Clinical Features and Patient Outcomes in Infective Endocarditis with Surgical Indication: A Single-Centre Experience.

BACKGROUND: Infective endocarditis (IE) is marked by a heightened risk of embolic events (EEs), uncontrolled infection, or heart failure (HF). METHODS: Patients with IE and surgical indication were enrolled from October 2015 to December 2018. The primary endpoint consisted of a composite of major adverse events (MAEs) including all-cause death, hospitalizations, and IE relapses. The secondary endpoint was all-cause death. RESULTS: A total of 102 patients (66 ± 14 years) were enrolled: 50% with IE on prosthesis, 33% with IE-associated heart failure (IE-aHF), and 38.2% with EEs. IE-aHF and EEs were independently associated with MAEs (HR 1.9, 95% CI 1.1-3.4, p = 0.03 and HR 2.1, 95% CI 1.2-3.6, p = 0.01, respectively) and Kaplan-Meier survival curves confirmed a strong difference in MAE-free survival of patients with EEs and IE-aHF (p < 0.01 for both). IE-aHF (HR 4.3, 95% CI 1.4-13, p < 0.01), CRP at admission (HR 5.6, 95% CI 1.4-22.2, p = 0.01), LVEF (HR 0.9, 95% CI 0.9-1, p < 0.05), abscess (HR 3.5, 95% CI 1.2-10.6, p < 0.05), and prosthetic detachment (HR 4.6, 95% CI 1.5-14.1, p < 0.01) were independently associated with the all-cause death endpoint. CONCLUSIONS: IE-aHF and EEs were independently associated with MAEs. IE-aHF was also independently associated with the secondary endpoint.

Preliminary Outcomes of Zone 2 Thoracic Endovascular Aortic Repair Using Castor Single-Branched Stent Grafts: A Single-Center Experience.

In the context of thoracic endovascular aortic repair (TEVAR), the reconstruction of the left subclavian artery (LSA) has emerged as a crucial component in establishing a sufficient proximal landing zone. However, the technical difficulty of these procedures raises the possibility of endoleaks and neurological consequences. Single-branched stent grafts offer good anchoring and LSA flow for these patients. This study evaluates the feasibility of utilizing novel single-branched stent grafts in the treatment of distal aortic arch disease, identifying good results in the short and medium term. From September 2019 to March 2023, TEVAR and revascularized LSA were performed on ten patients at the Ospedale del Cuore-FTGM in Massa, Italy, using Castor single-branched thoracic aortic stent grafts (Microport Medical, Shanghai, China). The authors' first findings demonstrated that, after an average follow-up of one year, the Castor branching aortic stent graft system was safe and achieving an appropriate proximal landing zone and maintaining sufficient LSA perfusion was possible. With regard to the endovascular treatment of distal aortic arch diseases, this product offers a compelling substitute for surgery. For the purpose of assessing the long-term effectiveness of this approach, the follow-up period should be extended.

Transcatheter Aortic Valve Replacement in Degenerated Perceval Bioprosthesis: Clinical and Technical Aspects in 32 Cases.

BACKGROUND: Sutureless aortic bioprostheses are increasingly being used to provide shorter cross-clamp time and facilitate minimally invasive aortic valve replacement. As the use of sutureless valves has increased over the past decade, we begin to encounter their degeneration. We describe clinical outcomes and technical aspects in patients with degenerated sutureless Perceval (CorCym, Italy) aortic bioprosthesis treated with valve-in-valve transcatheter aortic valve replacement (VIV-TAVR). METHODS: Between March 2011 and March 2023, 1310 patients underwent aortic valve replacement (AVR) with Perceval bioprosthesis implantation. Severe bioprosthesis degeneration treated with VIV-TAVR occurred in 32 patients with a mean of 6.4 ± 1.9 years (range: 2-10 years) after first implantation. Mean EuroSCORE II was 9.5 ± 6.4% (range: 1.9-35.1%). RESULTS: Thirty of thirty-two (94%) VIV-TAVR were performed via transfemoral and two (6%) via transapical approach. Vascular complications occurred in two patients (6%), and mean hospital stay was 4.6 ± 2.4 days. At mean follow-up of 16.7 ± 15.2 months (range: 1-50 months), survival was 100%, and mean transvalvular pressure gradient was 18.7 ± 5.3 mmHg. CONCLUSION: VIV-TAVR is a useful option for degenerated Perceval and appears safe and effective. This procedure is associated with good clinical results and excellent hemodynamic performance in our largest single-center experience.

