Cardiac surgeons' concerns, perceptions, and responses during the COVID-19 pandemic.

BACKGROUND: The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has had an unprecedented impact on health care and cardiac surgery. We report cardiac surgeons' concerns, perceptions, and responses during the COVID-19 pandemic. METHODS: A detailed survey was sent to recruit participating adult cardiac surgery centers in North America. Data regarding cardiac surgeons' perceptions and changes in practice were analyzed. RESULTS: Our study comprises 67 institutions with diverse geographic distribution across North America. Nurses were most likely to be redeployed (88%), followed by advanced care practitioners (69%), trainees (28%), and surgeons (25%). Examining surgeon concerns in regard to COVID-19, they were most worried with exposing their family to COVID-19 (81%), followed by contracting COVID-19 (68%), running out of personal protective equipment (PPE) (28%), and hospital resources (28%). In terms of PPE conservation strategies among users of N95 respirators, nearly half were recycling via decontamination with ultraviolet light (49%), followed by sterilization with heat (13%) and at home or with other modalities (13%). Reuse of N95 respirators for 1 day (22%), 1 week (21%) or 1 month (6%) was reported. There were differences in adoption of methods to conserve N95 respirators based on institutional pandemic phase and COVID-19 burden, with higher COVID-19 burden institutions more likely to resort to PPE conservation strategies. CONCLUSIONS: The present study demonstrates the impact of COVID-19 on North American cardiac surgeons. Our study should stimulate further discussions to identify optimal solutions to improve workforce preparedness for subsequent surges, as well as facilitate the navigation of future healthcare crises.

Minimally Invasive Aortic Valve Replacement via Right Anterior Minithoracotomy and Central Aortic Cannulation: A 13-Year Experience.

OBJECTIVE: This study reports the evolution of a minimally invasive aortic valve replacement (mini-AVR) technique that uses a right anterior minithoracotomy approach with central cannulation, for a 13-year period. This technique has become our standard approach for isolated primary AVR in nearly all patients. METHODS: This observational study evaluated perioperative clinical outcomes of patients 18 years or older who underwent mini-AVR from November 2003 to June 2015. RESULTS: The mini-AVR technique was used in 202 patients during two periods of 2003 to 2009 (n = 65, "early") and 2010 to 2015 (n = 137, "late"). The mean ± SD age was 72.5 ± 12.9 years and 60% were male. Demographic parameters were statistically similar between the study periods, except for increased body weight in the later period (75.3 ± 14.7 vs 80.9 ± 20.8 kg, P = 0.03). The mean cardiopulmonary bypass and aortic cross-clamp times were significantly different by each year and Bonferroni adjustment, with significant decreases in cardiopulmonary bypass and aortic cross-clamp times beginning 2006. Compared with the early study period, late study period patients were more often extubated intraoperatively (52% vs 12%, P < 0.001), had less frequent prolonged ventilator use postoperatively (6% vs 16%, P = 0.018), required fewer blood transfusions (mean, 2.0 ± 2.3 U vs 3.6 ± 3.0 U; P = 0.011), and had shorter postoperative stay (6.3 ± 4.5 days vs 8.0 ± 5.9 days, P = 0.026). Numerically, fewer postoperative strokes (1% vs 6%, P = 0.09) and fewer reoperations for bleeding (3% vs 6%, P = 0.3) occurred in the late period. In-hospital mortality did not differ (1/65 early vs 3/137 late). CONCLUSIONS: Overall mini-AVR intraoperative and postoperative clinical outcomes improved for this 13-year experience.

Robotic repair of sinus venosus atrial septal defect with partial anomalous pulmonary venous return and persistent left superior vena cava.

The presence of partial anomalous pulmonary venous return and/or persistent left superior vena cava (LSVC) is usually viewed as a contraindication for robotic repair of complex atrial septal defects, such as those of the sinus venosus type. Three patients, aged 29, 73, and 23 years, successfully underwent totally endoscopic, robotic-assisted repair of sinus venosus-type atrial septal defect with partial anomalous pulmonary venous return and persistent LSVC. Two different techniques--direct cannulation or placement of a sump sucker--were successfully used to manage venous return from the persistent LSVC.

Comprehensive hemodynamic comparison and frequency of patient-prosthesis mismatch between the St. Jude Medical Trifecta and Epic Bioprosthetic aortic valves.

