[Possibilities of duplex scanning in assessment of endoleaks after abdominal aorta endoprosthetic repair]. / Vozmozhnosti dupleksnogo skanirovaniia v otsenke éndolikov posle éndoprotezirovaniia briushnoi aorty.

Endovascular abdominal aortic aneurysm repair is an operation of choice in rendering hi-tech care for patients with aneurysms of the infrarenal aortic portion. The most frequently performed reoperations account for cases related to removing endoleaks. The article deals with assessing the presence of various types of endoleaks depending on the time elapsed after abdominal aortic aneurysm repair by means of duplex scanning and multislice computed tomography. Duplex scanning proved highly informative in detecting various types of endoleaks, being comparable with the findings of multislice computed tomography (p=0.917). The presence or absence of aneurysmal cavity coloration in the mode of Doppler colour mapping makes it possible to dynamically follow up the process of thrombogenesis. For timely diagnosis of complications after endoprosthetic repair of abdominal aortic aneurysms, the use of ultrasound duplex scanning is considered to be an informative and safe technique, possessing potential possibility of detecting endoleaks and, in our opinion, may be included into the protocol of follow-up of patients in the early postoperative period.

Open transaortic implantation of 'Medlab-KT' prosthesis. / Otkrytaia transaortal'naia implantatsiia proteza 'Medlab-KT'.

AIM: The study was aimed at comparing the immediate clinical and haemodynamic results of open implantation of the balloon-expandable aortic prosthesis 'MedLab-KT' with the respective parameters of standard replacement of the aortic valve by a mechanical prosthesis in high-risk surgical patients. PATIENTS AND METHODS: We analysed a total of 209 cases of prosthetic repair of the aortic valve. The Study Group comprised 28 patients subjected to open implantation of the 'MedLab-KT' prosthesis in conditions of extracorporeal circulation and myocardial ischaemia and belonging to a high-surgical risk cohort. The Comparison Group included 181 patients who endured standard open prosthetic repair of the aortic valve with a mechanical prosthesis. Using the ppropensity score matching method, we selected 28 patients from the Comparison Group, followed by assessing the incidence of adverse clinical events and haemodynamic parameters of the aortic valve prosthesis at the in-hospital stage. RESULTS: There were no lethal outcomes in the study group, with one in the group of standard aortic valve repair - 3.6%. The mean operative time in the Study and Comparison Group patients amounted to 121.5±51.2 and 274.2±55.3 min (p=0.04), the duration of extracorporeal circulation to 56.1±19.5 and 119.9±23.4 min (p=0.04), that of myocardial ischaemia to 38.4±17.1 and 96.7±20.8 (p=0.03), respectively. The mean gradient on the aortic valve in the 'MedLab-KT' group was less (7.5±3.2 mm Hg) than in those of the second group (9±3.5 mm Hg), with no statistically significant differences in the parameters revealed (p=0.096). All patients of the study group were discharged from hospital in a satisfactory condition, with the haemodynamic result of the operation regarded as satisfactory. CONCLUSION: Comparing the main clinical characteristics and haemodynamic parameters in the groups of 'MedLab-KT' and aortic valve prosthetic repair at the hospital stage revealed no statistically significant differences. Open implantation of the 'MedLab-KT' prosthesis proved safe and effective.

[First serial transcatheter implantation of pulmonary valve using MedLab-KT prosthesis]. / Pervaia seriinaia transkateternaia implantatsiia klapana legochnoi arterii pri pomoshchi proteza (MedLab-KT).

