Predictors of late outcomes after concomitant tricuspid valve repair with left-sided valve surgery.

BACKGROUND: Concomitant tricuspid valve (TV) repair is a safe and effective procedure to protect against late moderate or greater tricuspid regurgitation (TR) after left-sided valve surgery, but studies regarding its late outcomes and recurrent TR are limited. This study aimed to reveal the late outcomes and explore the predictors of mortality and recurrent TR among patients who underwent concomitant TV repair with left-sided valve surgery. METHODS AND RESULTS: This study included 645 patients (mean age, 69.7 years; 44% male) who underwent concomitant TV repair with left-sided valve surgery (mitral valve surgery in 594 cases, aortic valve surgery in 172 cases) from 2006-2020. Preoperative TR was grade 4, 3, and less than 2 in 85, 235, and 325 patients, respectively. The median follow-up period was 4.6 (IQR 1.7-7.8) years. The in-hospital or 30-day mortality was 1.7% (n = 11). Regarding long-term outcomes after TV repair, 90.3% and 80.8% achieved 5- and 10-year survival, respectively, while 96.1% and 88.8% achieved 5- and 10-year freedom from recurrent TR, respectively. The following were independent predictors of overall mortality on multivariate analysis in patients with preoperative TR grade ≥ 3: prior pacemaker implantation, preoperative renal dysfunction, diabetes mellitus and NYHA class ≥ 3. Also, suture annuloplasty and ring type of ring annuloplasty were not independent risk factors for recurrent TR, classified as grade ≥ 3. CONCLUSIONS: Concomitant TV repair with left-sided valve surgery had acceptable outcomes in terms of survival and TR durability. In patients with preoperative TR grade ≥ 3, preoperative patient status had negative impacts on prognosis.

Successful Implantation of Rapid Deployment Aortic Valve after TAVR Explantation.

BACKGROUND: Transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) has become widely used in recent years, However, there is also an increasing need for removal of TAVR valves due to prosthetic valve dysfunction (PVD) and the development of infective endocarditis. Surgical aortic valve replacement (AVR) for these patients is risky due to the original patient background and anatomic conditions. Intuity rapid deployment aortic valve (Edwards Lifesciences, Irvine, CA) replacement would be useful for such high risk patients to prevent longer cardiac arrest time and obtain good hemodynamic results. However, there are few reports which present Intuity valve replacement after TAVR explantation. Herein, We report two cases in which we have achieved good hemodynamics with shorter cardiac arrest times by using a rapid deployment valve after TAVR explantation. CASE PRESENTATION: We present 2 cases of successful implantation of the Intuity rapid deployment valve after TAVR explantation. The 84- and 88-year-old female patients had previously received TAVR for severe aortic stenosis with SAPIEN XT (Edwards Lifesciences, Irvine, CA) and developed PVD during follow-up. The TAVR valve was removed carefully, then an Intuity valve was implanted with cardiac arrest times of 69 and 41 min. Both patients had good echocardiographic results with effective orifice area of 2.0 cm2 and 1.2 cm2 and mean trans-aortic plessure gradient of 9 mmHg and 15 mmHg respectively without aortic regurgitation. They were discharged without major complications. CONCLUSIONS: Surgical AVR using a rapid deployment valve is a useful alternative to sutured AVR after TAVR valve explantation. It allows for shorter cardiac arrest times and better postoperative hemodynamics without major complication.

Outcomes and residual gap analysis after the modified cryomaze procedure performed via right minithoracotomy versus sternotomy.

