Twenty-five Years of Lung Transplantation in Medellín: Overcoming the Challenges of an Emerging Country.

The first successful lung transplant in Colombia was performed on October 28, 1997 in Medellín by Alberto Villegas Hernández at the "Clínica Cardiovascular Santa María" today called the Cardio VID Clinic. Here we present both survival outcomes and characteristics of the oldest and most experienced lung transplant program in Colombia. We conducted a retrospective study of all patients taken to lung transplantation at the Cardio VID Clinic in Medellín, Colombia from October 1997 to October 2022. Patient information from our institutional database and transplant archives were retrieved and reviewed. From October 1997 to October 2022, a total of 153 patients underwent orthotopic lung transplantation at our institution in Medellín, Colombia. Mean recipient age was 48±13 years, the youngest patient was 15 years old and the oldest patient was 73 years old at the time of transplant. 74 (48,4%) patients were men and 79 (51,6%) were women. Lung transplant survival in Medellin at 1-month, 1-year, 5-years and 10-years were 68%, 50%, 31% and 12% respectively. Although health care coverage in Colombia reaches nearly 100%, socioeconomic hurdles during post-transplant care, non-returning patients, infections and traumatic donor deaths lead to high mortality rates. Due to these factors, establishing successful and sustainable lung transplant programs in these settings is challenging.

MitraClip as bridge to mitral valve replacement in the setting of ischemic cardiogenic shock and papillary muscle rupture.

MitraClip implantation has been reported in severe mitral regurgitation following ischemic papillary muscle rupture in surgically high-risk patients with cardiogenic shock. Here we present a case of a 68-year-old female patient who suffered an ischemic papillary muscle rupture resulting in severe mitral prolapse and had a MitraClip implanted. Three months later, due to progressive symptoms, she was taken to surgery and had an elective minimally invasive mitral valve replacement. Informed consent was given and ethics board approval was obtained.

Extra-corporeal membrane oxygenation and emergency C-section for a pregnant COVID-19 positive patient.

INTRODUCTION: Data on extra-corporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) therapy for pregnant patients with Coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) infection are limited. Here we report a case of an emergency cesarean section performed while the COVID-19 positive mother was on ECMO support. CASE REPORT: A 36-year-old COVID-19 positive patient at 26 weeks gestational age presented with respiratory failure requiring extra-corporeal membrane oxygenation therapy. Nine days later fetal distress demanded an emergency C-section. After 5 weeks on ECMO, the patient was weaned off. Both mother and child were discharged. DISCUSSION: The decision to perform an urgent C-section is one that requires meticulous thought from the attending team. Pulmonary maturation is key as pregnancy may need to be terminated at any time during ECMO. CONCLUSION: Data on ECMO support for pregnant patients with COVID-19 infection are scarce. Best results can be achieved ensuring adequate anticoagulation, meticulous choice of cannulas, continued fetal monitoring, early lung maturation, and precision timing of delivery.

Miniature Minimally Invasive Pulmonary Banding in Neonates (MINI-MICS): A Novel Technique.

Single-ventricular cardiopathies are challenging conditions requiring multiple surgical interventions to hopefully achieve adulthood. In neonates, pulmonary artery banding allows ventricular adaptation and pulmonary vascular bed protection. Here we present a novel minimally invasive approach to pulmonary artery banding through a 1.5 cm left parasternal minithoracotomy. This technique not only allows for a less traumatic first procedure but also a less manipulated mediastinum and untouched sternum for the consequent surgeries to come. This technique is reproducible in experienced hands and shows favorable and promising results when performed properly.

MitraClip as bridge to mitral valve replacement in the setting of ischemic cardiogenic shock and papillary muscle rupture.

MitraClip implantation has been reported in severe mitral regurgitation following ischemic papillary muscle rupture in surgically high-risk patients with cardiogenic shock. Here we present a case of a 68-year-old female patient who suffered an ischemic papillary muscle rupture resulting in severe mitral prolapse and had a MitraClip implanted. Three months later, due to progressive symptoms, she was taken to surgery and had an elective minimally invasive mitral valve replacement. Informed consent was given and ethics board approval was obtained.