BACKGROUND: Surgical treatment of 'blue' congenital heart defects frequently implies various interventions on the outlet portion of the right ventricle or pulmonary artery trunk. Most often used are various conduits, reconstructing the outlet portion of the right ventricle and pulmonary artery. Most patients having previously endured the mentioned interventions, would in the remote terms require repeat operative procedures for stenosis or insufficiency on the pulmonary valve or the implanted conduit. Taking into account complexity and the risk of open interventions, the current trends are towards more frequent use of transcatheter implantation of the pulmonary valve. AIM: The purpose of this work is to present the first serial experience with hybrid transventricular implantation of an original Russian-made valve into the position of the pulmonary artery. PATIENTS AND METHODS: We retrospectively studied a series of 5 clinical cases who from July 2019 to May 2020 at the Federal Centre of Cardiovascular Surgery (Penza) had underwent hybrid transventricular implantation of the first Russian-made valve-containing stent (MedLab-KT) into the position of the pulmonary valve, with the stent's closing component consisting of leaflets made of polytetrafluoroethylene. RESULTS: 3 patients underwent implantation of valve # 25 and 2 subjects received valve # 23, with all cases yielding good immediate results. The haemodynamic parameters of the implanted prosthesis were optimal. In all cases, the significant gradient was absent and regurgitation did not exceed grade I. There was no in-hospital mortality. The method of hybrid prosthetic repair of the pulmonary valve via the transapical right-ventricular access from the left lateral mini-thoracotomy was aimed at reducing potential risks of artificial circulation, also contributing to a significant decrease in the traumatic nature of surgical treatment of patients requiring a repeat intervention for pulmonary valve pathology.

[Transcatheter aortic valve replacement after Ozaki procedure]. / Transkateternoe protezirovanie aortal'nogo klapana posle protsedury Ozaki.

The Ozaki operation is currently considered to be a sufficiently known surgical procedure performed in aortic valve defects. Despite satisfactory results in the mid-term period after neocuspidalization, there have been reported cases of pronounced aortic insufficiency due to rupture of neocusps or their endocarditis. Transcatheter aortic valve replacement is a rapidly developing trend at the junction of modern cardiac surgery and interventional cardiology, expansively covering groups of patients at high, moderate and recently also low surgical risk. Repeat open cardiosurgical interventions remain a zone of especially increased risk of complications. This clinical case report describes technical aspects and immediate outcomes of successful transcatheter implantation of aortic valve prosthesis in a patient with aortic insufficiency revealed 2 years after the Ozaki procedure.

Assessment of Biocompatibility and Local Action of Biomaterial for Production of an Envelope for Implanted Heart Electronic Devices.

We studied a biomaterial for a new domestic product, a biological envelope for implantation of cardiac electronic devices. The product is designed to prevent complications after pacemaker implantation and to facilitate the reimplantation procedure. By chemical and biological processing of raw materials (submucosa of porcine small intestine), an acellular extracellular collagen matrix was obtained. The biocompatibility of the material was tested in vitro using stem cell cultures. The biomaterial for fabrication of the envelope is not cytotoxic, biocompatible, and represents a suitable substrate for attachment, growth, and reproduction of stem cells. The biological effect of the material was studied in vivo on the model of heterotopic implantation in small laboratory animals. The biomaterial did not induce inflammation and tissue reaction and was completely transformed into healthy vascularized tissue without scars in 90 days after implantation.

Results of flowmetric assessment of composite Y-grafts and autovenous coronary artery bypass grafts. / Rezul'taty floumetricheskoi otsenki kombinirovannykh I-graftov i autovenoznykh aortokoronarnykh shuntov.

AIM: The purpose of the study was to perform intraoperative assessment of blood flow in coronary bypass grafts of the 'first' and 'third' order according to Calafiore A.M. with the help of the TTFM technique and to compare the obtained results. PATIENTS AND METHODS: This retrospective, single-centre study enrolled a total of 222 patients subjected to coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) from January to November 2017. Depending on the type of bypass grafting of the posterior interventricular artery (PIVA), the patients were divided into 2 groups. Group One consisted of 108 patients undergoing bypass grafting of the PIVA with the help of combined Y-grafts from the right internal thoracic artery (RTIA). Group Two was composed of 114 patients subjected to autovenous coronary artery bypass grafting of the PIVA. Blood flow was assessed with the help of the VeriQ MediStim® flowmeter after termination of extracorporeal circulation (ECC), at systolic pressure of 100-110 mm Hg. The parameters of blood flow were assessed using the 1.5- and 2-mm probes. In a specially designed protocol we registered the type of the shunt, the bypassed artery, and values of flowmetry parameters. We also evaluated the pattern of the flowmetric curve according to Takemi Handa et al. RESULTS: The obtained findings revealed a statistically significant difference in the values of Qmean (p=0.001), with the PI values in the groups not statistically differing (p=0.14). Thus, in patients with similar parameters influencing the volumetric velocity of blood flow (the degree of proximal stenosis, diameter of the bypassed artery, mean systolic AP and HR) the value of Qmean was higher in the group with coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG), i. e., in the group of the 'first-order' conduits. Therefore, an autovein directly anastomosed to the aorta experiences grater haemodynamic overload, which completely confirms the theory of Calafiore A.M. CONCLUSION: First-order conduits (CABG) appear to experience greater wall strain because of greater haemodynamic overload as compared with third-order conduits (Y-grafts). A composite Y-graft may be an alternative technique of bypass grafting of the basin of the right coronary artery (RCA). A composite Y-graft has greater resistance to wall shear stress than an autovein anastomosed to the aorta.