Ten-year experience with sutureless Perceval bioprosthesis: single-centre analysis in 1157 implants.

AIMS: We describe long-term clinical and echocardiographic outcomes in the largest single-centre cohort of patients who underwent aortic valve replacement (AVR) with sutureless Perceval (CorCym, Italy) bioprosthesis. METHODS: Between March 2011 and March 2021, 1157 patients underwent AVR with Perceval bioprosthesis implantation. Mean age was 77 ±â€Š6 years (range: 46-89 years) and mean EuroSCORE II was 6.7 ±â€Š3.2% (range: 1.7-14.2%). Concomitant procedures were performed in 266 patients (23%). RESULTS: Thirty-day mortality was 1.38% (16/1157). Eight hundred and twenty of 891 (92%) isolated AVRs underwent minimally invasive surgery with a ministernotomy ( n  = 196) or right minithoracotomy ( n  = 624) approach. Cardiopulmonary bypass and aortic cross-clamp times were 81.1 ±â€Š24.3 and 50.6 ±â€Š11.7 min for isolated AVR and 144.5 ±â€Š34.7 and 96.4 ±â€Š21.6 min for combined procedures. At mean follow-up of 53.08 ±â€Š6.7 months (range: 1-120.5 months), survival was 96.5% and mean transvalvular pressure gradient was 13.7 ±â€Š5.8 mmHg. Left ventricular mass decreased from 152.8 to 116.1 g/m 2 ( P  < 0.001) and moderate paravalvular leakage occurred in three patients without haemolysis not requiring any treatment. Freedom from reoperation was 97.6%. Eight patients required surgical reintervention and 19 patients transcatheter valve-in-valve procedure for structural prosthesis degeneration at a mean of 5.6 years after first operation (range: 2-9 years). CONCLUSION: AVR with a Perceval bioprosthesis is associated with good clinical results and excellent haemodynamic performance in our 10-year experience. Structural degeneration rate of Perceval is comparable with other bioprosthetic aortic valves. Sutureless technology may reduce operative time especially in combined procedures and enable minimally invasive AVR.

Penetrating Aortic Ulceration Treated with Castor Branched Aortic Stent Graft-A Case Series.

Penetrating aortic ulceration (PAU) is an acute aortic syndrome similar to aortic dissection and intramural hematoma. It is the result of a tunica intima ulceration due to atherosclerotic disease. This clinical condition can lead to serious complications and a poor short-term prognosis, especially in high-surgical-risk patients. We report three cases of patients referred to "Ospedale del Cuore" of Massa (Italy) with PAU at the aortic arch-proximal descending aorta level who could not undergo surgical intervention. For the first time in Italy, we successfully treated these patients with a full percutaneous implantation of a Castor branched aortic stent graft. Our case series shows that this type of endovascular graft is an effective, safe, and feasible treatment for PAU involving a distal aortic arch and avoiding surgery and related complications.

Hybrid Approach in Acute and Chronic Aortic Disease.

The management of patients with aortic disease that involves the ascending aorta, the aortic arch, and the descending aorta represent a surgical challenge. Open surgical repair remains the gold standard for aortic arch pathologies. However, this operation requires a cardiopulmonary bypass and a period of profound hypothermia and circulatory arrest, which carries a substantial rate of mortality and morbidity. For these reasons, hybrid arch repair that involves a combination of open surgery with endovascular aortic stent graft placement has been introduced as a therapeutic alternative for those patients deemed unfit for open surgical procedures. Hybrid repair requires varying degrees of invasiveness and can be performed as a single-stage procedure or as a two-stage procedure. The choice of the technique is multifactorial, depending on the characteristics of the diseased arch with regard to position of the stent graft proximal landing zone, patient fitness and comorbid status, as well as surgical expertise and hospital facilities. Among the evolving hybrid procedures is the so-called "frozen" or stented elephant trunk technique. Adapted from the classical elephant trunk technique, this approach facilitates the repair of a concomitant aortic arch and proximal descending aortic aneurysms in a single stage under circulatory arrest. This technique is increasingly being used to treat extensive thoracic aortic disease and has shown promising results.

