, defunctionalization, or transplantation. 37.5% of patients that had a concomitant coronary artery bypass during LVAD implantation achieved recovery. An equal proportion of ischemic and non-ischemic cardiomyopathy patients achieved recovery. The cumulative incidence of myocardial recovery was 25.1% at 36 months. No factors were identified as being predictive of recovery. CONCLUSION: Myocardial recovery in DT LVAD patients can be achieved at a higher rate than previously reported. Revascularization at the time of LVAD is safe and may be beneficial. LVAD therapy may not be the final destination in these patients.

Seasonal trends in donor heart availability: an analysis of the UNOS database.

Despite the widespread belief that donor organ availability varies around holidays and seasons, there is little empirical data supporting this long-held belief. Variations in donor heart availability may be of interest to patients and clinicians. The UNOS/OPTN registry was queried for all heart donations from October 1987 through March 2017. Daily heart donation rates were modeled nationally using Poisson regression including splines for year and day of the year. Seasonality was assessed using a likelihood ratio test for the spine terms for day of the year. The holiday effect was assessed using conditional logistic regression. Seasonal plots suggest a significant, although modest, increase in organ availability during the summer months, except for region 1. The regions with the highest amplitude were region 7 (peak: June 21, amplitude: 16.63%) and region 6 (peak: July 5, amplitude: 11.29%). There was no significant difference in the odds of heart donation when comparing holidays vs. non-holidays using national data (odds ratio [95% CI]: 1.01 [0.98, 1.03], P = 0.560) or any regional subsets. There was no observable correlation between donor heart availability and holidays. However, a significant seasonality effect was observed with higher donation rates occurring during warmer months.

Minimally invasive single-vessel left internal mammary to left anterior descending artery bypass grafting improves outcomes over conventional sternotomy: A single-institution retrospective cohort study.

BACKGROUND: Coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) can be performed through a variety of approaches. Minimally-invasive CABG (MICABG) may reduce perioperative morbidity. Previous results demonstrate improved perioperative outcomes; however, adoption has been limited. METHODS: The Society of Thoracic Surgeons (STS) database and electronic medical record at a single institution were reviewed for isolated left internal mammary to left anterior descending artery (LIMA-LAD) bypass procedures performed between 2011 and 2018. Patients were grouped on the basis of operative approach, comparing sternotomy to non-sternotomy (minimally-invasive). Patient characteristics, perioperative variables, and short- and long-term outcomes were compared. Primary outcomes included mortality and major adverse cardiac events (MACE). Secondary outcomes were morbidity. RESULTS: A total of 42 MICABG and 54 conventional LIMA-LAD procedures were performed with 95.2% of MICABG procedures performed by two surgeons. MICABG were more often elective (83.3 vs 38.9%, P < .001). STS risk scores predicted equitable mortality and morbidity for MICABG dependent on operative indication. MICABG was associated with fewer pulmonary complications (0.0 vs 11.1%, P = .033), in-hospital events (11.9 vs 37.0%, P = .005), and shorter intensive care unit (34.1 vs 66.0 hours, P = .022) and total length of stay (3.7 vs 6.5 days, P = .002). There were no observed strokes, myocardial infarctions, or reoperations. MICABG patients demonstrated reduced thirty-day mortality (0.0 vs 10.9%, P = .036) and improved Kaplan-Meier 5-year (95.2 vs 77.9%, P = .016) and MACE-free survival (89.2 vs 63.9%, P = .010). CONCLUSIONS: Minimally-invasive LIMA-LAD CABG demonstrates improved early postoperative morbidity and a long-term mortality benefit. In select patients, minimally-invasive approaches to single-vessel grafting may be beneficial when performed by experienced surgeons in the elective setting.

Myotomy for myocardial bridge utilizing harmonic scalpel.

INTRODUCTION: Myocardial bridge is defined as epicardial coronary arteries that course through the myocardium. While frequently asymptomatic, it can present on a spectrum from stable to life threatening angina. Medical management is often successful, but failure requires stenting or bypass, both of which are inferior to myotomy in appropriate surgical candidates, the former due to morbidity and the later theoretically due to competitive flow. PRESENTATION OF CASE: We present an otherwise healthy 50 year old gentleman with myocardial bridge refractory to medical management who was effectively managed via myotomy performed with the harmonic scalpel, enjoying complete relief of previous exertional chest pain. DISCUSSION: Historically, myotomy has been described sharply and with electrocautery. Compared to the harmonic scalpel, these techniques risk poor hemostasis and damage to the underlying left anterior descending artery, not to mention their inefficiency in terms of operative speed. CONCLUSION: In appropriately diagnosed patients, who are also suitable surgical candidates, myotomy, specifically with the harmonic scalpel, has short-term, intra-operative benefits of better hemostasis, protection of underlying left anterior descending artery and heart cavity, and improved operative efficiency. Given the lack of long-term symptomatic data on different myotomy techniques it is difficult to make comparisons of this nature.

Case report: Case series featuring anastomotic colonic adenocarcinoma following jejunoileal bypass requiring oncologic resection and jejunoileal bypass reversal.