[Transcatheter valve-in-valve implantation of the 'MedLab-KT' prosthesis]. / Transkateternaia implantatsiia proteza 'MedLab-KT' po metodike 'klapan-v-klapan'.

Valve-in-valve repeat prosthetic reconstruction is a less invasive alternative to 'open' redo operation for degenerative dysfunction of an aortic bioprosthesis. At the beginning of the history of using this method it was resorted to only in cases of high surgical risk, involving virtually inoperable patients. Currently, the world experience numbers in thousands of such interventions, known to be also performed in patients not belonging to a high-risk group. Recent studies have demonstrated a decrease in the perioperative mortality and improved quality of life in the remote period after valve-in-valve transcatheter implantation of an aortic bioprosthesis. High gradients, occlusion of coronary arteries, and thrombosis of the prosthesis's leaflets remain the major problems encountered while using this method. Nevertheless, valve-in-valve prosthetic reconstruction proved to be a reliably safe and efficient procedure of correcting dysfunction of a previously implanted biological prosthesis.

[Transcatheter replacement of pulmonary artery valve with a graft containing polytetrafluoroethylene leaflets]. / Transkateternaia zamena klapana legochnoi arterii protezom so stvorkami iz politetraftorétilena.

Annually, many operations for repeat prosthetic reconstruction of the pulmonary artery valve are performed due to dysfunction after primary correction of both congenital and acquired heart defects. Open operations with artificial circulation are associated with a high surgical risk. Transcatheter implantation is a new and progressive technique of heart valve replacement. Until recently, implantation of only a biological graft in the position of a pulmonary artery valve was possible, but a limited service life and high risk of the development of infective endocarditis stimulate search for new solutions of this problem. In the he present work we describe cases concerning placement of the first Russian-made valve-containing stent in the position of the pulmonary artery, with the stent's closing mechanism made of polytetrafluoroethylene thus giving ground to count on more favourable results.

[Effect of the degree of stenosis of the right coronary artery on remote results of bypass grafting]. / Vliianie stepeni stenoza pravoi koronarnoi arterii na otdalennye rezul'taty shuntirovaniia.

AIM: The purpose of this study was to assess the long-term results of right coronary artery bypass grafting and identify predictors of coronary artery bypass graft occlusion. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Our retrospective single-centre study included a total of 245 patients subjected to isolated coronary artery bypass graft operations during the follow up period from 2010 to 2015. All patients endured bypass grafting of the right coronary artery (RCA) with either autovenous or autoarterial conduits. Control coronary bypass angiography was performed in all patients in connection with a relapse of angina pectoris. The duration of the follow up period amounted to 43.7±20.2 months. The patients were divided into two groups depending on the type of the conduit used to bypass the RCA. Group One patients (n=106) endured bypass grafting of the RCA and its branches using the internal thoracic artery. Group Two patients (n=139) underwent autovenous coronary artery bypass grafting of the RCA basin. By the main clinical, demographic and intraoperative parameters the groups were statistically homogeneous (p>0.05). The effect of the degree of proximal stenosis, the diameter of the grafted artery on the viability of bypass grafts was assessed. RESULTS: During the follow-up period up to 84 months, 19 (17.9%) occluded arterial and 29 (20.9%) venous conduits were revealed. The Kaplan-Meier analysis showed that the probability of the absence of venous graft occlusion during the follow-up period up to 84 months was significantly lower than that of arterial grafts (log rank=0.012). The Cox regression analysis results revealed that shunt occlusion was influenced by the degree of proximal stenosis and the diameter of the shunted artery. CONCLUSION: When shunting a moderate stenosis of the RCA (up to 70%), an advantage of autovenous conduits was revealed. When shunting the RCA with a critical stenosis and occlusion, advantages were revealed for the internal thoracic artery.

