Growth properties of cardiac stem cells are a novel biomarker of patients' outcome after coronary bypass surgery.

BACKGROUND: The efficacy of bypass surgery in patients with ischemic cardiomyopathy is not easily predictable; preoperative clinical conditions may be similar, but the outcome may differ significantly. We hypothesized that the growth reserve of cardiac stem cells (CSCs) and circulating cytokines promoting CSC activation are critical determinants of ventricular remodeling in this patient population. METHODS AND RESULTS: To document the growth kinetics of CSCs, population-doubling time, telomere length, telomerase activity, and insulin-like growth factor-1 receptor expression were measured in CSCs isolated from 38 patients undergoing bypass surgery. Additionally, the blood levels of insulin-like growth factor-1, hepatocyte growth factor, and vascular endothelial growth factor were evaluated. The variables of CSC growth were expressed as a function of the changes in wall thickness, chamber diameter and volume, ventricular mass-to-chamber volume ratio, and ejection fraction, before and 12 months after surgery. A high correlation was found between indices of CSC function and cardiac anatomy. Negative ventricular remodeling was not observed if CSCs retained a significant growth reserve. The high concentration of insulin-like growth factor-1 systemically pointed to the insulin-like growth factor-1-insulin-like growth factor-1 receptor system as a major player in the adaptive response of the myocardium. hepatocyte growth factor, a mediator of CSC migration, was also high in these patients preoperatively, as was vascular endothelial growth factor, possibly reflecting the vascular growth needed before bypass surgery. Conversely, a decline in CSC growth was coupled with wall thinning, chamber dilation, and depressed ejection fraction. CONCLUSIONS: The telomere-telomerase axis, population-doubling time, and insulin-like growth factor-1 receptor expression in CSCs, together with a high circulating level of insulin-like growth factor-1, represent a novel biomarker able to predict the evolution of ischemic cardiomyopathy following revascularization.

Outcome of superior mesenteric-portal vein resection during pancreatectomy for borderline ductal adenocarcinoma: results of a prospective comparative study.

BACKGROUND: Approximately 20 % of patients affected by pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma are amenable to surgical resection. Several tumours are reported as "borderline resectable" because of their proximity to the major vessels. In the effort to achieve a radical tumour removal, vein resection has been proposed, but its oncological benefits remain debated. METHODS: Our aim is to investigate morbidity, mortality and survival after pancreatectomy with vein resection. RESULTS: Forty patients underwent pancreatectomy and vein resection (group A), and 20 patients (group B) underwent bilio-enteric and/or gastro-entero bypass. In group A, cancer vein invasion was microscopically proven in 14 cases (35 %). Vein infiltration, tumour differentiation and node-positive disease were not adverse prognostic variables. No difference in survival was seen over a 1-year follow-up. After this period, group A showed significant survival benefits with a longer stabilisation of the disease (p = 0.005). Tumour-free resection margins and adjuvant chemoradiotherapy were the most important prognostic factors (p < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: Suspicion of vein infiltration should not be a contraindication to resection. Pancreatectomy can be safely performed with an acceptable morbidity and better survival trend.

Risk factors for conversion of laparoscopic cholecystectomy.

BACKGROUND: Conversion during laparoscopic cholecystectomy has adverse effects on operating time, postoperative morbidity and hospital costs. Identifying risk factors for conversion is thus important to help surgeons to plan and counsel the patient and arranging operating schedules accordingly. This study evaluated retrospectively preoperative and intraoperative risk factors for conversion in 906 laparoscopic cholecystectomies for gallbladder calculosis. METHODS: Examined preoperative variables were: age, sex, obesity, arterial hypertension, diabetes, previous acute myocardial infarction, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, non-ischemic heart disease, chronic hepatitis, hepatic cirrhosis, previous pancreatitis, biliary colics, endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP) and abdominal or cardiac surgery,as well as pain, fever, a high white blood cell count, ultrasound signs of cholecystitis at hospitalization. Intraoperative variables were: adhesiolysis, associated hepatic biopsy. RESULTS: Twenty-five operations were converted (conversion rate: 2.76%). Factors significantly associated with conversion were: age over 60 years, diabetes, previous supramesocolic abdominal surgery, ultrasound signs of cholecystitis, white cell count over 9x10(3)/dl, previous acute myocardial infarction and preoperative ERCP, intraoperative adhesiolysis (0.001

Endoscopic management of intramural spontaneous duodenal hematoma: A case report.

