Endovascular Retrieval of Entrapped Elephant Trunk Graft During Complex Hybrid Aortic Arch Repair.

Entrapment of the elephant trunk graft within the false lumen is a rare complication of surgical repair of an aortic dissection. This is normally retrieved by emergent open surgery. We describe a technique of endovascular retrieval of the dislodged graft, during hybrid aortic arch repair. The elephant trunk was cannulated through and through from a femoral access and the free end of the wire was snared and retrieved from a brachial access. The wire was externalised from both accesses and was used to reposition the graft into the true lumen using a body flossing technique.

Does preoperative statin therapy prevent postoperative atrial fibrillation in patients undergoing cardiac surgery?

A best evidence topic was written according to a structured protocol. The question addressed was: does preoperative statin therapy prevent postoperative atrial fibrillation (AF) in patients undergoing cardiac surgery? There were 445 papers found using the reported search. From these, 12 represented the best evidence to answer the clinical question. The authors, journal, date and country of publication, patient group studied, study type, relevant outcomes and results of these papers are tabulated. This paper includes three systematic reviews with meta-analysis, five randomized controlled trials and four retrospective studies. All the papers compared either all or some of the following postoperative complications: mortality, morbidity, AF, length of hospital stay (intensive care unit and hospital) and inflammatory markers. The largest study in this paper includes a systematic review of 91 491 patients that showed a reduction in postoperative AF with preoperative statin therapy (OR = 0.71, 95% CI 0.61-0.82, P <0.0001). However, the durations (3 days to 2 months preoperatively), doses and types of preoperative statin differed between these papers. Although the majority of studies (10 of 12) support the use of statins preoperatively, 2 studies found no association between preoperative statin therapy and the reduction of postoperative AF. In conclusion, the available evidence suggests that preoperative statin therapy in patients undergoing elective cardiac surgery is associated with the following: (1) a lower incidence and risk of developing postoperative AF, (2) reduced stroke, (3) a shorter hospital stay and (4) reduced levels of inflammatory markers postoperatively. However, while the evidence supports the use of statins preoperatively, the optimal duration, dose and type of statin cannot be concluded from this review.

Surgical management of infective endocarditis: an analysis of early and late outcomes.

OBJECTIVES: To review our experience of surgical management of infective endocarditis (IE) over a 13-year period and analyse the outcomes and associated prognostic factors. METHODS: A retrospective review was conducted for 191 consecutive patients who underwent surgery for native and prosthetic valve endocarditis (PVE) between January 2000 and December 2012. Surgical outcomes were reviewed to include survival and postoperative complications. Follow-up was complete for 172 of 179 patients (96.1%) surviving to hospital discharge, with a mean follow-up of 6.6 ± 3.7 years. RESULTS: Mean age was 47.4 ± 14.9 years with 113 (63.9%) males. Native valve endocarditis was present in 177 patients (92.7%). Sixty-three patients (33.0%) presented with embolic complications. The brain was the most common site of embolism, involving 25 patients (13.1%). Streptococcus viridans was the most common infective organism, isolated in 68 patients (35.7%), followed by Staphylococcus aureus in 30 patients (15.7%). Eighty-seven patients (45.5%) had active endocarditis at the time of surgery. The mitral valve was infected in 136 patients (71.2%), the aortic valve in 66 (34.6%), the tricuspid valve in 29 (15.2%) and multiple valves in 38 (19.9%). Nineteen patients (9.9%) were intravenous drug users (IVDU). Twelve IVDUs (63.2%) suffered from tricuspid valve IE, compared with 7 of 162 patients (4.3%) in the non-IVDU population (P < 0.001). The most common indication for early surgery was intractable cardiac failure. Twelve patients (6.3%) died during the hospital stay for surgical treatment of IE. Logistic multivariate analysis identified preoperative creatinine clearance and stroke as independent predictors of in-hospital mortality. Overall 10-year survival and freedom from valve-related reoperation were 74.8 and 90.3%, respectively. Age, PVE, S. aureus endocarditis and postoperative left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) ≤45% were factors influencing long-term survival. CONCLUSIONS: Surgical management of endocarditis continues to be challenging and is associated with significant morbidity and mortality. This report of 191 patients who underwent valve surgery for IE shows that in-hospital mortality is influenced by preoperative renal function and stroke at the time of presentation. The optimal timing for surgery in patients with stroke remains controversial. Long-term survival was negatively influenced by increasing age, moderate to severely impaired LVEF, prosthetic valve IE and S. aureus infection.

Outcome and survival analysis of surgical repair of post-infarction ventricular septal rupture.

