Long-Term Results Following Pericardial Patch Augmentation for Incompetent Bicuspid Aortic Valves: A Single Center Experience.

BACKGROUND: Many techniques for repair of bicuspid aortic valves have been described and long-term results differ considerably. The current study evaluates our institutional results using the pericardial patch augmentation technique with the aim of increasing coaptation height. METHODS: From November 2002 through April 2015, 103 consecutive patients underwent aortic valve repair using pericardial patch augmentation for incompetent bicuspid aortic valve. Of them 26 were referred with an aortic valve regurgitation grade 1+ or 2+ and were excluded from the current report. The remaining 77 patients with a mean age of 42 ± 14 years and aortic valve regurgitation grade of 3+ or higher were included in this retrospective single-center study. The main step of operative technique is the partial correction of leaflet prolapse by leaflet plication and overcorrection of coaptation height augmenting the fused leaflet with an autologous pericardial patch. In 45 patients (58%) an isolated aortic valve repair was performed. The ascending aorta was dilated in 32 cases (42%), and the following procedures were used for correction: reduction aortoplasty (19 patients), the David procedure (11 patients), and ascending aortic replacement (2 patients). Long-term results were evaluated by echocardiography and standardized questionnaire. Mean follow-up was 4.9 ± 4.6 years. RESULTS: There was no perioperative or 90-day mortality. Survival at 5 and 10 years was 96.1% and 93.5%, respectively. Freedom from reoperation at 5 and 10 years was 94.8% and 93.5%, respectively. At the latest echocardiographic follow-up, 94% of patients had none to trivial aortic regurgitation and 6% showed aortic regurgitation greater than or equal to 2°. Mean aortic gradients were 12.6 ± 9 mm Hg. One patients developed endocarditis 1 year after the procedure. There were no perioperative or long-term major neurologic events. CONCLUSIONS: The pericardial patch augmentation technique provides reliable long-term competence of reconstructed bicuspid aortic valves and results in a low reoperation rate, with other valve related complications being rare.

A Decade of Transapical Aortic Valve Implantation.

BACKGROUND: Transcatheter-based aortic valve procedures have undergone tremendous evolution during the past decade and have led to great changes in the treatment of valvular heart disease. The Hospital of the Johann Wolfgang Goethe University, Frankfurt am Main, Germany is one of the three pioneering centers that started performing transapical transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TA-TAVI) back in 2005, and this study reviews the 10-year institutional experience with this approach. METHODS: From January 2005 through January 2015, 312 consecutive high-risk patients underwent TA-TAVI. Echocardiographic follow-up at discharge, at 6 and 12 months, and yearly thereafter was 100% complete. Structural behavior of the balloon-expandable valves in 11 patients with a mean follow-up time beyond 8 years was additionally evaluated at latest follow-up using computed tomography measurements. RESULTS: The age of the patients in this study was 79.8 ± 5.8 years, and the mean logistic EuroSCORE II and The Society of Thoracic Surgeons score were 23.9% ± 17.2% and 9.8% ± 8.6%, respectively. Perioperative, 30-day, and in-hospital mortality rates were 1.3%, 8.2%, and 9.5%, respectively, with a decrease in 30-day mortality to 4.2% in 2014. The incidence of neurologic complications was 3.2%. Mean length of hospital stay was 8.7 ± 4.3 days. Echocardiographic results demonstrated a significant and persistent increase of effective aortic valve orifice area (preoperative: 0.69 ± 0.1 cm(2) vs. late-follow-up: 1.52 ± 0.2 cm(2); p = 0.04) and a decrease in mean transvalvular gradient (preoperative: 49.5 ± 8.2 mm Hg vs. late-follow-up: 13.8 ± 4.3 mm Hg; p = 0.03) after a mean follow-up time of 4.1 ± 2.3 years. Overall survival rates were 73% ± 2% and 56% ± 6% at 3 and 5 years, respectively. Computed tomography measurements have not shown any signs of stress fracture of balloon-expandable stents up to 8 years of follow-up. CONCLUSIONS: A decade after clinical introduction of TA-TAVI, procedural and technical advances have made it an established alternative to classic aortic valve replacement in high-risk patients with aortic valve stenosis. Despite limited worldwide data on hemodynamic and structural valve behavior beyond 8 years, 11 patients from our early experience who were followed up for 8 years in the current report did not have any signs of structural valve dysfunction.