BACKGROUND: Intramural duodenal hematoma is a rare condition described for the first time in 1838. This condition is usually associated with blunt abdominal trauma in children. Other non-traumatic risk factors for spontaneous duodenal haematoma include several pancreatic diseases, coagulation disorders, malignancy, collagenosis, peptic ulcers, vasculitis and upper endoscopy procedures. In adults the most common risk factor reported is anticoagulation therapy. The clinical presentation may vary from mild abdominal pain to acute abdomen and intestinal obstruction or gastrointestinal bleeding. CASE SUMMARY: The aim of this case summary is to show a case of intramural spontaneous hematoma with symptoms of intestinal obstruction that was properly drained endoscopically by an innovative system lumen-apposing metal stent Hot AXIOS™ stent (Boston Scientific Corp., Marlborough, MA, United States). CONCLUSION: Endoscopic lumen-apposing metal stent Hot AXIOS™ stent is a safe and feasible treatment of duodenal intramural hematoma in our case.

Age-dependent impairment of number and angiogenic potential of adipose tissue-derived progenitor cells.

BACKGROUND: Adipose tissue-derived stromal cells (ADSCs) are being recognized as a source of stem cells potentially useful for cardiovascular repair. We analysed the abundance and angiogenic activity of adipose tissue-derived progenitor cells (PCs) in elderly patients most likely to benefit from this novel source of stem cells. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Fifty-two subjects (aged 68 ± 13 years) with variable degrees of cardiovascular risk underwent abdominal surgery for intercurrent diseases. Visceral adipose tissue (3 ± 1 g visceral fat per patient) was processed with type-1 collagenase to obtain ADSCs from the stromal-vascular fraction. Adipose tissue-derived PCs were quantified by flow cytometry as %CD45(-)/CD34(+)/CD133(+) cells of total ADSCs. Matrigel angiogenesis assay was used to analyse the ability of ADSCs to form tubes or networks. RESULTS: We found no correlations between number of CD45(-)/CD34(+)/CD133(+) or total ADSCs and quantitative risk parameters including total cholesterol, low density lipoprotein cholesterol, high density lipoprotein cholesterol, waist circumference, body mass index, and systolic and diastolic arterial pressure. However, increasing age (r = -0·31, P < 0·05) significantly and inversely correlated with levels of adipose tissue-derived CD45(-)/CD34(+)/CD133(+) cells in Matrigel angiogenesis assays; increasing age (r = -0·29, P < 0·05) was related to a reduction of ADSC-derived tubulization. CONCLUSIONS: Ageing may alter the availability of adipose tissue-derived CD45(-)/CD34(+)/CD133(+) cells and their angiogenic functional capacity. Such changes may impair the use of adipose tissue as source of autologous PCs in elderly patients.

Arterial versus venous bypass grafts in patients with in-stent restenosis.

BACKGROUND: In patients who develop in-stent restenosis, successful revascularization can be difficult to achieve using percutaneous methods. This study was designed to verify the surgical results in this setting and to evaluate the potential beneficial role of arterial bypass conduits. METHODS AND RESULTS: Sixty consecutive coronary artery bypass patients with previous in-stent restenosis and 60 control cases were randomly assigned to receive an arterial conduit (either right internal thoracic or radial artery; study group) or a great saphenous vein graft (control group) on the first obtuse marginal artery to complete the surgical revascularization procedure. At a mean follow-up of 52+/-11 months, patients were reassessed clinically and by angiography. Freedom from clinical and instrumental evidence of ischemia recurrence was found in 19 of 60 subjects in the study group versus 45 of 60 in the control series (P=0.01). The results of the arterial grafts were excellent in both the study and control groups (right internal thoracic artery patency rate, 19 of 20 for both, and radial artery patency rate, 20 of 20 versus 19 of 20; P=0.99). Saphenous vein grafts showed lower patency rate than arterial grafts in both series and had extremely high failure rate in the study group (patency rate, 10 of 20 in the study group versus 18 of 20 in the control group; P=0.001). Use of venous graft was an independent predictor of failure in the study group, whereas hypercholesterolemia was associated with graft failure in both series. CONCLUSIONS: Venous grafts have an high incidence of failure among cases who previously developed in-stent restenosis, whereas the use of arterial conduits can improve the angiographic and clinical results. Arterial grafts should probably be the first surgical choice in this patient population.

Endoscopic management of patients with post-surgical leaks involving the gastrointestinal tract: A large case series.

