Too big to fail?-An aggressive strategy for a dire problem.

Tracheo-innominate fistula (TIF) is a reported complication of tracheostomy that typically presents with a herald bleed. The phenomenon of an aortotracheal fistula has similar pathology and presentation to TIF, but no standard surgical repair. In the manuscript by Musgrove et al. in the Journal of Cardiac Surgery, the authors propose a surgical treatment that is reproducible for the correct anatomic configuration-an ascending and aortic arch replacement, pericardial patch of the tracheal defect, and omental flap coverage. While this intervention is a large undertaking for a small defect, it is a safe and durable repair.

Valvular Disease in Marfan Syndrome: Surgical Considerations and Management.

PURPOSE OF REVIEW: Detail the current strategies for the management of valve dysfunction in Marfan syndrome (MFS), understand the limitations of surgical interventions, and delineate the likely direction of future innovations. RECENT FINDINGS: Significant advances in both medical and surgical management of MFS have been made over the last 50 years. This has resulted in improved overall outcomes. As MFS patients age, new clinical challenges that were once rare have emerged and can require complex care strategies. Medical management has seen advances and focuses on anti-impulse and molecular-based pharmacotherapy, along with close monitoring with serial imaging to minimize acute aortic dissection risk by selecting appropriate timing of prophylactic surgical intervention with increasing aortic dimensions. Ongoing trials are evaluating other potential drug therapies with the ultimate goal of targeted treatment. Over the last 50 years, significant advances have been made in the understanding and management of MFS. A move to prophylactic surgery for aortopathy and valve disease has progressed from a valve replacement to a valve-sparing strategy in many cases. However, the durability of these repairs is variable and the possibility of reintervention looms.

Selective Sinus Replacement for Aortic Root Aneurysm: Durable Approach in Selected Patients.

BACKGROUND: Selective sinus replacement (SSR) allows a tailored repair approach in patients with sinus of Valsalva or asymmetric aortic root aneurysm. SSR avoids the need for coronary reimplantation for nondiseased sinuses and shortens operative time, although potential for late growth of retained sinuses exists. This study describes selection of patients and assesses operative outcomes and late root dimensions after SSR. METHODS: From 2006 to 2020, 60 patients underwent SSR at a single referral institution. Mixed effect models were used to assess trajectory of postoperative growth of remaining sinuses, adjusting for age of the patient, valve morphology, and baseline root diameter. RESULTS: Median age of the patients was 57 (interquartile range [IQR], 48-65) years. Twenty-four (40%) had a bicuspid aortic valve. Most patients (n = 55 [92%]) underwent single sinus replacement (n = 46 noncoronary, n = 9 right), whereas 5 (8%) underwent repair of both the right and noncoronary sinuses. Concomitant aortic valve replacement was performed in 15 patients (25%); aortic valve repair with internal ring annuloplasty or cusp plication was performed in 37 (62%). There was no operative death, stroke, renal failure, or respiratory failure. Median preoperative root diameter was 53 mm (IQR, 51-56 mm) vs 42 mm (IQR, 39-45 mm) at median imaging follow-up of 34 (IQR, 13-49) months. Rate of midterm root growth was 0.2 mm/y, and there were no late root reinterventions. CONCLUSIONS: For patients with sinus of Valsalva or asymmetric root aneurysm, SSR is associated with excellent operative outcomes, and midterm follow-up suggests that the technique is durable. Longer term follow-up is needed to confirm continued stability of the aortic root.

Tailored approach and outcomes of aortic arch reconstruction after acute type A dissection repair.

OBJECTIVE: After limited root/ascending with or without hemiarch repair for acute type A aortic dissection (ATAAD), 20% to 30% of patients require distal reintervention, frequently for arch pathology. In this report, we describe an institutional algorithm for arch management after previous limited ATAAD repair and detail operative and long-term outcomes. METHODS: From August 2005 to April 2021, 71 patients status post previous limited ATAAD repair underwent reoperative arch repair involving zones 1 to 3 for aneurysmal degeneration of residual arch dissection including complete cervical debranching with zone 0/1 thoracic endovascular aortic repair in 6 (8%), open total arch in 13 (18%), type I hybrid arch repair in 23 (32%), and type II/III hybrid arch repair in 29 (41%). RESULTS: Mean age was 59 ± 12 years; time from index ATAAD repair to reoperation was 4 (interquartile range, 2-9) years. There were 2 (2.8%) in-hospital deaths and 2 (2.8%) postdischarge deaths within 30 days of surgery. Three patients suffered stroke (4.2%) and 2 (2.8%) had acute renal failure requiring dialysis. Overall Kaplan-Meier survival was 78%, 70%, and 58% at 1, 3, and 5 years, respectively. Institutional experience appeared to play a significant role in early and late outcomes, because there have been no operative mortalities in the past 9 years and improved survival of 87% versus 66%, 79% versus 58%, and 79% versus 40% at 1, 3, and 5 years in comparisons of the past 9 years with the previous era (P = .01). CONCLUSIONS: Aneurysmal degeneration of residual arch dissection after limited ATAAD repair presents a complex reoperative challenge. An algorithmic operative approach tailored to patient anatomy and comorbidities yields excellent early and late outcomes, which continue to improve with increasing institutional experience.

Infarct exclusion repair of postmyocardial infarction ventricular septal rupture with a hybrid patch and septal occluder device compared with patch only.

