Surgical treatment of esophago-tracheobronchial fistulas after esophagectomy.

The aim of this study was to evaluate the surgical treatment of esophago-tracheobronchial fistulas (ETBFs) that occurred after esophagectomy with gastric conduit reconstruction in a tertiary referral center for esophageal surgery. All patients who underwent surgical repair for an ETBF after esophagectomy with gastric conduit reconstruction were included in a tertiary referral center. The primary outcome was successful recovery after surgical treatment for ETBF, defined as a patent airway at 90 days after the surgical fistula repair. Secondary outcomes were details on the clinical presentation, diagnostics, and postoperative course after fistula repair. Between 2007 and 2022, 14 patients who underwent surgical repair for an ETBF were included. Out of 14 patients, 9 had undergone esophagectomy with cervical anastomosis and 5 esophagectomy with intrathoracic anastomosis after which 13 patients had developed anastomotic leakage. Surgical treatment consisted of thoracotomy to cover the defect with a pericardial patch and intercostal flap in 11 patients, a patch without interposition of healthy tissue in 1 patient, and fistula repair via cervical incision with only a pectoral muscle flap in 2 patients. After surgical treatment, 12 patients recovered (86%). Mortality occurred in two patients (14%) due to multiple organ failure. This study evaluated the techniques and outcomes of surgical repair of ETBFs following esophagectomy with gastric conduit reconstruction in 14 patients. Treatment was successful in 12 patients (86%) and generally consisted of thoracotomy and coverage of the defect with a bovine pericardial patch followed by interposition with an intercostal muscle.

Longitudinal echocardiographic and clinical follow-up of patients undergoing mitral valve surgery without concomitant tricuspid valve repair.

BACKGROUND: In patients with mild to moderate functional tricuspid regurgitation (TR) and absence of right ventricular dysfunction or tricuspid annulus (TA) dilatation, there is currently no indication for concomitant tricuspid valve (TV) repair during elective mitral valve (MV) surgery. However, long-term results are conflicting. Here, we sought to determine the clinical outcome of this cohort, the rate of TR progression after MV surgery and the role of MV aetiology. METHODS: Patients for elective MV surgery without concomitant TV repair were retrospectively analysed with longitudinal echocardiographic and clinical follow-up, focusing on TR progression and MV aetiology. Linear regression analysis was performed for change in TR at follow-up, using pre-determined variables and confounders. RESULTS: In total 204 patients without TV repair were analysed. Development of more than moderate TR after a median of 3.1 [1.6-4.6] years was rarely seen: only in 2 out of 161 patients (1.2%) with known TR grade at follow-up. Overall, median preoperative and late postoperative TR grade were equal (p = 0.116). Subanalysis showed no significant difference in MV aetiology subgroups. Preoperative TR grade and male gender were inversely correlated to change in TR. Mortality was not influenced by the 1­year postoperative TR severity. CONCLUSION: Our data showed that in a study population of patients with mild to moderate TR undergoing MV surgery without concomitant TV repair, significant late TR was rarely seen. Based on our study, it is safe to waive concomitant TV repair in this specific patient cohort.

A Multicenter Study on Long-Term Outcomes After Lung Transplantation Comparing Donation After Circulatory Death and Donation After Brain Death.

The implementation of donation after circulatory death category 3 (DCD3) was one of the attempts to reduce the gap between supply and demand of donor lungs. In the Netherlands, the total number of potential lung donors was greatly increased by the availability of DCD3 lungs in addition to the initial standard use of donation after brain death (DBD) lungs. From the three lung transplant centers in the Netherlands, 130 DCD3 recipients were one-to-one nearest neighbor propensity score matched with 130 DBD recipients. The primary end points were primary graft dysfunction (PGD), posttransplant lung function, freedom from chronic lung allograft dysfunction (CLAD), and overall survival. PGD did not differ between the groups. Posttransplant lung function was comparable after bilateral lung transplantation, but seemed worse after DCD3 single lung transplantation. The incidence of CLAD (p = 0.17) nor the freedom from CLAD (p = 0.36) nor the overall survival (p = 0.40) were significantly different between both groups. The presented multicenter results are derived from a national context where one third of the lung transplantations are performed with DCD3 lungs. We conclude that the long-term outcome after lung transplantation with DCD3 donors is similar to that of DBD donors and that DCD3 donation can substantially enlarge the donor pool.

