A natural systemic to pulmonary artery shunt.

Isolation of the left subclavian artery is a rare anomaly associated with right aortic arch. We report a case in which this subclavian artery was supplying the pulmonary circulation in a patient with tetralogy of Fallot (TOF) which effectively acted as a natural systemic to pulmonary artery shunt. The patient had good room air saturation and no features of vertebrobasilar insufficiency or left upper limb ischemia. She underwent a total correction of TOF and ligation of the aberrant left subclavian artery.

Does tuberculosis affect surgical outcomes following pericardiectomy for chronic constrictive pericarditis? Twelve years' experience from a tertiary care center in India.

Introduction and purpose: Tuberculosis (TB) is the commonest cause of chronic constrictive pericarditis (CCP) in India, unlike in the western countries. Pericardiectomy is the treatment of choice for CCP. Surgery in TB CCP is considerably more difficult than it is for other etiologies. The role of TB as an independent predictor for adverse surgical outcomes had not been properly evaluated in the Indian scenario. Hence, the aim of this study was to retrospectively analyze our results of surgery for CCP and the pre-operative factors that influenced post-operative outcomes. Methods: The data of all adult patients who underwent pericardiectomy for CCP, between the years 2009 and 2020, maintained in a live database in our institute, were retrieved and analyzed. Results: There were 124 patients in the study. The average age was 32 years. The male to female ratio was 3:1. TB was the commonest cause of CCP, identified in 64 (51.6%) patients. Complete anterior pericardiectomy (CAP) was possible in 122 (98.3%) patients. All the patients had significant drop in their central venous pressure (CVP) (10.25 ± 3.47 mmHg) after surgery. The operative time (p = 0.008), intra-operative blood loss (p = 0.02), intensive care unit (ICU) stay (p = 0.03), and hospital stay (p = 0.028) were significantly higher in the TB group. Apart from TB, the other pre-operative variables that predicted adverse outcomes were male sex, presence of pleural effusion or ascites, and advanced New York Heart Association (NYHA) class. There were 7 (5.6%) post-operative complications and 3 (2.4%) in-hospital deaths. Conclusion: The high incidence of TB CCP makes a pericardiectomy in developing countries technically more challenging resulting in increased operative time, more blood loss, and prolonged ICU and hospital stay, but did not affect in-hospital mortality or morbidity.

Complications of trans-catheter closure of atrial septal defects.

Trans-catheter device closure of atrial septal defects (ASD) is considered to be safe with minimal complications. But, there are certain complications that arise after these device closures which might require urgent or late surgical intervention. We have retrospectively analysed our experience. Out of 780 patients who underwent device closure, 11 (1.4%) patients required urgent surgical intervention to retrieve the embolized device. The size of the ASD, expertise of the cardiologist and the type of the device directly impacted the rate of device embolization. Early diagnosis and prompt surgical retrieval is paramount before any life threatening complications arise due to the embolized device. One patient developed infective endocarditis later, which required surgery. Regular long term follow up is needed after these procedures to diagnose the complications earlier so that prompt surgical intervention could be done.

Myocardial protection in cardiac surgery: Del Nido versus blood cardioplegia.

Objectives: del Nido cardioplegia which was traditionally used for myocardial protection in pediatric congenital heart surgery is now being extensively utilized in adult cardiac surgery. The aim of this study was to compare the safety and efficacy of del Nido cardioplegia (DNC) with blood cardioplegia (BC). Materials and Methods: This is a historical cohort study using secondary data. Two hundred and eighty six patients who underwent coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) or valve surgery were included. They were divided into 2 matched cohorts of which 143 patients received BC and 143 patients received DNC. Results: There was no difference in cardiopulmonary bypass time (P = 0.516) and clamp time (P = 0.650) between the groups. The redosing of cardioplegia was significantly less for DNC (1.13 vs. 2.35, P = <0.001). The post bypass hemoglobin was higher for DNC (9.1 vs. 8.7, P = 0.011). The intraoperative and postoperative blood transfusion was comparable (P = 0.344) (P = 0.40). The incidence of clamp release ventricular fibrillation (P = 0.207) was similar. The creatine kinase-MB isotype levels for the CABG patients were comparable on all 3 days (P = 0.104), (P = 0.106), and (P = 0.158). The postoperative left ventricle ejection fraction was lesser but within normal range in the DNC group (53.4 vs. 56.0, P = <0.001). The duration of ventilation (P = 0.186), ICU days (P = 0.931), and postoperative complications (P = 0.354) were comparable. There was no 30-day mortality or postoperative myocardial infarction in both the groups. Conclusion: DNC provides equivalent myocardial protection, efficacy, and surgical workflow and had comparable clinical outcomes to that of BC. This study shows that DNC is a safe alternate to BC in CABG and valve surgeries.

Combined mitral and aortic valve replacement for rheumatic heart disease: fifteen-year follow up and long-term results.