3D Printing in Modern Cardiology.

BACKGROUND: 3D printing represents an emerging technology in the field of cardiovascular medicine. 3D printing can help to perform a better analysis of complex anatomies to optimize intervention planning. METHODS: A systematic review was performed to illustrate the 3D printing technology and to describe the workflow to obtain 3D printed models from patient-specific images. Examples from our laboratory of the benefit of 3D printing in planning interventions were also reported. RESULTS: 3D printing technique is reliable when applied to high-quality 3D image data (CTA, CMR, 3D echography), but it still needs the involvement of expert operators for image segmentation and mesh refinement. 3D printed models could be useful in interventional planning, although prospective studies with comprehensive and clinically meaningful endpoints are required to demonstrate the clinical utility. CONCLUSION: 3D printing can be used to improve anatomy understanding and surgical planning.

Correlation between micro and macrostructural biaxial behavior of ascending thoracic aneurysm: a novel experimental technique.

Mechanical properties and microstructural modifications of vessel tissues are strongly linked, as established in the state of the art of cardiovascular diseases. Techniques to obtain both mechanical and structural information are reported, but the possibility to obtain real-time microstructural and macrostructural data correlated is still lacking. An experimental approach to characterize the aortic tissue is presented. A setup integrating biaxial traction and Small Angle Light Scattering (SALS) analysis is described. The system was adopted to test ex-vivo aorta specimens from healthy and aneusymatic (aTAA) cases. A significant variation of the fiber dispersion with respect to the unloaded state was encountered during the material traction. The corresponding microstructural and mechanical data were successfully used to fit a given anisotropic constitutive model, with satisfactory R2 values (0.97±0.11 and 0.96±0.17, for aTAA and healthy population, respectively) and fiber dispersion parameters variations between the aTAA and healthy populations (0.39±0.23 and 0.15±0.10). The method integrating the biaxial/SALS technique was validated, allowing for real-time synchronization between mechanical and microstructural analysis of anisotropic biological tissues.

[Follow-up after surgical treatment of type A acute aortic dissection: current evidence and controversies]. / Follow-up dei pazienti sottoposti ad intervento per dissezione aortica acuta di tipo A: evidenze e controversie.

Type A acute aortic dissection (TA-AAD) is a catastrophic condition for which emergency surgery is the mainstay of therapy. Surgical treatment of TA-AAD is centered on excision of the proximal intimal tear, replacement of the ascending aorta and re-establishment of a dominant flow in the distal true lumen. In patients who survive surgery, a dissected distal and/or proximal aorta remains, posing a risk of subsequent aneurysmal degeneration, rupture and malperfusion, and secondary extensive interventions are often required. However, knowledge regarding the risk factors of progression of residual aortic dissection is limited, and no well-defined recommendations for clinical and imaging follow-up have been generated thus far. The aim of this paper is to review and discuss on the current evidence and controversies on the long-term management of patients operated on for TA-AAD.

[Functional tricuspid regurgitation: imaging, surgical indications, reparative techniques and results]. / L'insufficienza tricuspidale funzionale: imaging, indicazioni chirurgiche, tecniche riparative e risultati.

Although the indications for surgical management of severe functional tricuspid regurgitation (TR) are now generally accepted, controversy persists concerning the role of intervention for moderate TR. However, there is a trend for intervention in this setting, particularly in patients with annular dilation. Echocardiographic imaging is the gold standard to identify functional TR and distinguish it from a primitive or degenerative form. Currently, surgery remains the best approach for the interventional treatment of TR. Ring annuloplasty seems to provide better results than suture annuloplasty (De Vega technique) and rigid rings appear to be more reliable in the long term, in comparison with flexible bands. Tricuspid valve repair is more beneficial compared with replacement, except in highly selected cases of long-standing TR with multifactorial mechanism.

Right anterior mini-thoracotomy and sutureless valves: the perfect marriage.