Carcinoid heart disease: a guide for screening and timing of surgical intervention.

The cardiac manifestations of a neuroendocrine tumour are referred to as carcinoid heart disease (CaHD) and are associated with a poor prognosis. Surgical intervention is the only proven therapeutic option and may prolong survival and quality of life. No consensus has been reached internationally with regard to screening for CaHD and the optimal timing for surgery. Although limited evidence is available on this matter, a trend towards early surgery and subsequent reduced mortality has been observed. In this review we provide an overview of the current understanding and propose a protocol to guide cardiologists in the screening for CaHD and the timing of referral to a specialised surgical centre.

[Acute thoracoabdominal aortic dissection]. / Acute dissectie van de thoraco-abdominale aorta.

BACKGROUND: A thoracic aortic dissection is a rare condition (2.5-3.5 per 100,000 person years) and patients can present with atypical symptoms. However, a missed diagnosis is often fatal. CASE DESCRIPTION: A 66-years-old male presents himself at the GP's office with sharp pain and loss of strength and sensation in the right arm. Pulse and blood pressure are undetectable on the right arm. An immediate thoracoabdominal CT-angiography is ordered in the nearest hospital. It reveals an aortic dissection (Stanford type A) and the patient is swiftly transferred to a tertiary referral hospital. Upon emergency surgery, the aortic valve, -root and ascending aorta are replaced. The patient is discharged home after one month. CONCLUSION: Swift recognition and referral are paramount to survival in aortic dissection. Patients with a low suspicion can be referred to the closed hospital for immediate imaging. When suspicion is high, direct transfer to a thoracic surgery hospital is warranted.

CT attenuation measurements are valuable to discriminate pledgets used in prosthetic heart valve implantation from paravalvular leakage.

OBJECTIVES: Sutures with polytetrafluorethylene (PTFE) felt pledgets are commonly used in prosthetic heart valve (PHV) implantation. Paravalvular leakage can be difficult to distinguish from PTFE felt pledgets on multislice CT because both present as hyperdense structures. We assessed whether pledgets can be discriminated from contrast-enhanced solutions (blood/saline) on CT images based on attenuation difference in an ex vivo experiment and under in vivo conditions. METHODS: PTFE felt pledgets were sutured to the suture ring of a mechanical PHV and porcine aortic annulus, and immersed and scanned in four different contrast-enhanced (Ultravist®; 300 mg jopromide ml(-1)) saline concentrations (10.0, 12.0, 13.6 and 15.0 mg ml(-1)). Scanning was performed on a 256-slice scanner with eight different scan protocols with various tube voltage (100 kV, 120 kV) and tube current (400 mAs, 600 mAs, 800 mAs, 1000 mAs) settings. Attenuation of the pledgets and surrounding contrast-enhanced saline were measured. Additionally, the attenuation of pledgets and contrast-enhanced blood was measured on electrocardiography (ECG)-gated CTA scans of 19 patients with 22 PHVs. RESULTS: Ex vivo CT attenuation differences between the pledgets and contrast-enhanced solutions were larger by using higher tube voltages. CT attenuation values of the pledgets were higher than contrast-enhanced blood in patients: 420±26 Hounsfield units (mean±SD, range 383-494) and 288±41 Hounsfield units (range 202-367), respectively. CONCLUSIONS: PTFE felt pledgets have consistently higher attenuation than surrounding contrast-enhanced blood. CT attenuation measurements therefore may help to differentiate pledgets from paravalvular leakage, and detect paravalvular leakage in patients with suspected PHV dysfunction.