Indication for transplantation in a patient with univentricular heart.

Surgical correction of the univentrivular heart is an achievement of the last 4-5 decades. The Fontan pathway is nowadays an established but continuously improving surgical technique.Nevertheless, attrition of the univentricular heart is a well known process, its timing depending on several factors:technique, time of operation, type of ventricle aso. The study group is represented by 39 patients with univentricular circulation, operated (37 partial-PCPC and 2 total - TCPC cavo-pulmonary anastomosis) in our clinic between 2006 -2012. Out of this group, 2 patients have reached the stage of indication for heart transplantation: 1 has already been transplanted and one is listed for transplantation. The indication was in both a failing ventricle of left-type univentricular heart,in a PCPC status, performed after 14 years of age. Evolution in the transplanted patient is good. In conclusion, the option of heart transplantation should be available and kept in mind for the operated univentricular heart even at pediatric ages, as local peculiarities cause these hearts to fail even earlier than described in the literature.

Transthoracic versus Transhiatal esophagectomy: a permanent dilemma. our 15-year experience.

OBJECTIVE: Controversy still exists regarding the optimal surgical management of esophageal cancer. This study was performed to determine and compare early and late morbidity,mortality and overall survival after transthoracic (TTE) and transhiatal esophagectomies (THE). METHODS: Between 1997-2011, 100 patients underwent TTE or THE for squamous esophageal carcinoma (90 patients)and adenocarcinoma (10 patients). Assessed parameters included patient demographics, operative data, pathology results, postoperative morbidity and mortality and 1-3 year survival. RESULTS: Thoracic approach was preferred in cases of more advanced tumors, located in the upper and mid-third of the esophagus, in patients with a better cardiopulmonary status. Perioperative blood loss was significantly higher after transthoracic resections (p=0.0004) and these surgeries took significantly longer than transhiatal esophagectomies(p=0.02). We identified complications in 70.7% patients who under went TTE and in 59.3% patients with transhiatal approach. Respiratory complications were statistically significant in the TTE- group (p-0.0003). The 30-day mortality rates were 12.2% for patients in TTE group and 10.1% in THE patients group, respectively. The mortality ratefor the entire period of the study has been calculated at 84.4%.We have identified a survival rate after 1 year of 62.2%, after 2 years of 39.3% and after 3 years - 15.1%. CONCLUSIONS: According to the results of this study, both procedures appear to be acceptable depending on surgeon preference and appropriate patient selection.

Minilaparotomy as surgical approach for aortoiliac occlusive disease -- single center initial experience.

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to emphasize the benefits and indications of performing minilaparotomy as surgical approach for occlusive aortoiliac disease. MATERIAL AND METHOD: From January 2011 to July 2012, a total of 23 patients (19 men and 4 women), with a median age of 60 years (range 49-75) diagnosed with aortoiliac occlusive disease(n=22) or abdominal aneurysm (n=1), were included in a retrospective non-randomized clinical study. Among these patients 11 underwent aortic bypass procedure by minila parotomy approach (ML group) and 12 patients by standard laparotomy(SL group). Demographic and clinical data, operative data, postoperative recovery data and complications were analysed according to these two groups of patients. Follow-up consisted of clinical examination and duplex scanning at 1, 3,6 and 12 months postoperatively. RESULTS: There were no significant differences between the minilaparotomy and standard laparotomy control groups concerning clinical and demographical data. Two surgical conversions to standard laparotomy were necessary (18.18%) in the ML group due to technical difficulties. The mean operative time was shorter in the ML group (124 ± 22 minutes) and the mean aortic clamping time was similar between the two groups.Major differences between the two lots were observed postoperatively;mean blood loss was more important in the SL group (550 ml) than in the ML group (350 ml) (statistical significance p=0.001, Student test). Patients who have undergone standard laparotomy required more fluids (10000 Â+-2000 ml) in comparison to the other group (6000 ± 1000 ml) p value=0.0001, while the duration of nasogastric suction and period before resuming a liquid diet was both shorter in the ML group (1.1 ± 0.5 days) than those from the SL group (2.5 ± 0.6 days) p value=0.001. The period spent in the ICU was significantly shorter for the ML lot of patients and the median hospitalization time was 5.6 days for patients in ML group,whereas in the SL group the median hospitalization time was 8.9 days (Student test - p value 0.01). We had no 30-day mortality in any of the groups included in the study. One patient from the ML group was readmitted in postoperative day 43 and re-operated on for a prosthetic limb graft thrombosis.Two patients were lost to follow-up and the mean follow-up was 9 ± 1.5 months. CONCLUSIONS: Minilaparotomy as surgical approach for aortic diseases is a feasible, safe procedure on selected patients.

First heart transplantation in a small child in Romania.