Like all surgical fields, bariatric surgery has evolved immensely, so much so that previous procedures are now obsolete. For instance, the jejunoileal bypass has fallen out of favor after severe metabolic consequences resulted in prolonged morbidity and even mortality. Despite this, several patients persevered long enough to develop other pathology, such as cancer. This progression has been validated in animal models but not human patients. Nonetheless, contemporary surgeons may encounter situations where they must resect and re-establish intestinal continuity in patients with this antiquated anatomy. When faced with this scenario, the question of whether or not the previously bypassed small bowel can be safely reunited plagues the surgeon remains unanswered. Unfortunately, the literature does not effectively answer this question, even anecdotally through case reports or series. Therefore, we share our experience with three patients who developed colon cancer following jejunoileal bypass and subsequently underwent oncologic resection with simultaneous reversal of their jejunoileal bypasses.

Severe Group C Streptococcus infection in a veterinarian.

Group C Streptococcus (GCS) is part of the normal commensal flora of the upper airway, as well as frequently colonizes the skin, gastrointestinal tract, and female genital tract. It can also be implicated in mono- and polymicrobial infections of the skin and soft tissue, pharyngitis, bacteremia, endocarditis, septic arthritis, osteomyelitis, and meningitis. Our case study features a previously healthy 65-year-old male, who retired as a veterinarian one month prior, with Group C Streptococcus bacteremia complicated by septic polyarthritis, native mitral valve endocarditis, and lumbar discitis/osteomyelitis.

Venovenous Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation to Facilitate Removal of Endobronchial Tumors.

Short-term extracorporeal membrane oxygenation is a useful adjunct to thoracic procedures. We report the cases of 2 middle-aged men who were supported with venovenous extracorporeal membrane oxygenation to facilitate tumor debulking and recanalization of the carina and mainstem bronchi. Neither patient had major complications or adverse events. These cases suggest that short-term extracorporeal membrane oxygenation is safe in patients undergoing complex resection or debulking of endobronchial lesions.

Association of preoperative duration of inotropy on prevalence of right ventricular failure following LVAD implantation.

AIMS: 20% to 40% of left ventricular assist device (LVAD) device implantations are complicated by right ventricular (RV) failure that results in significant morbidity and mortality. We hypothesized that the duration on milrinone infusion is an independent risk factor for RV failure following LVAD implantation. METHODS AND RESULTS: Retrospective demographic, clinical and hemodynamic data were collected on all adults with ACC/AHA stage D heart failure on intravenous milrinone who underwent LVAD implantation between 2012 and 2019. Patients (n = 104) were divided into two groups, those on milrinone <30 days (STM, n = 55) vs. ≥30 (LTM, n = 49). The primary endpoint was the prevalence of RV failure (need for inotropic support for more than 14 days or RV assist device) within 30 days post-LVAD implantation. There were no significant differences between STM and LTM patients with respect to demographic, echocardiographic, right heart catheterization data, or baseline medications. The mean age of patients was 55.6 ± 12 years (70% male patients). Mean duration on milrinone was 13.7 vs. 81.0 days in STM and LTM, respectively. Forty-five (43.3%) patients developed RV failure. LTM had higher prevalence of RV failure with odds ratio (OR) = 5.04 (95% CI 2.18-11.68, P = 0.0002). After adjusting for age, gender, and co-morbidity count, the OR was 6.33 (95% CI 2.51-15.93), P < 0.0001. CONCLUSIONS: In this retrospective study of ACC/AHA stage D HF patients, longer duration of milrinone infusion was associated with higher prevalence of RV failure after LVAD implantation.

Safety and long-term efficacy of thoracoscopic Epicardial ablation in patients with paroxysmal atrial fibrillation: a retrospective study.

BACKGROUND: The aim of this study is to report the long-term efficacy and safety of thoracoscopic epicardial left atrial ablation (TELA) in patients with paroxysmal atrial fibrillation (AF). METHODS: This was a retrospective review of medical records. We included all patients diagnosed with paroxysmal AF who underwent TELA at our institution between 04/2011 and 06/2017. TELA included pulmonary vein isolation, LA dome lesions and LA appendage exclusion. All (n = 55) patients received an implantable loop recorder (ILR), 30 days post-operatively. Antiarrhythmic and anticoagulation therapy were discontinued at 90 and 180 days postoperatively, respectively, if patients were free of AF recurrence. Failure was defined as ≥two minutes of continuous AF, or atrial tachycardia. RESULTS: Fifty-five patients (78% males, mean age = 61.6 years) qualified for the study. The average duration in AF was 3.64 +/- 3.4 years, mean CHA2DS2-VASc Score was 2.0 +/- 1.6. The procedure was attempted in 57 patients and completed successfully in 55 (96.5%). Two patients experienced a minor pulmonary vein bleed that was managed conservatively. Post procedure, one patient experienced pulmonary edema, another experienced a pneumothorax requiring a chest tube and another experienced acute respiratory distress syndrome resulting in longer hospitalization. Otherwise, there were no major procedural complications. Success rates were 89.1% (n = 49/55), 85.5% (n = 47/55) and 76.9% (n = 40/52) at 6, 12 and 24 months, respectively. In the multivariate cox-proportional hazard model, survival at the mean of covariates was 86 and 74% at 12 and 24 months, respectively. CONCLUSION: In this single center experience, TELA was a safe and efficacious procedure for patients with paroxysmal AF.