The lateral tunnel Fontan procedure for hypoplastic left heart syndrome: results of 100 consecutive patients.

The Fontan procedure for hypoplastic left heart syndrome (HLHS) is well established. Multiple surgical techniques including extracardiac conduits and autologous tissue connections have been developed. We reviewed the results of 100 consecutive patients undergoing the lateral tunnel modification of the Fontan procedure at the University of Michigan. A cross-sectional retrospective study was performed for 100 consecutive patients identified in the University of Michigan Congenital Heart Surgery database with the diagnosis of HLHS. All patients had undergone a lateral tunnel Fontan procedure between June 2000 and August 2004. The medical record was reviewed to assess patient, procedural, and morphologic determinants of outcome. Hospital survival was 97% and intermediate-term survival was 96% with a median follow-up time of 34 months. Preoperative mean pulmonary artery pressure, right ventricular end diastolic pressure, aortic cross-clamp time, and tricuspid valve regurgitation were not associated with late right ventricular function or survival. Three patients required takedown of the lateral tunnel Fontan in the early postoperative period. A positive association was found between protein-losing enteropathy and prolonged (>2 weeks) postoperative pleural drainage (p = 0.035). No patient required cardiac transplantation or late intervention on the Fontan pathway. At the time of follow-up, 100% of patients were New York Heart Association class I or II and 90% were in normal sinus rhythm. The lateral tunnel Fontan procedure for HLHS can be performed with acceptable early and intermediate-term risk. There was a low prevalence of late rhythm disturbances and other complications. Protein-losing enteropathy and prolonged pleural drainage were associated.

Amplatzer closure of atrial septal defect and da Vinci robot-assisted repair of vascular ring.

Technology for minimally invasive approaches to congenital heart disease is a rapidly evolving field. This case report reviews a novel approach to combining two of the newer technologies available to treat a pediatric patient with an atrial septal defect (ASD) and a vascular ring. This report is the first to describe the use of the da Vinci surgical system to assist in a thoracoscopic procedure for a pediatric patient. The da Vinci assisted division of the vascular ring, joined with an Amplatzer closure of the ASD, demonstrates how maximum benefit can be obtained for patients by combining emerging technologies.

Esophagectomy for achalasia: patient selection and clinical experience.

BACKGROUND: In 1989, we predicted an increasing number of esophagectomies for megaesophagus and for recurrent symptoms after prior esophagomyotomy or balloon dilatation for achalasia. Patient selection in this group is challenging, as the potential operative morbidity of an esophagectomy must be weighed against the expected clinical outcome after a redo esophagomyotomy or alternative procedures designed to salvage the native esophagus. METHODS: The hospital records of 93 patients undergoing esophagectomy for achalasia during the past 20 years were reviewed retrospectively and the results of operation assessed using our prospectively established Esophageal Resection Database and follow-up information obtained through personal contact with the patients. RESULTS: Patient age averaged 51 years. Indications for esophagectomy included tortuous megaesophagus (64%), failure of prior myotomy (63%), and associated reflux stricture (7%). Ninety-four percent of the patients underwent a transhiatal esophagectomy. Stomach was used as the esophageal substitute in 91% cases. Intraoperative blood loss averaged 672 mL. Postoperative length of stay averaged 12.5 days. Major complications included anastomotic leak (10%), recurrent laryngeal nerve injury (5%), delayed mediastinal bleeding requiring thoracotomy (2%), and chylothorax (2%). There were 2 hospital deaths (2%) from respiratory insufficiency and sepsis. Follow-up has averaged 38 months. In all, 95% of patients eat well; nearly 50% have required an anastomotic dilatation; troublesome regurgitation has been rare; and 4% have refractory postvagotomy dumping. CONCLUSIONS: Esophagectomy, preferably through a transhiatal approach, is generally safe and effective therapy in selected patients with achalasia. Unique technical considerations include difficulty encircling the dilated cervical esophagus, deviation of the esophagus into the right chest, large aortic esophageal arteries, and adherence of the exposed esophageal submucosa to the adjacent aorta after prior myotomy.

Fine-needle aspiration cytology of multicystic mesothelioma.

This report details the cytologic findings from a case of peritoneal multicystic mesothelioma (MCM). Fine-needle aspiration of a 20 cm abdominal mass in a 31-year-old man yielded a specimen which consisted of a monomorphous population of mesothelial cells lacking cytologic atypia which were arranged in three patterns: monolayered sheets, single cells, and two-cell-thick strands of mesothelial cells with little or no intervening stroma. The background was clean, without necrotic debris or abundant inflammatory cells. The mesothelial cells were not arranged in prominent papillary formations; mitotic figures were not found. The mesothelial cells were cytokeratin positive and vimentin positive, and negative for carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) and factor VIII. The FNA findings from MCM should be distinguished from those of a variety of other abdominal lesions, including cystic lymphangioma, ovarian and primary peritoneal epithelial tumors, necrotic tumors with cystic degeneration, developmental cysts, and infectious cysts.