BACKGROUND: Post-surgical anastomotic leaks often require a re-intervention, are associated with a definite morbidity and mortality, and with relevant costs. We described a large series of patients with different post-surgical leaks involving the gastrointestinal tract managed with endoscopy as initial approach. METHODS: This was a retrospective analysis of prospectively collected cases with anastomotic leaks managed with different endoscopic approaches (with surgical or radiological drainage when needed) in two endoscopic centres during 5 years. Interventions included: (1) over-the-scope clip (OTSC) positioning; (2) placement of a covered self-expanding metal stent (SEMS); (3) fibrin glue injection (Tissucol); and (4) endo-sponge application, according to both the endoscopic feature and patient's status. RESULTS: A total of 76 patients underwent endoscopic treatment for a leak either in the upper (47 cases) or lower (29 cases) gastrointestinal tract, and the approach was successful in 39 (83%) and 22 (75.9%) patients, respectively, accounting for an overall 80.3% success rate. Leak closure was achieved in 84.9% and 78.3% of patients managed by using a single or a combination of endoscopic devices. Overall, leak closure failed in 15 (19.7%) patients, and the surgical approach was successful in all 14 patients who underwent re-intervention, whilst one patient died due to sepsis at 7 days. CONCLUSIONS: Our data suggest that an endoscopic approach, with surgical or radiological drainage when needed, is successful and safe in the majority of patients with anastomotic gastrointestinal leaks. Therefore, an endoscopic treatment could be attempted before resorting to more invasive, costly and risky re-intervention.

Effect of surgical revascularization of a right coronary artery tributary of an infarcted nonischemic territory on the outcome of patients with three-vessel disease: a prospective randomized trial.

BACKGROUND: We evaluated the in-hospital and long-term effects of surgical grafting of a dominant graftable right coronary artery tributary of an infarcted nonischemic territory in patients with triple-vessel disease who were undergoing coronary artery bypass grafting. METHODS: Of 303 consecutive patients undergoing coronary artery bypass grafting with 3-vessel coronary disease and a dominant right coronary artery tributary of an infarcted nonischemic territory, 154 were randomized to right coronary artery revascularization and 149 to no right coronary artery grafting. In all cases, standard on-pump surgical myocardial revascularization was performed. RESULTS: Overall hospital mortality was 2 of 154 versus 1 of 149 (P =.97); no difference in in-hospital outcome was observed between the 2 groups. At follow-up, cardiac event-free survival was 84 of 152 in the right coronary artery grafting series and 62 of 148 in the non-right coronary artery grafting group (P =.20). However, when the analysis was limited to surviving patients without new scintigraphic evidence of ischemia (to avoid confounding factors derived from ischemia in the left coronary system or right coronary artery graft malfunction), we found that patients who received a right coronary artery graft had fewer cardiac events, a lower incidence of arrhythmia, and less left ventricular dilatation than did the non-right coronary artery revascularized series. CONCLUSIONS: Surgical grafting of a right coronary artery tributary of an infarcted nonischemic territory in patients with 3-vessel coronary artery disease submitted to coronary artery bypass grafting improved late electric stability, ventricular geometry, and event-free survival but did not affect in-hospital or 10-year survival.

Effect of target artery location and severity of stenosis on mid-term patency of aorta-anastomosed vs. internal thoracic artery-anastomosed radial artery grafts.

OBJECTIVE: To verify the effect of location and severity of stenosis of the target coronary artery (TCA) on mid-term patency of aorta-anastomosed vs. internal thoracic artery (ITA)-anastomosed radial artery (RA) graft. METHODS: During a 3-year period 228 consecutive patients received an RA graft at our institution. In 131 cases the RA was anastomosed to the aorta whereas in 97 the proximal anastomosis was performed on a mammary graft. The two groups were comparable in terms of preoperative variables and TCA characteristics. At a mean follow-up of 6.5 years 128 cases of the aorta-anastomosed and 95 of the mammary-anastomosed group were submitted to control angiography. RESULTS: Mid-term patency and perfect patency rates were 92.1 and 89.8% (118/128 and 115/128) for aorta-anastomosed RA vs. 86.3 and 84.2% for mammary-anastomosed grafts (82/95 and 80/95; P=0.81 and 0.82). The location of TCA did not influence graft patency in the two groups. The severity of the TCA stenosis strongly influenced graft patency in both groups but the threshold for failure was clearly higher in the mammary-anastomosed group. CONCLUSIONS: ITA-anastomosed RA grafts are more vulnerable to the detrimental effect of chronic native competitive flow and should be used only for target vessel with subocclusive stenosis. The location of the distal anastomosis does not influence long-term RA patency.

Long-term results of an open flexible prosthetic band for mitral insufficiency.

