Percutaneous Endoscopic Gastrostomy Tube in a Syncardia™ Total Artificial Heart.

As a bridge to transplant, the Syncardia™ total artificial heart (TAH) is an option for patients who are not candidates for left ventricular assist devices (LVAD) due to right ventricular failure. The need for nutritional support in these patients is essential for a favorable outcome. Low body mass indexes and albumin levels have been associated with increased morbidity and mortality in cardiac surgery patients [Alverdy 2003]. It is not uncommon for postoperative patients to have difficulty in consuming enough calories after surgery, which is further complicated by a hypermetabolic demand due to surgical stress. Enteral nutrition has typically been favored for gut mucosal integrity and bacterial flora [Alverdy 2003] [Engleman 1999]. We describe the need for prolonged enteral nutritional support in a TAH patient that was accomplished with a percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy (PEG) tube.

Nocardiosis in Heart Transplant Recipients.

Nocardia has emerged as an important opportunistic pathogen, especially in organ transplant recipients. Heart transplant (HT) recipients initially had an especially high rate of Nocardia infection, but this could be reduced by the routine use of cyclosporine. Our objective was to clarify the prevalence and presentation of Nocardiosis in HT recipients in a retrospective cross-sectional analysis.

Insertion of the Avalon cannula for venovenous extracorporeal membrane oxygenation in a patient with an implanted ASD occlusion device.

Use of the Avalon Elite bicaval dual lumen catheter (Maquet Cardiopulmonary AG, Rastatt, Germany) can be effective in patients requiring venovenous extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (VV-ECMO) for adult respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS). Proper placement of the cannula is important in providing adequate therapy and avoiding life-threatening complications.  We report a case of successful cannulation in a patient with an implanted atrial septal defect (ASD) occlusion device who developed severe refractory ARDS.

Steroid treatment resolves acute respiratory failure in patient transferred for ECMO.

INTRODUCTION: Space-consuming mediastinal tumors can create respiratory failure. METHODS: We are reporting on a case of mediastinal lymphoma, which created respiratory failure in our patient. IV steroid therapy was used in our patient, who presented with end-stage respiratory failure. RESULTS: Conservative management of our patient was possible without the application of ECMO. CONCLUSIONS: In the right patient population, IV steroid treatment can avoid further deterioration of end-stage respiratory failure.

Magnetically guided recellularization of decellularized stented porcine pericardium-derived aortic valve for TAVI.

Application of somatic stem cells for growth, proliferation, and differentiation in a three-dimensional pattern is an important aspect in tissue engineering. Here, we report on our bioreactor, which we applied for magnetically guided recellularization of nitinol-stented valve. Human-derived unrestricted somatic stem cells were cultured in medium in our pulsatile dynamic bioreactor for 4-6 days. Stented valves were prepared by decellularization of porcine pericardium and construction of stented tissue-engineered valves (n = 8). A magnetic field was created around the bioreactor to prevent the loss of cells. In the control group, no magnetic device was used (n = 4). Morphological characterization was assessed by immunohistochemical staining of paraffin sections and electron microscopy. The bioreactor enabled the preservation of physiologic culture conditions with aerobic cell metabolism and physiological pH values. Histological analysis showed homogeneous seeding of the pericardium with progenitor cells in the recellularized samples, whereas no cell seeding could be observed in the nonmagnetic group. Our magnetically guided multifunctional bioreactor allows for an efficient three-dimensional culturing of somatic stem cells on decellularized organ-specific matrix.