BACKGROUND: Patient-prosthesis mismatch (PPM) has been reported with a wide range of bioprosthetic valves after aortic valve replacement (AVR) and has been associated with multiple adverse outcomes. The aim of this study was to test the hypothesis that a novel low-profile stented pericardial tissue bioprosthesis for AVR, the Trifecta aortic valve, would have superior hemodynamics, a lower incidence of PPM, and an improvement in clinical outcomes. Its hemodynamic performance was evaluated, and a comparison was performed with a traditional stented pericardial bioprosthesis (Epic) with respect to hemodynamics, PPM, and clinical events. METHODS: One hundred twenty-four patients (mean age, 73.6 ± 11.0 years) underwent AVR. Prosthetic valve types used were Trifecta (n = 75 [60.5%]) and Epic (n = 49 [39.5%]). Intraoperative transesophageal echocardiography was used to evaluate hemodynamic variables before and after AVR. RESULTS: Postoperative comparison of the Epic valve and the Trifecta valve revealed a lower mean pressure gradient (16.5 ± 6.7 vs 8.8 ± 3.4 mm Hg, P < .001), a lower peak gradient (33.3 ± 11.8 vs 19.4 ± 8.6 mm Hg, P < .001), and higher indexed effective orifice area (0.8 ± 0.2 vs 1.1 ± 0.4 cm(2)/m(2), P < .001), favoring the Trifecta valve across several valve sizes. Severe PPM (6% vs 27%, P < .001) and valvular-related complications at follow-up (14.3% vs 36.7%, P = .005) were less frequent in the Trifecta group. CONCLUSIONS: The hemodynamic performance of the Trifecta valve is superior to that of the Epic valve across many conventional prosthesis sizes, and its implantation resulted in lower rates of severe PPM. These improvements were associated with lower valvular-related adverse events.

Comprehensive hemodynamic performance and frequency of patient-prosthesis mismatch of the St. Jude Medical Trifecta bioprosthetic aortic valve.

BACKGROUND AND AIM OF THE STUDY: The study aim was to evaluate the performance of a new stented pericardial bioprosthesis, the Trifecta (St. Jude Medical, St. Paul, MN, USA), for aortic valve replacement (AVR) with respect to valvular hemodynamics and frequency of patient-prosthesis mismatch (PPM). PPM has been reported in a wide range of bioprosthetic valves following AVR, and has been associated with multiple adverse outcomes. It was hypothesized that the Trifecta aortic valve would have superior hemodynamics and an acceptable incidence of PPM following AVR. METHODS: A prospective cohort study was performed between January 2010 and May 2012, following 75 patients (mean age 71.9 _ 11.1 years) who had undergone AVR with a Trifecta valve for aortic stenosis (88%) or regurgitation (12%) at the authors' institutions. Intraoperative three-dimensional and Doppler transesophageal echocardiography were used to evaluate hemodynamic variables before and after AVR, as well as pre-discharge. RESULTS: Echocardiographic evaluation showed a preoperative average mean gradient (MG) of 40.6 ± 21.6 mmHg, an average peak gradient (PG) of 72.1 ± 19.4 mmHg, and an average effective orifice area index (EOAI) of 0.39 ± 0.20 cm2/m2. Postoperative mean pressure gradient measurements showed a postoperative average MG of 8.76 ± 3.75 mmHg (p < 0.001), an average PG of 19.4 ± 8.6 mmHg (p < 0.001), and EOAI of 1.09 ± 0.36 cm2/m2 (p < 0.001), which demonstrated a significantly improved hemodynamic performance across all valve sizes. Postoperative MG versus measured EOAI demonstrated a fairly linear relationship (R2 = 0.0703), rather than a rapid increase in MG with EOAI < 0.85 and < 0.65, as was seen with previous valve designs. Severe PPM (defined as EOAI ≤ 0.65 cm2/m2) was found in four patients (6%), while moderate PPM (EOAI > 0.65 and < 0.85 cm2/m2) was seen in 11 patients (16%). CONCLUSION: The Trifecta pericardial valve demonstrated excellent hemodynamic performance at all valve sizes, and resulted in very low postoperative transvalvular pressure gradients and PPM, without the need for aortic root enlargement.

Thoracoscopic microwave epicardial ablation: feasibility for the treatment of idiopathic sinus node tachycardia.

Inappropriate sinus tachycardia is a potentially debilitating condition with tachycardia emanating from the sinus node region. Endocardial radiofrequency energy ablation is the current preferred mode of treatment for symptomatic medication failures. Phrenic nerve damage can result from this procedure. We report a case in which the potential for phrenic nerve damage was avoided by using a thoracoscopic approach to displace the phrenic nerve posteriorly and perform epicardial microwave ablation. This resulted in the successful treatment of a patient with highly symptomatic inappropriate sinus tachycardia.