Objectives: Developments in both technique and technology have enabled surgeons to perform the maze procedure via right minithoracotomy (RMT) to treat atrial fibrillation (AF). This study aimed to clarify the outcomes of the modified cryomaze procedure via the RMT approach compared with the sternotomy approach. Methods: The study cohort comprised 803 consecutive patients who underwent a modified cryomaze procedure (130 via RMT and 673 via sternotomy) for paroxysmal AF and persistent AF from January 2001 to March 2022. The Gray test was applied to compare the incidence of recurrent atrial tachyarrhythmias. Additionally, residual electrical gaps were investigated in the patients who underwent additional catheter ablation for recurrent atrial tachyarrhythmias. Results: The respective 1-, 2-, and 3-year cumulative incidences of recurrent atrial tachyarrhythmias were 13.1%, 19.5%, and 23.1% in the RMT group, and 9.3%, 10.9%, and 12.8% in the sternotomy group (Gray test P = .036). All 31 patients with recurrent atrial tachyarrhythmias underwent additional catheter ablation, comprising 14 (10.8%) in the RMT group and 17 (2.5%) in the sternotomy group. There was a significant intergroup difference in the site of residual electrical gaps; the RMT group more frequently had residual gaps in the tricuspid annulus than the sternotomy group (6.2% vs 0.4%; P < .001). Conclusions: In the modified cryomaze procedure via the RMT approach, ablation failure is more likely to occur at the tricuspid annulus, where the surgical field of view is relatively poor compared with the sternotomy approach. Therefore, surgical ablation should be performed with caution when the RMT approach is used.

Short- and Midterm outcomes of modified robotic tricuspid annuloplasty for secondary tricuspid regurgitation.

BACKGROUND: Despite the growing popularity of robotically assisted mitral repair, robotically assisted tricuspid repair has not been widely adopted. We assessed the safety and feasibility of robotic tricuspid annuloplasty with continuous sutures for tricuspid regurgitation (TR). METHODS AND RESULTS: We studied consecutive 68 patients (median age, 74 years) with secondary TR who underwent tricuspid annuloplasty using continuous sutures with (n = 61) and without mitral valve repair (n = 7) from 2018 to 2021. Robotic tricuspid annuloplasty consists of continuous sutures with flexible prosthetic band to the tricuspid annulus using two V-Loc barbed sutures (Medtronic Inc., Minneapolis, MN). Concomitant maze procedure was performed in 45 (66%) patients. Robotic tricuspid annuloplasty with continuous sutures was successfully performed. There was no in-hospital or 30-day mortality; 65 patients (96%) did not experience major surgery-related complications. Preoperatively, the TR grade was mild in 20 (29%) patients and mildly higher in 48 (71%). Postoperatively, the TR severity significantly improved, with TR grade mildly higher in 9% at hospital discharge and 7% at 1-year follow-up (p < 0.001). The 1-year and 2-year freedom rates from heart failure were 98% and 95%, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: Robotic tricuspid annuloplasty with continuous sutures is safe and feasible alone or concomitant with mitral valve repair. It offered sustained improvement in TR severity and might prevent heart failure readmission.

What Is the Optimal Mitral Valve Repair for Isolated Posterior Leaflet Prolapse to Achieve Long-Term Durability?

Background This study assessed risk factors for mitral regurgitation (MR) recurrence or functional mitral stenosis during long-term follow-up in patients undergoing mitral valve repair for isolated posterior mitral leaflet prolapse. Methods and Results We assessed a consecutive series of 511 patients who underwent primary mitral valve repair for isolated posterior leaflet prolapse between 2001 and 2021. Annuloplasty using a partial band was selected in 86.3%. The leaflet resection technique was used in 83.0%, whereas the chordal replacement without resection was used in 14.5%. Risk factors were analyzed for MR recurrence ≥grade 2 or functional mitral stenosis with mean transmitral pressure gradient ≥5 mm Hg using a multivariable Fine-Gray regression model. The 1-, 5-, and 10-year cumulative incidence of MR ≥grade 2 was 7.8%, 22.7%, and 30.1%, respectively, whereas that of mean transmitral pressure gradient ≥5 mm Hg was 8.1%, 20.6%, and 29.3%, respectively. Risk factors for MR ≥grade 2 included chordal replacement without resection (hazard ratio [HR], 2.50, P<0.001) and larger prosthesis size (HR, 1.13, P=0.023), whereas factors for functional mitral stenosis were use of a full ring (partial band versus full ring, HR, 0.53, P=0.013), smaller prosthesis size (HR, 0.74, P<0.001), and larger body surface area (HR, 3.03, P=0.045). Both MR ≥grade 2 and mean transmitral pressure gradient ≥5 mm Hg at 1 year post surgery were significantly associated with the long-term incidence of reoperation. Conclusions Leaflet resection with a large partial band may be an optimal strategy for isolated posterior mitral valve prolapse.

