A technique for the prevention of hoarseness during surgery for distal aortic arch aneurysm.

Hoarseness occurs frequently after surgery to repair distal aortic arch aneurysms when using only a median sternotomy approach. We describe a useful technique which protects the left recurrent laryngeal nerve during this procedure and reduces the incidence of postoperative hoarseness.

Cryosurgical left-sided maze procedure in patients with valvular heart disease: medium-term results.

PURPOSE: We evaluated medium-term results of the left-sided maze procedure using cryoablation in patients with valvular heart disease. METHODS: We retrospectively evaluated 111 patients with valvular heart disease who underwent the cryosurgical left-sided maze procedure. The mean follow-up period was 36.8 ± 24.9 months, and the mean duration of atrial fibrillation was 5.6 ± 6.0 years. The primary surgical procedure was mitral valve replacement in 42 patients, mitral valve plasty in 28, aortic valve replacement in 25, and combined aortic and mitral replacement or plasty in 16. RESULTS: The 7-year actuarial survival rate was 82.9 ± 11.4% for patients in sinus rhythm and 87.0 ± 7.0% for patients with atrial fibrillation, showing no difference between the two groups (p = 0.236). At final follow-up, 86 out of 111 patients (77.5%) remained free from atrial fibrillation. Sinus rhythm was maintained in 26 of 42 patients (61.9%) in the mitral valve replacement group, 26 of 28 patients (92.9%) in the mitral valve plasty group, 15 of 17 patients (88.2%) in the aortic valve replacement group, and 18 of 24 patients (75.0%) in the combined aortic and mitral replacement or plasty group. The overall actuarial rate of freedom from atrial fibrillation at 5 years after surgery was 70.4 ± 6.0%. CONCLUSION: The cryosurgical left-sided maze procedure is a safe, simple, and excellent operation for medically refractory atrial fibrillation.

Electron beam cine CT-based evaluation of left atrial function after the maze procedure for mitral valve regurgitation.

OBJECTIVE: There has been little investigation of whether atrial function is equally restored by surgery in patients with mitral regurgitation (MR) and atrial fibrillation (AF) compared to patients in sinus rhythm (SR). PATIENTS AND METHODS: We evaluated left atrium (LA) volume-time curves obtained from electron beam tomography. The study involved 33 patients who had surgical treatment for MR with or without AF and 11 control patients. RESULTS: (1) In patients with SR, LA volume decreased significantly along with a resolution of early regurgitation postoperatively, and the reserve function was well maintained. The LA booster pump function was also well maintained before and after surgery. (2) In patients with AF that resolved after maze surgery, the LA volume was larger than that of the sinus group immediately after surgery, and it did not improve in postoperative periods. These patients had a lower reserve function and a much lower booster pump function despite restoration of SR. CONCLUSIONS: The maze procedure is suggested to be unlikely to achieve restoration of atrial function in patients with MR accompanied by AF, even if SR returns postoperatively. Because patients with SR demonstrated the same LA function as the control postoperatively, surgical indication should be considered for patients with severe MR while their atrial function and SR are maintained.

Active infective endocarditis: management and risk analysis of hospital death from 24 years' experience.

BACKGROUND: This study was performed to identify risk factors for hospital death in patients with acute and active infective endocarditis (AAIE) after surgical intervention. METHODS AND RESULTS: From 1980 to 2004, 94 patients underwent surgery for AAIE (age range, 3-77 years; 76% males). Congestive heart failure (CHF) was present in 44 patients, as well as vegetations in 64, septicemia in 16, abscesses in 17, and emboli in 22; 16 patients had prosthetic valve endocarditis. Streptococci were the most common bacteria (34 patients), followed by staphylococci (17 patients). Mechanical valves were selected for 73 patients and bioprosthetic valves for 16. Mitral valve plasty was performed in 4 patients. Aortic root or aorto-mitral discontinuity was repaired in 17 patients, including Manouguian's double valve replacement in 6 and aortic root replacement in 4. Overall hospital mortality was 15% (14 patients). Univariate analysis identified CHF (p=0.016), abscess (p=0.014), and prosthetic valve endocarditis (p=0.043) as risk factors. However, multivariate analysis only identified CHF (p=0.019) as an independent risk factor. CONCLUSION: In AAIE, early surgical intervention is advisable before the occurrence of complications such as root abscess and CHF, particularly before the onset of CHF.