Minimally invasive Ozaki technique. / Operatsiia Ozaki iz mini-dostupa.

Implantation of a mechanical or biological graft remains the gold standard in treatment of patients with aortic valve pathology. However, the necessity of taking anticoagulants, the problem of graft durability, the risk for thromboembolic and haemorrhagic complications, prosthetic infective endocarditis impel surgeons to search for and develop new technologies. One of such new techniques is prosthetic repair of the aortic valve using autologous pericardium according to the S. Ozaki operation. This procedure makes it possible to form an aortic valve with excellent haemodynamic characteristics and low frequency of re-do operations in both the early and remote periods. Current trends are towards exponential growth of minimally invasive cardiosurgical interventions. Upper partial sternotomy is one of the most commonly used techniques in surgery of the aortic valve. The results of previous studies demonstrated that a minimally invasive approach apart from a good cosmetic effect has a series of advantages over full sternotomy by the in-hospital and remote outcomes. On the other hand, a minimally invasive access is associated with limited surgical exposure and tight operative field and is therefore technically more complicated than the operation via full sternotomy. In our retrospective study we compared the clinical outcomes of the minimally invasive Ozaki technique (Ozaki Mini Group, n=30) and full sternotomy (Ozaki Full Group, n=112). Because of differences between the groups by the clinical and demographic parameters in order to ensure maximum comparability we conducted computer-assisted propensity score matching, resulting in formation of 2 groups consisting of 30 patients each. The primary outcome measures of the study were 30-day all-cause mortality and postoperative major adverse cardiac events (myocardial infarction, stroke). As additional categorical outcomes we examined new-onset atrial fibrillation and renal failure, resternotomy, prolonged (>24 h) assisted artificial pulmonary ventilation, mediastinitis/sternal instability. Secondary outcome measures were as follows: the duration of the operation, duration of myocardial ischaemia and artificial circulation, blood loss, requirement for transfusion of donor blood components.

[Remote results of myocardial endovascular revascularization in patients with low ejection fraction]. / Otdalennye rezul'taty éndovaskuliarnoi revaskuliarizatsii miokarda u bol'nykh s nizkoi fraktsiei vybrosa.

Despite the present-day level of the development of cardiac surgery, a low left ventricular ejection fraction (LLVEF) is an important independent predictor of high complication rates and increased in-hospital mortality related to open surgical interventions. The method of myocardial endovascular revascularization is associated with the lowest rates of both intraoperative and early postoperative complications. However, percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) does not always make it possible to perform anatomically complete myocardial revascularization. Comparisons of the remote results of anatomically complete and incomplete revascularization of the myocardium in the world literature seem to be extremely scarce and ambiguous, with a low ejection fraction in the majority of cases being an exclusion criterion. In order to elucidate these problems we carried out a prospective, single-centre study, including a total of 151 patients suffering from ischaemic heart disease with a left ventricular ejection fraction of less than 35%, who were subjected to myocardial endovascular revascularization. The patients were divided into 2 groups: those with complete (n=87) and incomplete (n=64) revascularization, followed by comparing the alterations in the echocardiographic parameters, assessing the incidence of repeat myocardial revascularization due to a relapse of the clinical course of angina pectoris, and the survival rate in the remote period. The obtained findings were suggestive of efficacy of both complete and incomplete endovascular revascularization of the myocardium in patients with a low left ventricular ejection fraction (LLVEF), with no statistically significant differences between the patients of both groups in the examined parameters revealed.

[Comparative results of using coronary drug-eluting stents 'NanoMed' and Orsiro]. / Sravnitel'nye rezul'taty ispol'zovaniia koronarnykh stentov s lekarstvennym pokrytiem 'NanoMed' i Orsiro.

The purpose of the present study was to compare mid-term results of using drug-eluting stents 'NanoMed' and Orsiro. Within the framework of an ongoing randomized prospective study we carried out an intermediate analysis of clinical and angiographic data of 520 patients after coronary artery stenting. The duration of the follow-up period amounted to 6.8±0.2 months. The patients were randomly assigned to the study and control groups each consisting of 260 patients with implanted stents 'NanoMed' and Orsiro, respectively. The obtained findings demonstrated that the main baseline clinical, demographic, and angiographic parameters had no statistically significant differences. The primary endpoint was achieved in 6.1 and 5.3% of cases in the study and control group, respectively (p=0.7). One case of acute in-stent thrombosis was revealed in each group. Cardiac mortality amounted to 0.7% and 0.3% in the study and control group, respectively (p>0.9). Repeat interventions on the target lesion were performed in 2.7 versus 3.4% of cases in the study and control group, respectively (p=0.6). Hence, the comparative analysis of using 'NanoMed' and Orsiro stents in the mid-term period revealed no statistically significant differences.