Early Outcomes of Intuity Rapid Deployment Aortic Valve Replacement Compared With Conventional Biological Valves in Japanese Patients.

BACKGROUND: This study aimed to elucidate the short-term surgical outcomes and hemodynamics of the Intuity valve compared to the standard bioprosthesis in Japanese patients.Methods and Results: Among the 307 consecutive patients who underwent aortic valve replacement (AVR) between February 2019 and March 2021, the Intuity valve was implanted in 95 patients (Intuity group) and a conventional stented bioprosthesis was implanted in 193 patients (conventional group). After propensity score matching, there was no significant difference in in-hospital mortality between the Intuity (n=2, 3%) and conventional groups (n=0, P=0.490). Operation, cardiopulmonary bypass, and aortic cross-clamping times were significantly shorter in the Intuity group. Although the effective orifice area index, trans-prosthetic mean pressure gradient, and peak velocity were similar between the 2 groups at 1 week postoperatively, the Intuity group showed a better mean pressure gradient and peak velocity at 1 year postoperatively. Complete atrioventricular block requiring permanent pacemaker implantation developed in 2 patients (3%) in the Intuity group and none in the conventional group (P=0.476). Mild or greater paravalvular leakage was present in 8 patients (13%) in the Intuity group and 2 patients (3%) in the conventional group (P=0.095). CONCLUSIONS: AVR using the Intuity valve in Japanese patients is satisfactory, with a better valve performance and a low incidence of complete atrioventricular block at 1 year postoperatively.

Immunocompetent cells in durable ventricular assist device-implanted non-ischaemic dilated cardiomyopathy.

OBJECTIVE: Because the presence of immunocompetent cells in the myocardium is associated with the pathological stage and/or myocardial viability, we explored relationships between functional recovery after left ventricular assist device implantation and the distribution of immunocompetent cells in non-ischaemic dilated cardiomyopathy patients. METHODS: We reviewed 50 consecutive dilated cardiomyopathy patients implanted with HeartMate II at our institute between April 2013 and December 2018 who were treated with optimal medical therapy during left ventricular assist device support. Patients were stratified by improvement of the left ventricular ejection fraction at 6 months after implantation: ≥ 10% increase (Gr ≥ 10%), 5-10% (Gr 5-10%), and ≤ 5% (Gr ≤ 5%). T cells and macrophages were evaluated in the apical myocardium after left ventricular assist device implantation. RESULTS: During left ventricular assist device support, 12 patients underwent heart transplantation and 2 patients died. Four patients with Gr ≤ 5% were readmitted because of congestive heart failure, but none with Gr ≥ 10%. Macrophages and T cells in the left ventricular myocardium with Gr ≥ 10% were significantly more present compared to those in other groups. CONCLUSIONS: The distribution of immunocompetent cells in the left ventricular myocardium might predict myocardial viability of this pathology after implantation.

Mitral valve surgery for atrial functional mitral regurgitation: predicting recurrent mitral regurgitation and mid-term outcome.

OBJECTIVES: This study aimed to elucidate the mid-term outcomes and risk factors for recurrent mitral regurgitation after mitral valve (MV) surgery for atrial functional mitral regurgitation (AFMR). METHODS AND RESULTS: We retrospectively analyzed data of 50 consecutive patients (median age 74 years; 29 men) who underwent mitral valve surgery for AFMR between January 2001 and January 2019. Mean atrial fibrillation duration was 12 years. During the follow-up period of 4.6 ± 4.4 years, 5 cardiac-related deaths were identified. Five- and 10-year freedom from cardiac-related death rate for all patients was 88.4% and 78.6%. In total, 42 patients underwent MV repair with mitral annuloplasty and 8 underwent MV replacement. Five- and 10-year freedom from cardiac-related death rate in patients who underwent MV repair was 93.1% and 82.7%, which was better than MV replacement (log rank p = 0.04). During the follow-up period, MR recurrence rate was 16.8% at 5 and 10 years for the patients who underwent MV repair. Univariate analysis showed that partial band annuloplasty and preoperative elevated left ventricular end-systolic volume index were risk factors for recurrent MR after MV repair. Multivariate analysis identified partial band annuloplasty as the independent predictor for recurrent MR during long-term follow-up after MV repair for AFMR. CONCLUSION: Patients who underwent MV repair for AFMR could have an acceptable mid-term outcome. However, MVR might not improve the mid-term outcome in patients with AFMR. The use of partial bands for mitral annuloplasty would not be recommended in terms of recurrent MR mid-term.