BACKGROUND: A minimally invasive approach (MIA) reduces mortality and morbidity in patients referred for aortic valve replacement (AVR). Sutureless technology facilitates a MIA. We describe our experience with the sutureless Perceval (LivaNova, Italy) aortic bioprosthesis through a right anterior mini-thoracotomy (RAMT) approach. METHODS: Between March 2011 and October 2019, 1,049 patients underwent AVR with Perceval bioprosthesis. Five hundred and three patients (48%) were operated through a RAMT approach in the second intercostal space. Considering only isolated AVR (881), 98% of patients were operated with MIA, and Perceval in RAMT approach was performed in 57% of these patients. Eight patients (1.6%) had previously undergone cardiac surgery. The prosthesis sizes implanted were: S (n=91), M (n=154), L (n=218) and XL (n=40). Concomitant procedures were mitral valve surgery (n=6), tricuspid valve repair (n=1), mitral valve repair and tricuspid valve repair (n=1) and miectomy (n=2). Mean age was 78±4 years (range, 65-89 years), 317 patients were female (63%) and EuroSCORE II was 5.9%±8.4%. RESULTS: The 30-day mortality was 0.8% (4/503). Cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB) and aortic cross-clamp times were 81.6±30.8 and 50.3±24.5 minutes respectively for stand-alone procedures. In two patients, early moderate paravalvular leakage appeared as a result of incomplete expansion of the sutureless valve due to oversizing of the bioprosthesis, requiring reoperations at two and nine postoperative days with sutured aortic bioprosthesis implantation. Permanent pacemaker implantation within the first thirty days was necessary in 26 (5.2%) patients. At the mean follow-up of 4.6 years (range, 1 month to 8.6 years), survival was 96%, freedom from reoperation was 99.2%, and mean transvalvular pressure gradient was 11.9±4.3 mmHg. CONCLUSIONS: AVR with the Perceval bioprosthesis in a RAMT approach is a safe and feasible procedure associated with low mortality and excellent hemodynamic performance. Sutureless technology facilitates a RAMT approach.

Bioconduit subannular implantation for aortic root endocarditis after previous cardiac surgery: Results from two Italian centers.

OBJECTIVES: Infective endocarditis (IE) with extensive peri-annular abscesses and aortic root involvement is a life-threatening disease. Aortic root replacement with a valved conduit is the most common intervention in this setting and represents a serious challenge for the surgeon. In the present two-center study we analyzed early and midterm outcomes of a high-risk series of IE patients undergoing aortic root reconstruction with a sub-annular implantation of a totally biological valved conduit at our centers. METHODS: The series comprised 29 patients (18 males, mean age: 72.3 ± 10.1 years) operated at "Lancisi Cardiovascular Center" of Ancona and "Pasquinucci Heart Hospital" of Massa, Italy, between May 2016 and October 2019. All patients had undergone a previous cardiac surgery. Median Euroscore-II was 12.6%. Following aggressive debridement, a Bioconduit was implanted using a sub-annular implantation technique in all cases. RESULTS: Thirty-day mortality was 13.8% (n = 4). Multiorgan failure was cause of death in all cases. Respiratory complications occurred in eight patients (27.6%). Renal complications requiring temporary or permanent dialysis occurred in six (20.7%) and two (6.9%) patients, respectively. Mortality and morbidity were not related to the surgical approach. At 1-year follow-up three patients died and no patients underwent reoperation neither reported endocarditis of the biological conduit. CONCLUSION: Considered the high-risk profile of the study cohort, our results suggest safety and efficacy of our approach at 1-year. Indeed, we contend that our subannular implantation of a 100% pericardial valved conduit, allowing an effective abscess exclusion and a conduit anchoring to healthy tissues, can reduce the risk of reinfection and dehiscence.

Low-Computational Cost Stitching Method in a Three-Eyed Endoscope.