[Analysis of cases of repeat hi-tech medical care for non-ST-segment elevation acute coronary syndrome]. / Analiz sluchaev povtornogo okazaniia vysokotekhnologichnoi meditsinskoi pomoshchi pri ostrom koronarnom sindrome bez pod''ema segmenta ST.

Despite implementation of antiproliferative drug-eluting stents (DES) and intention to perform maximally full myocardial revascularization during a single hospital stay even in acute coronary syndrome (ACS) the frequency of repeat interventions after endovascular revascularization remains at a sufficiently stable level. In order to examine the causes of repeat hi-tech medical care rendered by means of endovascular myocardial revascularization for acute coronary syndrome without ST-segment elevation we carried out a retrospective single-centre study. It included a total of 93 patients suffering from ischaemic heart disease (IHD), who in 2017 endured this type of medical care twice. The cases of repeat revascularization were analysed based on medical history taking, physical examination, ECG pattern, ultrasonographic examination, laboratory findings, data of electronic case report forms and video recordings of the previous and latest coronary angiographies (CAG). The obtained findings revealed the main causes of repeat hi-tech medical care rendered within 1 year by means of endovascular myocardial revascularization for acute coronary syndrome without ST-segment elevation, which were as follows: progression of atherosclerosis in the previously non-revascularized arteries, the emergence of the clinical course of ACS in borderline stenosis; the development of acute coronary syndrome in patients with a significant lesion of the coronary bed, who were scheduled for this or that reason to undergo elective staged transcutaneous coronary intervention (TCI); restenosis in the previously implanted stents.

[Predictors of early occlusion of coronary bypass grafts in patients with extremely low ejection fraction]. / Prediktory rannei okkliuzii koronarnykh shuntov u patsientov s kraine nizkoi fraktsiei vybrosa.

The authors carried out a retrospective study aimed at revealing predictors of early incompetence of coronary bypass grafts in patients with the ejection fraction below 30%. The study included a total of 104 patients presenting with coronary artery disease and the ejection fraction below 30%, who over the period from 2009 to 2016 underwent coronary artery bypass grafting with the use of autovenous and autoarterial conduits. 77 patients endured plasty of an aneurysm of the left ventricle (LV), 89 patients sustained plasty of the valvular apparatus. All patients were subjected to control coronary bypass angiography (CBA) within 12 postoperative months. Thus, we analysed a total of 184 autoarterial and 84 autovenous shunts. The findings of CBA revealed occlusions of 2 (1%) arterial and 10 (11%) venous conduits. Analysing the coronary bypass angiographies of the patients ranked according to the values of the effective stroke volume index demonstrated the following regularity: a decrease in the LV effective stroke volume index of less than 30 ml/m2 was accompanied bу increased incidence of thrombosis of autovenous shunts in the immediate postoperative period. Predictors of early occlusion of coronary bypass grafts were revealed by means of the Cox regression analysis. It was determined that using an autovein increased the risk of occlusion of the shunt by 26%, a decrease in the effective stroke volume index of the left ventricle by 1 ml/m2 increased the risk of early occlusion of coronary bypass grafts by 18%, a decrease in the diameter of the shunted artery by 0.5 mm increased the risk for early occlusion of the shunt by 12%, a decrease in the blood flow velocity (Qmean) by 1 ml/m2 increased the risk for occlusion of the shunt by 10%, a decrease in the peripheral resistance index (RI) by 1 unit elevated the risk of early occlusion of the bypass graft by 12%. Analysing the revealed independent predictors with the help of the neural network method demonstrated that the strongest influence on early incompetence of the coronary bypass graft was exerted by the type of the conduit and effective stroke index.

Immediate results of bypass grafting of the territory of the right coronary artery using the 'Penza Coronary Technology'. / Neposredstvennye rezul'taty shuntirovaniia basseina pravoi koronarnoi arterii s ispol'zovaniem metodiki 'Penza Coronary Technology'.

Coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) is known to be an effective method of treatment for multivessel obstructive coronary disease with low rates of reintervention and excellent long-term survival and freedom from angina. Graft patency lies at the heart of its procedural success and durability, which in its turn largely depends on the appropriate choice of the conduit, as well as the target coronary artery (CA). It should be mentioned that patency of one and the same conduit used for bypass grafting of the territory of either the left or right coronary artery (LCA and RCA, respectively) may differ, which is probably determined by differences in physiology, size, territory of runoff, and local flow characteristics between different coronary targets. Previous reports have supported the use of bilateral internal thoracic arteries to revascularize the left coronary circulation. If this becomes standardized practice, the optimal conduit for the right coronary system remains to be established. Proposed in the present article is a variant of bypass grafting of the RCA territory using a composite I-graft formed from the proximal portion of the right internal thoracic artery (ITA) in situ and the great saphenous vein (GSV) harvested by the 'no-touch' technique. This technique is part of a CABG schematic algorithm worked out in our Clinic and called the 'Penza Coronary Technology'.

[Dynamics of Quality of Life in Patients With Aortic Stenosis After Aortic Valve Replacement With a Biological or Mechanical Prosthesis].

OBJECTIVE: To assess dynamics of the quality of life (QOL) in patients of the older age group of with initial aortic stenosis in 1, 3, and 5 years after replacement of the aortic valve (AV) with biological or mechanical prosthesis. MATERIALS AND METHODS: QOL was assessed in 282 patients who underwent aortic valve replacement with a biological or mechanical prosthesis. Criterion for inclusion in this retrospective single-center study was primary and elective nature of the operation. Patients with repeated interventions (early postoperative resternotomy, reosteosynthesis, repeat aortic valve surgery) were not included. Using the method of Propensity Score Matching, we distributed 151 patients in whom the long-term results of AV replacement were analyzed according to age, gender, body mass index into groups of AV replacement with biological (group 1, n=74) and mechanical (group 2, n=77) prosthesis. RESULTS: In the early period after operation, there was no significant difference between groups in parameters of quality of life. During the observation period up to 3 years significant increases of parameters bodily pain (BP), vitality (VT), and mental health (MH) occurred in patients with biological prostheses, while physical functioning (PF) was higher in patients with mechanical prostheses. At follow-up to 5 years, indicators such as BP and role emotional functioning (RE) became higher in patients with mechanical prostheses. According to the conducted regression analysis the type of prosthesis affected the quality of life. CONCLUSIONS: 1) AV replacement with mechanical prostheses was associated with lowering of the physical component of health by 81.1%, and of the mental health component - by 56.6% per month; 2) significant difference in QOL between groups of patients with mechanical and biological prostheses could be detected only in 3 years after the operation: parameters BP, VT and MH were significantly higher in patients with biological prostheses, while PF was higher in patients with mechanical prostheses; 3) in the longer observation period (up to 5 years) parameters BP and RE became higher in patients with mechanical prostheses.

[Incomplete endovascular myocardial revascularization in patients with low ejection fraction]. / Nepolnaia éndovaskuliarnaia revaskuliarizatsiia miokarda u bol'nykh s nizkoi fraktsiei vybrosa.

Despite obvious progress of cardiac surgery, a low left ventricular ejection fraction is an important independent predictor of a high rate of complications and increased in-hospital lethality in open surgical interventions. On this ground, promising seems to be a method of endovascular myocardial revascularization, which is associated with a minimal number of intraoperative and postoperative complications. However, by means of transcutaneous coronary intervention (TCI) it is not always possible to perform complete anatomical myocardial revascularization. The subject concerning the necessity of complete myocardial revascularization, changes of anatomy and physiology of the heart, clinical state of patients with a low left ventricular ejection fraction after endovascular intervention has not been sufficiently explored. In order to clear up these problems we carried out a prospective single-centre study including a total of 151 patients suffering from ischaemic heart diseases with a left ventricular ejection fraction of less than 35%, who were subjected to endovascular myocardial revascularization. The patients were divided into two groups: with complete (n=87) and incomplete (n=64) revascularization. All patients before and 6 months after the intervention underwent echocardiographic examination with the measurement of the left ventricular ejection fraction, stroke volume, end-diastolic volume and assessment of the functional class of angina pectoris. The obtained findings are indicative of efficacy of both complete and incomplete endovascular myocardial revascularization in patients with a low left ventricular fraction. No statistically significant difference by the examined parameters between the patients of both groups was revealed.