Successful fast track protocol implementation for patients undergoing transapical transcatheter aortic valve implantation.

BACKGROUND: The aim of the current study is to report our experience with fast-track treatment of patients undergoing transapical transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TA-TAVI) and to determine perioperative predictors for fast-track protocol failure. METHODS: Being one of the pioneering centers to start performing TA-TAVI back in 2005, we routinely included patients undergoing this procedure into our fast-track management program since 2008. Between January 2008 and June 2013, 207 consecutive high-risk patients (mean age 79 ± 7 years, mean Log. EuroSCORE 24 ± 10) who underwent TA-TAVI accordingly to our institutional fast-track approach were prospectively collected and analyzed. Uni- and multivariate analysis were performed to identify independent pre- and perioperative predictors of fast-track protocol failure, defined as inability to discharge the patient from the intensive care unit (ICU) on the day of surgery or as readmission to the ICU 48 h after the initial discharge. RESULTS: Fast-track management was successful in 83 % of the patients. 30-day mortality was 8 %. Fast-track protocol failure (17 %) was associated with an outcome worsening compared to the remaining patients (mortality: 40 % vs. 2 % and mean hospital stay: 19 ± 12 vs. 10 ± 9 days; P = .002). Independent predictors of fast-track protocol failure were age ≥85 years (OR 3.1; CI 95 % 1.89-6.21), ejection fraction (EF) ≤30 % (OR 2.6; CI 95 % 1.99-7.52), moderate to severe preoperative mitral valve regurgitation (OR 2.7; CI 95 % 1.27-6.43) and fluoroscopy time ≥12 min (OR 2.9; CI 95 % 1.28-7.46). CONCLUSIONS: Fast-track patient management following TA-TAVI is safe and reproducible in the majority of patients. Besides patient-related preoperative risk factors (age ≥85 years, EF ≤30 % and moderate to severe preoperative mitral valve regurgitation) a technically challenging intraoperative course as evidenced in a prolonged fluoroscopy time are independent predictors of fast-track protocol failure which is associated with high loss of patient outcome.

The influence of selective pulmonary perfusion on the inflammatory response and clinical outcome of patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease undergoing cardiopulmonary bypass.

OBJECTIVES: Patients undergoing cardiac surgery presenting with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) have a higher 30-day mortality risk. In these patients, pulmonary dysfunction linked to an inflammatory response is frequent after cardiac operations using cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB), which causes pulmonary hypoperfusion. We hypothesize that selective pulmonary perfusion (sPP) of the lungs leads to a reduction of pulmonary inflammation and a better clinical outcome. METHODS: Fifty-nine COPD patients (forced expiratory volume in 1 s/vital capacity <70%) undergoing cardiac surgery procedures (coronary artery bypass grafting 64%, valve 14%) were block-randomized to sPP (venous blood, temperature 2°C, 4 l) or standard CPB (28/28). The primary end-point of the study was to evaluate the effect of pulmonary perfusion on gas exchange by measuring alveolar-arterial oxygen gradient. The surrogate end-points were inflammatory response, intensive care unit (ICU) stay, time on respirator (TOR) and major adverse cardiac and cerebrovascular events. A cytokine assay for interleukin-1ß, IL-6, IL-10, tumour necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) and polymorphonuclear elastase was performed with peripheral blood at different time-points [(t1) pre-CPB, (t2) end of CPB, (t3) 3 h, (t4) 24 h, (t5) 48 h postoperatively]. Repeated-measure analysis of variance and non-parametric statistics were used to assess the between-group and during time differences. RESULTS: The two groups proved comparable for perioperative variables. Serum cytokines were not different in the two groups throughout the study (P > 0.05 at single time-points), but as a function of time, the markers of the inflammatory response increased after CBP (P < 0.05 pre-CPB to 24 h). Clinical end-points were statistically comparable in both groups, but with a trend towards a shorter TOR (72 ± 159 h/106 ± 193 h) and ICU stay (3.9 ± 7.2 days/5.5 ± 9.2 days) in the sPP group despite a slightly longer time on extracorporeal circulation (120 vs 158 min). CONCLUSIONS: These results indicate a non-significant trend that repeated hypothermic lung perfusion with venous blood during CPB may have a protective effect on the lungs. A multicentre study design and larger cohort seem necessary to demonstrate the benefits of sPP more clearly.