Patient-prosthesis mismatch may be irrelevant after aortic valve replacement with the 19-mm Perimount pericardial bioprosthesis in patients aged 65 years or older.

The prevalence of patient-prosthesis mismatch (PPM) and its influence on clinical midterm results were examined in elderly patients whose activity was supposed to be less than that of younger patients. We evaluated valve function and the effects of PPM on the midterm results of the 19-mm Carpentier-Edwards Perimount (CEP) pericardial aortic valve in patients aged 65 years or older. Between August 1996 and May 2005, 51 patients underwent aortic valve replacement with the 19-mm CEP valve. The mean follow-up was 2.4 +/- 1.8 years, involving a total of 134.4 patient-years. The mean age and body surface area at operation were 74.0 +/- 5.0 years and 1.41 +/- 0.14 m(2). There were two (3.9%) operative deaths. Three patients (5.9%) underwent enlargement of their small aortic annuli. The actuarial survival rate at 8 years, including operative mortality, averaged 90.2% +/- 4.7%. The freedom from thromboembolism, reoperation, and valve-related mortality averaged 75.0% +/- 21.7%, 97.8% +/- 2.2%, and 95.3% +/- 3.2%, respectively, at 8 years. High preoperative peak and mean transvalvular pressure gradients were significantly improved after the operation (peak, 93 +/- 35 versus 28 +/- 12 mmHg; mean, 58 +/- 19 versus 17 +/- 7 mmHg, respectively; P < 0.01). The mean left ventricular mass index was reduced from 192 +/- 44 to 142 +/- 46 g/m(2) at late follow-up (P < 0.01). The prevalence of PPM was low (17.6%) when an indexed effective orifice area of less than 0.85 cm(2)/m(2) was taken as the definition of PPM. The clinical results, postoperative pressure gradients, and reduction in left ventricular mass index were not different between the PPM and no-PPM groups. The 19-mm CEP valve produced satisfactory midterm clinical outcomes in patients aged 65 years or older whose activity was supposed to be less than that of younger patients, regardless of the presence or absence of PPM. Moderate PPM was rare and it did not adversely impact on the midterm results. The application of annulus enlargement could be limited to the small number of patients for whom the 19-mm CEP valves are not able to be inserted.

An epidural cooling catheter protects the spinal cord against ischemic injury in pigs.

BACKGROUND: Using swine, we investigated whether epidural placement of a cooling catheter rather than infusing iced saline solution could protect the spinal cord from ischemia during aortic surgery. METHODS: We divided 14 domestic pigs into two groups of 7 each. Each underwent epidural catheter placement preceding 30 minutes of aortic cross-clamping distal to the origin of the left subclavian artery. In group 1, cold water was circulated continuously through the lumen of the catheter connected to an external unit. In group 2, animals received catheter placement without cooling. Spinal cord somatosensory evoked potentials were recorded. Neurologic status involving hind limbs was graded sequentially after surgery. RESULTS: At aortic cross-clamping, spinal temperature in group 1 (31.7 degrees +/- 0.6 degrees C) was significantly lower than in group 2 (37.8 degrees +/- 0.4 degrees C; p < 0.0001). No significant elevation of intrathecal pressure accompanied cooling with the catheter (group 1, 8.1 +/- 1.7 mm Hg; group 2, 8.0 +/- 1.5 mm Hg). Mean duration of total loss of potentials was significantly shorter in group 1 (7.4 +/- 3.8 minutes) than group 2 (19.7 +/- 7.3 minutes; p = 0.0002). Pigs in group 1 exhibited better hind limb function recovery (mean Tarlov score, 4.7 +/- 0.5) than group 2 (0.6 +/- 0.8; p = 0.0017). Group 1 showed normal histologic characteristics, whereas group 2 showed loss of motor neurons in the ventral horns. CONCLUSIONS: Epidural cooling catheter without iced saline infusion can cool the spinal cord without elevating intrathecal pressure, protecting the cord against ischemia.