Bench bioprosthetic aortic valve replacement in a donor heart before transplantation.

Critical donor shortages have impulsed the need to expand donor heart eligibility through the use of marginal hearts in cardiac transplantation. Donor valvular disease has been considered as an absolute contraindication for transplant. A 39-year-old male patient with end-stage non-compaction cardiomyopathy, an INTERMACS II heart failure, and a left ventricular ejection fraction of 8% was taken to an orthotopic heart transplantation. During donor bench graft examination, a congenital bicuspid and calcified aortic valve was found. The native bicuspid valve was removed and the annular calcification debrided; a #21 bioprosthetic aortic valve was then implanted.

Peri-operative nutrition in cardiovascular surgery: current pitfalls and future directions.

In the field of cardiovascular surgery, many areas are frequently evaluated to improve patient outcomes. Even though cardiac surgery has advanced significantly, peri-operative nutrition remains an area needing special attention and is under-considered in patient results. The three portions of cardiac surgical nutrition optimization are pre-operative, intra-operative and post-operative. All these, merit important clinical intervention which when done properly can significantly improve patient recovery and reduce morbidity and mortality. Here we provide a narrative review and recommendations for peri-operative nutritional optimization in cardiac surgery.

Factores asociados a complicaciones en pacientes diabéticos con enfermedad coronaria multivaso intervenidos quirúrgicamente en un centro cardiovascular de alta complejidad / Factors associated with complications in diabetic patients with multivessel coronary disease surgically operated in a highly complex cardiovascular center

Resumen Objetivo: Determinar las características sociodemográficas, clínicas y de procedimiento asociadas a complicaciones en pacientes diabéticos con enfermedad coronaria severa, sometidos a revascularización quirúrgica. Métodos: Estudio de cohortes retrospectivo en pacientes mayores de 18 años con diagnóstico de diabetes mellitus y enfermedad coronaria multivaso, sometidos a revascularización quirúrgica, en el que se evaluaron las características individuales, clínicas y de procedimiento asociadas a complicaciones posquirúrgicas. Se realizó un análisis bivariado y multivariado mediante regresión logística binaria. Resultados: Los factores asociados a complicaciones fueron edad, índice de masa corporal, fracción de eyección del ventrículo izquierdo, clase funcional de la Asociación del Corazón de Nueva York (NYHA, su sigla en inglés por New York Heart Association) preintervención y antecedente de consumo de alcohol y tabaco; de estos, la edad es la variable que persiste con significancia estadística tras el modelo de regresión logística binaria. Conclusión: La incidencia de complicaciones posoperatorias en pacientes diabéticos sometidos a revascularización quirúrgica es comparable con la observada en estudios previos, y el factor asociado encontrado para este grupo de pacientes es la edad. El modelo podría explicar el 23 % del desarrollo de complicaciones en la cohorte estudiada.

Abstract Objective: To determine the sociodemographic, clinical and procedural characteristics associated with complications in diabetic patients with severe coronary disease treated by coronary artery bypass surgery. Methods: A retrospective cohort study in patients over 18 years old with a diagnosis of diabetes mellitus and multivessel coronary disease, undergoing surgical revascularization, where individual, clinical and procedural characteristics associated with surgical complications were evaluated. A bivariate and multivariate analysis was performed using binary logistic regression. Results: The factors associated with complications that were found were: age, body mass index, left ventricular ejection fraction, pre intervention New York Heart Association (NYHA) functional class, alcohol and tobacco history. Of these, age was the only variable that persists with statistical significance after the logistic regression model. Conclusion: The incidence of postoperative complications in diabetic patients undergoing surgical revascularization is comparable to that observed in previous studies. The associated factor found for this group of patients is the age.