Objective: We developed a hybrid technique for repairing post-myocardial infarction (MI) ventricular septal defect (VSD) that combines infarct exclusion with patch and a nitinol-mesh septal occluder device (SOD) to provide a scaffold to support the damaged septal wall. Here, we compare outcomes of patients with post-MI VSD repaired using patch only or hybrid patch/SOD. Methods: Patients undergoing post-MI VSD repair at our institution from 2013 to 2022 who received patch alone or patch/SOD repair were analyzed. Primary outcome was survival to hospital discharge. Clinical outcomes and echocardiograms were also analyzed. Results: Over a 9-year period, 24 patients had post-MI VSD repair at our institution with either hybrid patch/SOD (n = 10) or patch only repair (n = 14). VSD size was 18 ± 5.8 mm for patch/SOD and 17 ± 4.6 mm for patch only. In the patch/SOD repair cohort, average size of SOD implant was 23.6 ± 5.6 mm. Mild left ventricular dysfunction was present prerepair and was unchanged postrepair in both groups; however, moderate-to-severe right ventricular (RV) dysfunction was common in both groups before repair. RV function worsened or persisted as severe in 10% of hybrid versus 54% of patch-only patients postrepair. Tricuspid annular systolic excursion and RV:left ventricle diameter ratio, quantitative metrics of RV function, improved after patch/SOD repair. No intraoperative mortality occurred in either group. Postoperative renal, hepatic, and respiratory failure requiring tracheostomy was common in both groups. Survival to hospital discharge in both cohorts was 70%. Conclusions: Post-MI VSD repair with patch/SOD has comparable short-term outcomes with patch alone. Addition of a SOD to patch repair provides a scaffold that may enhance the repair of post-MI VSD with patch exclusion.

When to Consider Deferral of Surgery in Acute Type A Aortic Dissection: A Review.

BACKGROUND: Acute type A aortic dissection (ATAAD) is a surgical emergency with an operative mortality of up to 30%, a rate that has not changed meaningfully in more than 2 decades. A growing body of research has highlighted several comorbidities and presenting factors in which delay or permanent deferral of surgery may be considered; however, modern comprehensive summative reviews are lacking. The urgency and timing of this review are underscored by significant challenges in resource use posed by the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. This review provides an update on the current understanding of risk assessment, surgical candidacy, and operative timing in patients with ATAAD. METHODS: A literature search was conducted through PubMed and Embase databases to identify relevant studies relating to risk assessment in ATAAD. Articles were selected by group consensus on the basis of quality and relevance. RESULTS: Several patient factors have been identified that increase risk in ATAAD repair. In particular, frailty, advanced age, previous cardiac surgery, and use of novel anticoagulant medications have been studied. The understanding of malperfusion syndromes has also expanded significantly, including recommendations for surgical delay. Finally, approaches to triage have been significantly influenced by resource limitations related to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Although medical management remains a reasonable option in carefully selected patients at prohibitive risk for open surgery, endovascular therapies for treatment of ATAAD are rapidly evolving. CONCLUSIONS: Early surgical repair remains the preferred treatment for most patients with ATAAD. However, improvements in risk stratification should guide appropriate delay or permanent deferral of surgery in select individuals.

It's not you, It's me: The influence of patient and surgeon gender on patient satisfaction scores.

BACKGROUND: Surgeons face the unique challenge of being responsible for both clinical encounters and surgical outcomes. We aim to explore how patient evaluations of surgeons may be influenced by patient and provider factors. METHODS: Patient responses from the 2016 CGCAHPS survey at a single institution were identified. A Poisson regression model was used to identify patient/provider factors associated with ratings. RESULTS: 11,007 surveys of 134 surgeons were included. After adjustment, higher overall surgeon ratings were associated with older patient age (p < 0.001) and male patient gender (p = 0.001). Lower ratings were associated with higher patient education (p < 0.001) and lower patient self-health ratings (p < 0.001). Although female surgeons tended to have higher communication scores, overall scores did not differ based on any surgeon factors. CONCLUSIONS: Patient satisfaction scores of surgeons are more closely correlated with patient variables than surgeon factors. This may have implications for physician performance evaluation in value-based care models.

Thoracic endovascular aortic repair for the ascending aorta: experience and pitfalls.

Thoracic endovascular aortic repair (TEVAR) of the ascending aorta is a developing alternative treatment strategy, which currently is specifically aimed at patients who are too high risk for open surgery. TEVAR has been applied to patients with a variety of pathologies of the ascending aorta including type A dissection, intramural hematoma (IMH), penetrating ulcers, aneurysm and pseudoaneurysm. Here we discuss the current evidence regarding the use of TEVAR for the ascending aorta as well as the latest techniques and pitfalls of the procedure. The challenges of this modality are considerable, and the techniques that have been applied draw from the many facets of endovascular experience. There is limited literature regarding the use of stent grafts in the ascending aorta, and the pool of patients currently considered appropriate candidates for the procedure is small. This is an evolving intervention that warrants further study and the development of devices specifically engineered to meet the anatomical and physiologic challenges of the ascending aorta.

Current management of aortic arch lesions with hybrid procedures: a tailored approach to a progressive disease.

In the current era of cardiac and aortic surgery lines between open and endovascular approaches are becoming blurred. Hybrid techniques emerged with the availability of endovascular devices and the idea that combining open operations with a stent graft might provide a treatment option to those patients deemed too high-risk for conventional surgery. As these procedures evolved, it became clear that they still carried significant risk especially for the "inoperable" or "high-risk" patients, but they also offered new options for treating complex pathologies involving multiple segments of the aorta. Hybrid techniques not only provide the potential for less invasive aortic repair, but must be considered as an important complementary treatment option for patients with aortic disease, allowing for a potentially more effective and complete repair. The objective of this article is to review the current options for hybrid arch repair and the indications for choosing the various techniques based on pathologic presentation.