BACKGROUND: use of a prosthetic ring is an integral part of any mitral valve repair and can influence the long-term stability of the results. We evaluated the long-term results of the AnnuloFlex ring implanted as an open flexible band in patients affected by degenerative mitral disease. METHODS: between 2001 and 2010, 82 patients (52 women, 30 men) with a mean age of 62 years, underwent repair of a prolapsing mitral valve with an AnnuloFlex band. One patient was reoperated on for a technical error and received a mechanical prosthesis, 3 were missing at follow-up, and the other 78 were prospectively followed up with clinical interviews and transthoracic echocardiography. RESULTS: the mean follow-up was 7.0 ± 1.8 years. Six patients died; 2 deaths were considered valve-related. The overall survival estimate at 10 years was 88.6% (95% confidence interval: 76.1%-94.8%). Freedom from endocarditis was 97.1% (95% confidence interval: 89.1%-98.5%). Freedom from thrombosis or hemorrhage was 93.7% (95% confidence interval: 81.6%-97.9%). Freedom from new or increased regurgitation was 93.1% (95% confidence interval: 87.3%-97.3%). The cumulative freedom from any valve-related event was 78.6% (95% confidence interval: 69.7%-97.1%). A single case of systolic anterior motion occurred before hospital discharge. CONCLUSION: the long-term results of the AnnuloFlex band are excellent and stable.

A case of myocardial infarction effectively treated by emergency coronary stenting soon after a Bentall-De Bono aortic surgery.

Postoperative ischemia may complicate cardiac surgery, despite myocardial protection and recent technical developments. Its medical management in the intensive cardiac care unit is usually efficient, although sometimes it requires the revision of the surgical site. In other cases, urgent coronary angiography and subsequent coronary stenting may resolve the situation. Ostial stenosis of coronary anastomoses is a well-known uncommon but dramatic complication after aortic surgery causing myocardial ischemia. Cases of effort angina have been described several months after surgery, but in some cases, acute myocardial infarction may occur days or weeks after intervention. We here describe an anteroseptal ST-elevation myocardial infarction soon after a Bentall aortic root replacement due to compression of the left main ostium by surgical glue, which has been effectively treated by emergency coronary stenting. This case highlights the importance of a joint management of acute myocardial ischemia after cardiac surgery by the cardiac surgeon and the interventional cardiologist.

Patients with in-stent restenosis have an increased risk of mid-term venous graft failure.

BACKGROUND: This study was designed to evaluate if patients in whom in-stent restenosis developed had an higher risk of early venous graft failure compared with normal patients. METHODS: The study cohort comprised 120 patients (60 with previous in-stent restenosis and 60 controls) who received a total of 165 complementary venous grafts on the circumflex or right coronary artery system (84 in the restenosis group and 81 in the control group). All patients were prospectively followed-up and underwent reangiography at 5-years follow-up. RESULTS: In the restenosis group, 28 venous grafts (33.%) were perfectly patent, 10 showed major irregularities, and 46 were occluded. In the control patients, 50 grafts (61.7%) were perfectly patent (p < 0.001 compared with the restenosis series), 12 showed major irregularities (p = .74), and 19 were occluded (p < 0.0001). In contrast, the 5-year outcome of internal thoracic artery grafts was not affected by history of in-stent restenosis. CONCLUSIONS: Patients who developed in-stent restenosis have an higher risk of early venous graft failure compared with the control patients. Arterial grafts should probably be preferred in these patients.

Survival after aortic valve replacement for aortic stenosis: does left ventricular mass regression have a clinical correlate?

AIM: The effects of post-operative left ventricular mass regression (LVMR) on clinical outcome after aortic valve surgery remains to be established. This study was intended to establish the impact of patient characteristics on post-operative survival in patients referred for aortic valve replacement (AVR), with particular regard to LVMR. METHODS AND RESULTS: Two hundred and sixty consecutive cases submitted to aortic valve replacement for valvular stenosis were prospectively followed for a mean of 28+/-9 months. Baseline, characteristics and extent of LVMR were tested for association with survival by uni- and multivariable analysis. Ten deaths occurred during hospital stay and 52 during out-of-hospital follow-up. Mean left ventricular mass decreased from 190+/-43 to 158+/-70 g/m2 (P<0.001). Older age, advanced functional class, hypertension, reduced left ventricle ejection fraction, and high pre-operative left ventricular mass index were associated with reduced survival. Overall the extent of LVMR did not influence the clinical results, while only early (<6 months) LVMR was weakly associated with mid-term outcome. CONCLUSION: Survival after aortic valve surgery is mainly determined by the pre-operative functional cardiac and systemic status. The extent of LVMR does not correlate with clinical outcome, whereas aggressive treatment of hypertension may improve post-operative survival.