Heart transplantation is a life-saving procedure for irreducible heart failure in children as in adults. Worldwide there is a great amount of experience with this procedure, while Romania is only at the beginning. The authors are presenting the experience concerning the first small child heart transplantation in Romania, underlining the pre-operative and posttransplantation experience. The patient, a 3 year-old girl, diagnosed with class IV NYHA functional classification congestive heart failure secondary to an idiopathic dilated cardiomyopathy, has received an isogroup isoRh donor heart on the 14th of January 2011. The operative technique used was an orthotopic bicaval technique. In-hospital postoperative evolution was favourable, the child receiving triple immunosuppressive therapy and prophylaxis therapy against cytomegalovirus, fungi, and pneumocystis carinii bacteria. Myocardial biopsy performed 1 month after transplantation showed no signs of rejection. The child is in good health at 31 months (2 years, 8 months) after the transplantation. Heart transplantation in children is the result of teamwork, while the procedure can be performed with low mortality and morbidity in centers with large experience in heart transplantation and pediatric cardiovascular surgery.

Cardiac allograft vasculopathy in adult human recipients: a case series of seven patients and review of literature.

BACKGROUND: Chronic rejection (CR) also called cardiac allograft vasculopathy (CAV) is, besides infections and malignant tumors, the leading cause of death during the late period of post-heart transplant. PATIENTS AND METHODS: In this paper, we present a series of seven cases with chronic post-transplant cardiac rejection in the light of our experience related to histopathological aspects, difficulties in diagnosing and survival time. RESULTS: Our study comprises patients whose ages ranked at the time of transplant between 33 and 58 years, with a mean age of 47.71 years, the ratio between men and women being 6:1. Chronic rejection - cardiac allograft vasculopathy occurred in all seven patients comprised in this study, the earliest in the second year post-transplant (three patients), followed by the third year (one patient), the seventh and eighth year (one patient) and the latest survival period being over 11 years (one patient). Four out of the seven patients with chronic rejection events were preceded by episodes of acute cellular rejection. The most convincing indirect evidence of chronic rejection in endomyocardial biopsies were: ischemic events of the myocardiocytes and impaired microvascular network because of perivascular and interstitial fibrosis. CONCLUSIONS: Our study shows that the most important morphological factors correlated with the manifestation of chronic rejection were the episodes of acute cellular rejection or perivascular and interstitial fibrosis, these injuries also being indirect signs mainly detectable at the level of endomyocardial biopsies.

[Type B aortic dissection--endovascular stent-graft repair. Case report]. / Disectie aortica tip B--rezolvare endovasculara prin stent-graft. Prezentare de caz.

The treatment of aortic dissections type B Stanford using endovascular stents represents one of the newest advances in the treatment of this diseases, less invasive alternative to classic surgical repair. Aortic stent-grafts initially were used in treatment of abdominal aortic aneurysms, and then to treat aneurysms, dissections and traumatic ruptures of the descending aorta, with good early and mid-term outcomes. Thoracic aortic aneurysms are frequently diagnosed in mid-age or elderly patients who have arterial hypertension, coronary artery disease, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. Scientific data reveal a two-year mortality rate of > 70% in untreated patients, most deaths occurring due severe haemorrhages secondary aneurysm rupture. Development of endovascular techniques is naturally, due to the inherent complications of surgery in the distal thoracic aorta (paraplegia, renal failure, stroke). Endovascular deployment of stent-grafts in the treatment of Stanford B aortic dissections represents a possible and quite safe procedure. There is a continuous debate in medical literature about the best therapeutic decision in the treatment of extensive aortic dissections. We present a case of an extensive dissection of thoraco-abdominal aorta in a 55 years old hypertensive patient treated with an aortic stent-graft. Angiograms performed at the end of the procedure revealed complete occlusion of thoracic dissection, abdominal dissection remains untouched. One and three months post procedural evaluation showed a good follow up, with partial thrombosis of abdominal dissection without renal failure or ischaemic events.

[Tetralogy of Fallot--new appearance of an old technique]. / Tetralogia Fallot. Noua infatisare a unei tehnici vechi.

UNLABELLED: Tetralogy of Fallot represents one of the most frequent congenital heart disease in medical practice and a "corner stone" of any paediatric surgical team due to great anatomic and functional variability and clinical aspects. This paper presents a retrospective study of surgical experience in patients with tetralogy of Fallot admitted in Paediatric Cardiovascular Centre of Târgu Mures, Romania, between 2005, October to 2009, January. METHOD: There where retrospectively studied medical records of patients who undergo a surgical procedure: age, morphologic diagnosis, symptoms and type of surgical procedure, intraoperative data, postoperative follow-up and complications. RESULTS: In this period 110 cases of tetralogy of Fallot were operated, 81 total surgical repair (54 primary and 27 secondary procedures); also there were performed 29 "palliative" procedures: systemic/pulmonary shunts (eg. Blalock-Taussig). No intraoperative deaths were recorded; the percentage of in-hospital mortality was 1.8%. CONCLUSIONS: It's ideal to perform total primary repair of tetralogy of Fallot, especially in the first year of life; extreme cases (severe hypoplasic pulmonary arteries, emergency cases) benefit from "palliative" procedures. Surgical repair of Fallot tetralogy can be performed, with good results in specialised paediatric cardiac surgery centres. This paper represents the first Romanian clinical study on a large number of patients with tetralogy of Fallot surgically treated.