BACKGROUND AND AIM OF THE STUDY: Rheumatic heart disease is the most common cause of multivalvular disease in developing countries. Unless aggressive and timely intervention in the form of valve replacement is pursued, the condition progresses rapidly to disability and death. Combined mitral-aortic valve replacement represents a major technical challenge, and carries high early and late mortality rates. METHODS: The course of 382 consecutive hospital survivors of combined mitral-aortic valve replacement, operated on between January 1992 and December 2006, was reviewed. The valve of choice for the mitral position was the Starr-Edwards (98%), while Medtronic-Hall and St. Jude Medical valves were favored for the aortic position (81%). RESULTS: The mean postoperative follow up was 64.8 +/- 53.9 months, with a total cumulative follow up of 1,792 patient-years (pt-yr); the follow up was 87% complete (n=332). Late death occurred in 29 patients (8.7%). Long-term survival at five, 10 and 15 years was 92%, 78% and 45%, respectively, with a mean survival of 153 months. The linearized rates of thromboembolism, anticoagulation-related hemorrhage and prosthetic valve endocarditis were 1.06, 2.41 and 0.334% per pt-yr, respectively. CONCLUSION: Among the rheumatic population, double valve replacement offers excellent symptomatic improvement and favorable late survival. Hemodynamic superiority and thromboresistance are the normal selection criteria for these prostheses, although the surgeon's experience, and the ease of insertion, availability and cost of the valve also play important roles. A strict adherence to optimal anticoagulation levels optimizes protection against thromboembolism and anticoagulation-related hemorrhage, and helps to provide the patient with a good quality life.

Hyperlactatemia in patients undergoing adult cardiac surgery under cardiopulmonary bypass: Causative factors and its effect on surgical outcome.

OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY: To identify the factors causing high lactate levels in patients undergoing cardiac surgery under cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB) and to assess the association between high blood lactate levels and postoperative morbidity and mortality. METHODS: A retrospective observational study including 370 patients who underwent cardiac surgeries under cardiopulmonary bypass. The patients were divided into 2 groups based on serum lactate levels; those with serum lactate levels greater than or equal to 4 mmol/L considered as hyperlactatemia and those with serum lactate levels less than 4 mmol/L. Blood lactate samples were collected intraoperatively and postoperatively in the ICU. Preoperative and intraoperative risk factors for hyperlactatemia were identified using the highest intraoperative value of lactate. The postoperative morbidity and mortality associated with hyperlactatemia was studied using the overall (intraoperative and postoperative values) peak lactate levels. Preoperative clinical data, perioperative events and postoperative morbidity and mortality were recorded. RESULTS: Intraoperative peak blood lactate levels of 4.0 mmol/L or more were present in 158 patients (42.7%). Females had higher peak intra operative lactate levels (P = 0.011). There was significant correlation between CPB time (Pearson correlation coefficient r = 0.024; P = 0.003) and aortic cross clamp time (r = 0.02, P = 0.007) with peak intraoperative blood lactate levels. Patients with hyperlactatemia had significantly higher rate of postoperative morbidity like atrial fibrillation (19.9% vs. 5.3%; P = 0.004), prolonged requirement of inotropes (34% vs. 11.8%; P = 0.001), longer stay in the ICU (P = 0.013) and hospital (P = 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: Hyperlactatemia had significant association with post-operative morbidity. Detection of hyperlactatemia in the perioperative period should be considered as an indicator of inadequate tissue oxygen delivery and must be aggressively corrected.

Anomalous left anterior descending coronary artery from pulmonary artery with ventricular septal defect.

Anomalous origin of the left anterior descending coronary artery with associated congenital defects is very rare. An angiogram of a 47-year-old woman admitted for a ventricular septal defect closure revealed an anomalous left anterior descending coronary artery arising from the left posterior sinus of the pulmonary artery. During the surgical procedure, the origin of the left anterior descending coronary artery was closed with pledgetted polypropylene sutures through the pulmonary artery. The ventricular septal defect was closed with a patch through the right atrium, and the left anterior descending coronary artery was bypassed with the left internal mammary artery.

Large clear cell tumor of the lung mimicking malignant behavior.

An 18-year-old man presented with a large (12 x 10 cm) cystic mass involving the lower lobe and lingula of the left lung on computed tomography. Intraoperatively a large cystic mass was seen densely adherent to the left lung and the chest wall. A left pneumonectomy was performed because of the dense adhesions and extreme vascularity. Pathologic examination revealed a benign sugar cell tumor of the lung. We believe this is the first case report of such a large, clear cell tumor of the lung, mimicking malignant behavior in terms of vascularity and local invasion and requiring pneumonectomy.

Bronchovenous fistula - leading to fatal massive systemic air embolism during cardiopulmonary bypass.

OBJECTIVES: We report a case of a bronchovenous fistula in an adult who could not be resuscitated following a mitral valve replacement. METHODS: A 39-year-old man underwent a mitral valve replacement for severe mitral stenosis and regurgitation. Following uneventful valve replacement surgery, and while attempting to wean the patient off bypass, we encounted a bronchovenous fistula following mechanical ventilation. RESULTS: This patient could not be resuscitated following surgery because of persistent air embolism in the patient. CONCLUSION: Systemic air embolism has been reported to occur following penetrating chest injury. Especially, when the entry and the exit sites have been over sewn and either a marked Valsalva maneuver by the patient (such as coughing or straining) or forced positive pressure ventilation in excess of 60 torr occurs, systemic air embolism can be created from bronchiolar-alveolar to pulmonary venous fistula. It has also been described in blunt thoracic trauma. Bronchovenous fistula is occasionally encountered in neonates due to ventilation injuries with high ventilatory pressures, especially with underlying lung pathology like respiratory distress syndrome, necessitating such high ventilatory pressures. To our knowledge, this is the first such case reported in the literature.