Transaortic Transcatheter Aortic Valve Replacement in Patients From a Single Institution　- Feasibility, Safety, and Midterm Outcomes.

BACKGROUND: Transaortic transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAo-TAVR) is an alternative to peripheral or transapical TAVR. The procedural feasibility, safety, and midterm outcomes of TAo-TAVR were investigated in this study.Methods and Results:Eighty-four consecutive patients underwent TAo-TAVR from 2011 to 2021. Their median age was 83 years (interquartile range, 80-87 years). The Edwards SAPIEN and Medtronic CoreValve devices were used in 45 (53.6%) and 38 (45.2%) patients, respectively. The surgical approach was a right mini-thoracotomy in 43 patients (51.2%) and partial sternotomy in 4 patients (4.8%). The remaining 37 patients (44.0%) underwent full sternotomy because of concomitant off-pump coronary artery bypass grafting. VARC-3 device success was achieved in 77 patients (91.7%). Valve migration occurred in 3 patients (3.6%) using a first-generation CoreValve device, necessitating implantation of a second valve. No aortic annulus rupture, aortic dissection, or coronary orifice occlusion occurred. Conversion to surgery was required for 1 patient because of uncontrollable bleeding. Only 1 in-hospital death occurred. New pacemaker implantation was required in 6 patients (7.1%). Echocardiography at discharge showed no or trivial paravalvular leak (PVL) in 58 patients (69.0%), mild PVL in 23 (27.4%), and mild to moderate PVL in 2 (2.4%) patients. The 1- and 3-year incidence of cardiovascular death was 1.6% and 4.8%, respectively, with no structural valve deterioration. CONCLUSIONS: TAo-TAVR is feasible and safe with satisfactory midterm outcomes using both currently available devices.

Impact of the HeartMate 3 continuous-flow left ventricular assist device in patients with small body size.

OBJECTIVES: Limited data are available for use of the HeartMate 3 (HM 3) left ventricular assist device in patients with a small body surface area (BSA). Because the HM 3 is currently the sole device available worldwide, we conducted a single-centre retrospective study of patients with a small BSA (<1.5 m2) who underwent HM 3 implantation to better understand the operative and postoperative management. METHODS: This study enrolled 64 consecutive patients who had undergone HM 3 implantation from August 2018 to July 2021. The patients were divided into 2 groups based on their BSA before the operation: BSA of <1.5 m2 (small BSA group, n = 18) and BSA of ≥1.5 m2 (regular BSA group, n = 46). The primary study endpoint was survival free of events such as disabling stroke and pump failure. The secondary endpoint was the frequency of adverse events. RESULTS: The average BSA was 1.38 m2 in the small BSA group. The overall event-free survival rate at 12 months was 100% and 86.7% in the small BSA group and regular BSA group, respectively, and no significant difference was found between the 2 groups (log-rank P = 0.2). The number of cumulative adverse events of death, stroke of any severity, driveline infection, pump infection, ventricular arrhythmia, gastrointestinal Haemorrhage and pump failure was similar between the 2 groups. CONCLUSIONS: The HM 3 was safely implanted in patients with a small BSA, and postoperative outcomes were acceptable regardless of BSA. However, further research is needed to confirm the indications for HM 3 implantation in even smaller patients.

Pericardiectomy for constrictive pericarditis at a single Japanese center: 20 years of experience.