Indications for ascending aorta-bifemoral bypass grafting in patients with IHD and occlusion of the infrarenal aorta. / Pokazaniia dlia astsendo-bifemoral'nogo shuntirovaniia u patsientov s IBS i okkliuziei infrarenal'noi aorty.

The problem concerning surgical decision-making in patients with significant atherosclerotic lesions of arteries of more than one basin will, probably, be important for cardiovascular surgeons for more than one decade. Even the centres possessing experience in several thousand cases of successful treatment of multifocal atherosclerosis have from time to time been facing non-trivial clinical situations requiring a non-standard decision the recommendations for which could hardly be found in the guidelines available, if at all. This article describes the technique and immediate results of an operation making it possible to simultaneously carry out revascularization of the myocardium and lower limbs in patients diagnosed as having a critical coronary lesion and Leriche syndrome with no intervention on the abdominal portion of the aorta. Also given is a detailed description of the technique of performing ascending aorta-bilateral femoral arteries bypass combined with coronary artery bypass grafting. Also presented herein are the data from publications having described this operation previously. Our article for the first time demonstrates the findings of intraoperative flowmetry, proving the leading role of the internal thoracic arteries for collateral blood supply of lower limbs in occlusion of the terminal portion of the aorta. This test lays a pathophysiological foundation for the necessity of a simultaneous intervention on the vessels of two basins.

Role of flowmetry in tactics of bypass grafting for myocardial bridge of the anterior descending artery. / Rol' floumetrii v taktike shuntirovaniia miokardial'nogo mosta perednei niskhodiashchei arterii.

The purpose of the study was to analyse the remote results of bypass grafting for myocardial bridges. Our retrospective single-centre study included a total of 17 patients subjected to coronary bypass grafting of the anterior descending artery (ADA) in connection with a detected myocardial bridge (MB). All patients underwent assessment of the coronary bypass grafts (CBG) by means of intraoperative flowmetry - transit time flow measurement (TTFM), as well as angiographic control of the CBGs in the remote period. The duration of follow up amounted to 72 months. Six patients were found to have pronounced retrograde blood flow accompanied by an elevated index of peripheral resistance (Pi) and decreased mean volumetric blood flow velocity (Qmean) below the threshold values. Compression of the ADA proximal to the anastomosis appeared to be followed by improvement of blood flow parameters, in connection with which the shunted artery was ligated with monofilament polypropylene suture 4/0. According to the findings of coronary bypass angiography (CBA) the following results were obtained: 4 occluded grafts were revealed in the group of patients in whom ligation of the ADA was not performed. In patients subjected to ADA ligation in connection with pronounced retrograde blood flow, all bypass grafts were competent. The cumulative probability of freedom from graft occlusion was significantly higher in the group of patients subjected ADA ligation proximal to the anastomosis (Log Rank=0.032).

[Valve sparing aortic root replacement (David Procedure) in 36 year - old woman with the Marfan syndrome at the 27th week of pregnancy]. / Klapansokhraniaiushchee protezirovanie kornia aorty po metodike Dévid na 27 nedele beremennosti u 36 letnei pervorodiashchei patsientki s sindromom Marfana.

The article presents a clinical case of valve sparing aortic root replacement (David Procedure) in 36 year - old woman with the Marfan syndrome at the 27th week of gestation followed by successful prolongation of pregnancy. Indications for reconstructive intervention with cardiopulmonary bypass were: severe aortic valve insufficiency, Sinus of Valsalva Aneurysm (66 mm) and the ascending aorta dilatation (53 mm) with a rapid increase of aortic root dimension (12 mm during 9 weeks). The patient underwent a valve sparing aortic root replacement according to David procedure using Gelweave Valsalva graft (Vascutec) No 28 The time of cardiopulmonary bypass was 137 minutes; the time of aortic cross-clamping was 107 minutes. The patient was discharged from the hospital in a satisfactory condition in 21 days after the operation. Pregnancy was prolonged and ended with a planned cesarean section at 38 weeks of gestation, the birth of a boy with an Apgar score of 7/8.