RESUMEN
The Bentall procedure is a surgical technique used in the management of aortic root abnormalities with ascending aorta and aortic valve issues. The present study aimed to evaluate the outcomes of 18 patients treated with the Bentall procedure in a single center. The present study was a single-center retrospective case series conducted over a period of 3 years. The patients had either acute ascending dissection and/or dilated ascending aorta with aortic valve dysfunction. The Bentall procedure was performed via standard median sternotomy. St. Jude Medical composite grafts with a valve were applied in all cases. A total number of 18 patients with either acute ascending dissection and/or dilated ascending aorta with aortic valve dysfunction were included in the study. The age of the participants ranged from 27-60 years. The ratio of males to females was 16:2 (males, 88.8%). The symptoms developed 3-4 days prior to hospital admission. Chest pain was the most common presenting symptom (n=10, 55.5%). Hypertension was the most common risk factor (n=12, 66.6%). In total, 14 cases underwent emergency surgery (77.7%). The emergency surgery was performed in 9 patients within 24 h of arrival owing to the association of aortic root dissection with tamponade. For the other cases, the surgery was performed within 2 and 7 days (n=5, 27.7% and n=4, 22.2%) respectively. Early post-operative complications occurred in 5 patients (27.7%). On the whole, as demonstrated herein, the modifications of the Bentall procedure have a notable impact on decreasing the overall mortality rates. Raising the awareness of clinicians and the general population as regards aortic dissection may aid in the early referral of patients to specialized centers and may thus decrease the overall mortality rate.
RESUMEN
Pseudo-Wellens syndrome refers to any electrocardiogram (ECG) pattern that mimics Wellens syndrome with no critical left anterior descending (LAD) artery-associated coronary artery disease. The present study describes a rare case of pseudo-Wellens syndrome associated with pulmonary embolism. A female patient presented with chest tightness for 72 h. The precordial examination and heart sounds were normal. A mild bilateral lower pitting leg edema with a superficial varicose vein was observed. The levels of C-reactive protein (98.80 mg/l) and D-dimer (7599.9 ng/ml) were abnormal. An electrocardiogram presented a biphasic inversion of the T-wave in precordial leads in the pain-free interval. Coronary angiography did not reveal any notable findings. A computed tomography pulmonary angiography demonstrated an acute pulmonary embolism. The patient received unfractionated heparin (20,000 IU) by intravenous infusion. She was discharged on rivaroxaban (15 mg) twice daily for 21 days. The inverted T-wave specificity, sensitivity and positive predictive values for LAD stenosis are 89, 69 and 86% respectively. This indicates that ECG alternations with the properties of Wellens syndrome do not always guarantee its occurrence, and in the presence of a normal coronary artery, the condition may be pseudo-Wellens syndrome. The case described herein suggests that clinicians need to carefully screen patients that have pulmonary embolisms with an abnormal electrocardiographic pattern in order to prevent unnecessary intervention.
RESUMEN
Background: Cardiac myxoma is a rare cardiac tumor that may be asymptomatic or can cause embolization or intracardiac obstruction, leading to heart failure, sudden cardiac death, and arrhythmia. This study aims to report an 11-year experience of a single center in the management of cardiac myxoma. Method: This study is a single-center retrospective case series. Eighty cases of cardiac myxoma were collected in Ibn Albitar's specialized center for cardiac surgery. Transthoracic echocardiography was used to make the preoperative diagnosis in all patients. The surgeries were undertaken through the standard approach of a median sternotomy. All four cardiac chambers were thoroughly explored for additional myxomas. The major objective of the operations was complete tumor resection. Result: The mean age of the patients was 46.3 years. Females (67.5%) were predominant over males (32.5%). Shortness of breath was the most common symptom (86.25%). The left atrium was the most affected site (83.75%), followed by the right atrium (13.75%). Coronary artery bypass grafting was required as the secondary or associated intervention in 19 (23.75%) cases. The recurrence rate was 11.25%, with a mortality rate of 3.75%. Conclusion: Recurrence and tumor embolism are risks of surgical intervention for myxoma. Good preparation using transthoracic echocardiography as a diagnostic tool and standard median sternotomy to complete resection of the tumors can decrease the rate of recurrence, embolism, and even mortality.
RESUMEN
INTRODUCTION: Involvement of the large vessels is rarely reported and poorly understood in cases of Corona virus disease-19 (COVID-19). The aim of this study is to present a series of cases with large vessel thrombosis (LVT). METHODS: This is a multicenter prospective case series study. The participants were consecutive in order. All the patients were diagnosed as cases of COVID-19 with documented LVT were included in the study. Large vessels were defined as any vessel equal or larger than popliteal artery. The mean duration of follow up was 4 months. RESULTS: The study included 22 cases, 19 (86.4%) cases were male, 3 (13.6%) patients were females. The age ranged from 23 to 76 with a mean of 48.4 years. Four (18.2%) cases had pulmonary embolism confirmed by IV contrast enhanced chest CT scan. All of the cases showed pulmonary parenchymal ground glass opacities (GGO) and high D-Dimers (ranging from 1267 to 6038 ng/ml with a mean of 3601 ng/ml). CONCLUSION: COVID-19 is a hidden risk factor of LVT that may endanger the patient's life and lead to major amputation. Despite therapeutic anticoagulants still all COVID-19 patients are at risk for LVT, a high index of suspicion should be created and with minimal symptoms surgical consultation should be obtained.