OBJECTIVE: Constrictive pericarditis (CP) is a rare disease, and the diagnosis and surgical treatment of CP remain challenging. The aim of this study was to evaluate our Japanese single-center experience with isolated pericardiectomy for CP to elucidate the factors associated with improved outcomes. METHODS: Over a 20-year period, 44 consecutive patients underwent isolated pericardiectomy at our institution. The cause of CP was: idiopathic (59%), postsurgical (32%), tuberculosis (7%), and postradiation (2%) of the patients. All patients were diagnosed with CP using multiple modalities, including echocardiography, cardiac catheterization, computed tomography, or magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Median sternotomy was performed in 42 (95%) patients. Twenty-eight (68%) patients underwent radical pericardiectomy. RESULTS: The postoperative diagnosis in all patients was CP. Among the multiple modalities, cardiac MRI had the greatest diagnostic sensitivity (97.2%). There were no operative or hospital deaths; late mortality occurred in seven (15.9%) patients in the series. Multivariable analysis showed that preoperative low LVEF was a risk factor for long-term mortality. Seven patients were readmitted for heart failure postoperatively. Multivariable analysis showed incomplete pericardiectomy and use of a preoperative inotrope were risk factors for readmission for heart failure. CONCLUSIONS: The diagnosis using multimodality imaging for CP was effective in our institution and tagged cine MRI had the greatest sensitivity in diagnosing CP. Preoperative condition, including preoperative low LVEF or inotrope use, was correlated with long-term outcome after pericardiectomy. Pericardiectomy should be performed early and as radically as possible to prevent recurrent heart failure.

Bridge from central extracorporeal life support is a risk factor of cerebrovascular accidents after durable left ventricular assist device implantation.

A bridging strategy from extracorporeal life support (ECLS) is effective in salvage and a bridge to recovery or to a durable left ventricular assist device (LVAD) for acute refractory heart failure. However, the correlation of this strategy with adverse events after durable LVAD implantation has not been fully investigated. This study enrolled 158 consecutive patients who had either the HeartMate II or HeartMate 3 and were implanted for bridge-to-transplantation. These devices were implanted as the primary mechanical support device in 115 patients, whereas the remaining 43 underwent LVAD implantation as the bridge from central ECLS. The primary study endpoint was all-cause mortality and cerebrovascular accidents (CVAs) after durable LVAD implantation, and the secondary endpoints were adverse events. Overall survival was not significantly different between the two groups. In contrast, the probability of CVAs was significantly greater in the bridge group than in the primary group (probability of CVAs, P = 0.002; log-rank test). In Cox multivariate logistic regression analysis, a bridge from central ECLS was an independent predictive factor of CVAs (hazard ratio 4.27, 95% confidence interval 1.43-12.8; P = 0.0095). Patients who are bridged from central ECLS are more frequently complicated by CVAs compared with those who undergo primary implantation of a durable LVAD, but survival is not significantly different between the two groups. A bridge from central ECLS is an independent predictive factor of CVAs post-implantation of an LVAD.

Launching minimally invasive stand-alone maze procedure for atrial fibrillation.

BACKGROUND: Minimally invasive Maze procedure via right mini-thoracotomy approach is reportedly a promising option for paroxysmal and non-paroxysmal atrial fibrillation (AF), although it is not widely performed. This study aimed to validate feasibility and safety of minimally invasive stand-alone Maze procedure in an institutional first case series. METHODS: This study enrolled an institutional consecutive series of 20 cases who underwent minimally invasive Maze procedure between November 2018 and January 2021. Concomitant tricuspid annuloplasty was performed in five cases who showed moderate tricuspid regurgitation preoperatively. RESULTS: Minimally invasive Maze procedure using cryo-energy source was successfully accomplished with sinus rhythm being restored at the intensive care unit entry in all cases without conversion to the sternotomy approach. All cases were discharged home, while one case was complicated with stroke postoperatively. Nineteen cases (95%) showed sinus rhythm at the last follow-up, whereas one case, who had large left atrium, showed recurrent persistent AF despite optimum medical therapy. Catheter ablations were performed for residual conductions at box lesions and/or mitral/tricuspid isthmus in three cases, who showed medically refractory atrial tachycardia post-Maze procedure. Consequently, these three cases showed sinus rhythm restoration at the last follow-up Conclusions: Minimally invasive stand-alone Maze procedure with or without tricuspid annuloplasty was feasible and safe for AF in the institutional first case series. Catheter ablations for recurrent AF post-Maze procedure would be warranted.