Aortic valve replacement is the only definitive treatment for aortic stenosis, a highly prevalent condition in elderly population. Minimally invasive surgery brought numerous benefits to this intervention, and robotics recently provided additional improvements in terms of telemanipulation, motion scaling, and smaller incisions. Difficulties in obtaining a clear and wide field of vision is a major challenge in minimally invasive aortic valve surgery: surgeon orientates with difficulty because of lack of direct view and limited spaces. This work focuses on the development of a computer vision methodology, for a three-eyed endoscopic vision system, to ease minimally invasive instrument guidance during aortic valve surgery. Specifically, it presents an efficient image stitching method to improve spatial awareness and overcome the orientation problems which arise when cameras are decentralized with respect to the main axis of the aorta and are nonparallel oriented. The proposed approach was tested for the navigation of an innovative robotic system for minimally invasive valve surgery. Based on the specific geometry of the setup and the intrinsic parameters of the three cameras, we estimate the proper plane-induced homographic transformation that merges the views of the operatory site plane into a single stitched image. To evaluate the deviation from the image correct alignment, we performed quantitative tests by stitching a chessboard pattern. The tests showed a minimum error with respect to the image size of 0.46 ± 0.15% measured at the homography distance of 40 mm and a maximum error of 6.09 ± 0.23% at the maximum offset of 10 mm. Three experienced surgeons in aortic valve replacement by mini-sternotomy and mini-thoracotomy performed experimental tests based on the comparison of navigation and orientation capabilities in a silicone aorta with and without stitched image. The tests showed that the stitched image allows for good orientation and navigation within the aorta, and furthermore, it provides more safety while releasing the valve than driving from the three separate views. The average processing time for the stitching of three views into one image is 12.6 ms, proving that the method is not computationally expensive, thus leaving space for further real-time processing.

In vivo evaluation of an elastomeric small-diameter vascular graft reinforced with a highly flexible Nitinol mesh.

Highly porous small-diameter vascular grafts (SDVGs) prepared with elastomeric materials such as poly(ether urethane) (PEtU)-polydimethylsiloxane (PEtU-PDMS) are capable to biodegrade but may develop aneurismal dilatation. Through a compliance/patency assessment with ultrasound techniques, the current study investigated the functionality, in terms of patency and endothelialization, of a highly flexible and porous Nitinol mesh incorporated into PEtU-PDMS SDVGs in a sheep carotid model. Nitinol-PEtU-PDMS grafts with an internal diameter (ID) of 4 mm were manufactured by spray, phase-inversion technique. Compliance tests were performed by ultrasound (US) imaging using a high-resolution ultrasound diagnostic system. Ten adult sheep were implanted with 7 cm long grafts. The results of this study demonstrated an almost complete neointima luminal coverage in transmurally porous grafts reinforced with the Nitinol meshes after 6 months of implantation. Additionally, ultrasound has been used to quantitatively assess and monitor hemodynamic variables in an experimental model of synthetic vascular graft replacement. The use of reinforced PEtU-PDMS grafts may accelerate the endothelialization process of relatively long grafts, such as those needed for aortocoronary bypass. © 2018 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Biomed Mater Res Part B: Appl Biomater 107B: 951-964, 2019.

Increased Gradients After Aortic Valve Replacement With the Perceval Valve: The Role of Oversizing.

BACKGROUND: Significant underexpansion or distortion of valved stents may be associated with altered leaflet function, leading to increased transprosthetic gradients and, possibly, early structural degeneration. We investigated the relationship between a computed tomography measure of the degree of oversizing and the early hemodynamic and clinical outcomes in patients undergoing aortic valve replacement with the Perceval sutureless aortic valve (LivaNova, Saluggia, Italy). METHODS: The degree of oversizing of the implanted prosthesis was calculated as the ratio between the patients' aortic annulus cross-sectional area and the ex vivo cross-sectional area of the implanted prosthesis in 151 Perceval patients who underwent preoperative cardiac computed tomography. This value was then entered in a multivariate analysis to ascertain its role as a predictor of increased postoperative gradient. RESULTS: The operative mortality was 1.3%. Procedural success, defined as having a normally functioning valve in the proper anatomical location, was achieved in 150 patients (99.3%). The mean transprosthetic gradient was 13.4 ± 5.0 mm Hg, and 23 patients (15.2%) showed a gradient of 20 mm Hg or more at discharge or at the 1-month follow-up. The degree of oversizing of the implanted prosthesis was the most important predictor of increased postoperative gradient (odds ratio, 1.264; 95% confidence interval, 1.147 to 1.394; p < 0.0001). Interestingly, other relevant factors (patients' body surface area, prosthesis size) were not associated with increased gradients. CONCLUSIONS: Our study demonstrates that excessive oversizing should be avoided in Perceval patients and suggests that a different sizing algorithm, possibly based on cardiac computed tomography, should be developed. Further studies are needed to optimize the sizing strategy for the Perceval sutureless valve.