BACKGROUND: To review the experience of surgical repair of post-infarction ventricular septal rupture (VSR) and analyze the associated outcomes and prognostic factors. METHODS: Following approval from the Singhealth Centralised Institutional Review Board (reference: 2011/881/C), a retrospective review was performed on 38 consecutive patients who had undergone surgical repair of post-infarction VSR between 1999 and 2011. Continuous variables were expressed as either mean ± standard deviation or median with 25th and 75th percentiles. These were compared using two-tailed t-test or Mann-Whitney U test respectively. Categorical variables were compared using chi-square or Fisher's exact test. To identify predictors of operative mortality, univariate analysis of perioperative variables followed by multivariate analysis of significant univariate risk factors was performed. A two-tailed p-value < 0.05 was used to indicate statistical significance. RESULTS: Mean age was 65.7 ± 9.4 years with 52.6% males. The VSR was anterior in 28 (73.7%) and posterior in 10 patients. Median interval from myocardial infarction to VSR was 1 day (1, 4). Pre-operative intra-aortic balloon pump was inserted in 37 patients (97.8%). Thirty-six patients (94.7%) underwent coronary angiography.Thirty-five patients (92.1%) underwent patch repair. Mean aortic cross clamp time was 82 ± 40 minutes and mean cardiopulmonary bypass time was 152 ± 52 minutes. Coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) was performed in 19 patients (50%), with a mean of 1.5 ± 0.7 distal anastomoses. Operative mortality within 30 days was 39.5%.Univariate analysis identified emergency surgery, New York Heart Association (NYHA) class, inotropic support, right ventricular dysfunction, EuroSCORE II, intra-operative red cell transfusion, post-operative renal failure and renal replacement therapy (RRT) as predictors of operative mortality. Multivariate analysis identified NYHA class and post-operative RRT as predictors of operative mortality.Ten year overall survival was 44.4 ± 8.4%. Right ventricular dysfunction, LVEF and NYHA class at presentation were independent factors affecting long-term survival. Concomitant CABG did not influence early or late survival. CONCLUSIONS: Surgical repair of post-infarction VSR carries a high operative mortality. NYHA class at presentation and post-operative RRT are predictors of early mortality. Right ventricular dysfunction, LVEF and NYHA class at presentation affect long-term survival. Concomitant CABG does not improve survival.

Iliofemoral anatomy among Asians: implications for transcatheter aortic valve implantation.

BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVES: This study aims to examine iliofemoral anatomy and predictors of vessel size and tortuosity in Asian patients as transfemoral transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI) may be limited by the smaller Asian physique. METHODS: Characteristics and vessel dimensions of 549 patients undergoing ultrasonography were reviewed. The minimal luminal diameter (MLD) along the iliofemoral vasculature of each side was identified and the larger of the two sides was used to determine suitability for transfemoral TAVI. RESULTS: The mean age was 66 ± 11 years (68% males). Mean iliac MLD was 7.6 ± 1.7 mm, females smaller than males (7.2 ± 1.7 vs 7.8 ± 1.7, p<0.001). Mean iliac MLD decreased with age: 7.9 ± 1.7 mm, 7.4 ± 1.9 mm and 7.3 ± 1.6mm for ages <70 years, 70-79 years and ≥ 80 years respectively (p=0.038). Mean femoral MLD was 7.0 ± 1.7 mm, females smaller than males (6.3 ± 1.5mm vs 7.3 ± 1.8mm, p<0.001). Females were more likely than males to have iliac and femoral MLD <6mm (20% vs 12%, p=0.019 and 34% vs 21%, p=0.001). Independent predictors of smaller iliofemoral dimensions were female gender, lower body surface area, diabetes mellitus, dyslipidemia and smoking history. Significant iliac tortuosity was present in 11.8%, more frequent in males than females (15% vs 6%, p=0.005), and in those with logistic EuroSCORE ≥ 15 than <15 (27% vs 10%, p=0.001). CONCLUSIONS: This study establishes the mean iliac and femoral artery diameters in a cohort of relatively young Asian patients. Age and female gender were associated with smaller vessel dimension and several independent predictors of smaller vasculature and tortuosity were identified. These results have implications for TF TAVI in Asia.

Tracheobronchial obstruction as a result of mediastinal mass.

A 21-year-old woman presented with almost complete extrinsic airway obstruction due to a massive mediastinal tumor. Venovenous extracorporeal membrane oxygenation support for 3 days with concurrent chemotherapy allowed time for tumor shrinkage, ventilation via the endotracheal route, and subsequent successful extubation on the fifth day.