Reverse remodelling after aortic valve replacement for chronic aortic regurgitation.

OBJECTIVES: This study aimed to assess the long-term outcomes and investigate the factors related to left ventricular (LV) reverse remodelling after aortic valve replacement (AVR) in patients with chronic aortic regurgitation (AR). METHODS: A total of 246 patients who underwent AVR for chronic AR at our institution were included in this retrospective study. Primary end-points included all-cause mortality, cardiac mortality and major adverse cerebral and cardiovascular events. Secondary end-points included cardiac function on echocardiography 1 year after surgery. We explored the predictive factors for reverse remodelling 1 year after surgery. RESULTS: The 10-year survival rate was 86.0%, with no cardiac deaths in 93.8% and no major adverse cerebral and cardiovascular events in 79.9% of patients. Postoperative LV function and symptoms were significantly improved 1 year after surgery, but 34 patients (13.8%) did not recover normal function and structure. A significant negative correlation was found between the incidence of cardiac death and major adverse cerebral and cardiovascular events and reverse remodelling. Multivariate logistic regression identified preoperative LV ejection fraction (P = 0.001, odds ratio = 1.057) and LV end-systolic dimension index (P = 0.038, odds ratio = 0.912) as significant predictive factors of reverse remodelling 1 year after surgery. CONCLUSIONS: Preoperative LV ejection fraction and LV end-systolic dimension index were predictive factors for reverse remodelling after surgery, which was associated with late outcomes. Earlier surgery may thus help to restore normal LV function and achieve better late outcomes after AVR for AR.

Novel risk score for predicting recurrence of atrial fibrillation after the Cryo-Maze procedure.

OBJECTIVES: This study aimed to develop a novel risk score model for quantitative prediction of the rate of atrial fibrillation (AF) recurrence after the Cryo-Maze procedure in patients with persistent AF. METHODS: We enrolled 450 consecutive patients who underwent the Cryo-Maze procedure for persistent AF concomitant with other cardiac procedures in our institute between 2001 and 2019. We randomly divided the cohort into two groups. We derived a model in a 'development cohort' (270 patients; 60%) and validated it in a 'test cohort' (180 patients; 40%) by receiver operating characteristic curve analysis. RESULTS: The median follow-up was 5.2 (interquartile range: 2.0-9.9) years. The 1-, 5-, 10- and 15-year rates of freedom from AF recurrence in the entire cohort were 91.4%, 83.5%, 76.2% and 57.1%, respectively. Risk factors for AF recurrence examined by logistic regression analysis included F-wave voltage in V1 < 0.2 mV, preoperative AF duration >5 years and left atrial volume index >100 ml/m2. Points were assigned to each risk factor according to its odds ratio. A novel risk score model was developed using these three variables and age, with a range up to 10 points. High score (>7) predicted high rates of AF recurrence after the Cryo-Maze procedure. The area under the receiver operating characteristic curve of the novel risk model score was 0.78 (95% confidence interval: 0.65-0.91) in the test cohort. CONCLUSIONS: Use of the Cryo-Maze procedure should be carefully considered in patients with a higher model score because of a higher risk of AF recurrence.

Weak binding of N-alkylpyridinium ions to nonionic surfactant micelles as studied by capillary zone electrophoresis.

The binding equilibrium of N-alkylpyridinium ions to nonionic surfactant micelles was investigated through the changes in the electrophoretic mobility of the alkylpyridinium ions in capillary zone electrophoresis. The binding constants thus determined increased with increasing molecular volume of the alkylpyridinium ions. However, the binding constants are small compared with the ones for the anionic alkylbenzenesulfonate and polynitrophenolate ions at the same molecular volume.