Totally Thoracoscopic Ablation in Patients With Recurrent Atrial Fibrillation After Catheter Ablation

Background@#The objective of this study was to evaluate the efficacy and safety of totally thoracoscopic ablation (TTA) in patients with recurrent atrial fibrillation (AF) after radiofrequency catheter ablation (RFCA). @*Methods@#From February 2012 to May 2020, 460 patients who underwent TTA were classified into two groups: CA (presence of RFCA history, n = 74) and nCA groups (absence of RFCA history, n = 386). Inverse probability of treatment weighting (IPTW) analyses were used to adjust for confounders. The primary endpoint was freedom from the composite of AF, typical atrial flutter, atypical atrial flutter and any atrial tachyarrhythmia, lasting more than 30 seconds during the follow-up. All patients were followed up at 3, 6, and 12 months via electrocardiogram and 24-hour Holter monitoring. @*Results@#Bilateral pulmonary vein isolation (PVI) was conducted in all patients and the conduction block tests were confirmed. In the CA group, difficult PVI occasionally occurred due to structural changes, such as pericardial adhesion and fibrosis of the pulmonary venous structure, caused by a previous catheter ablation. Early complications such as stroke and pacemaker insertion were not different between the two groups. The normal sinus rhythm was maintained in 70.1% (317/460) patients after a median follow-up period of 38.1 months.The IPTW-weighted Kaplan-Meier curves revealed that freedom from AF events at 5 years was 68.4% (95% confidence interval, 62.8–74.5) in the nCA group and 31.2% (95% confidence interval, 16.9–57.5) in the CA group (P < 0.001). In IPTW-weighted Cox regression, preoperative left atrial diameter, persistent or long-standing AF, the presence of congestive heart failure and catheter ablation history were associated with AF events. @*Conclusion@#Patients in the CA group showed a higher recurrence rate of AF than those in the nCA group, while TTA was safely performed in both the groups.

Left Ventricular Assist Device Implantation via Dual Left Thoracotomy in an Adult Patient with Congenitally Corrected Transposition of the Great Arteries

A 59-year-old man presented for possible durable ventricular assist device (VAD) implantation. He had previously been diagnosed with congenitally corrected transposition of the great arteries, a ventricular septal defect, an atrial septal defect, pulmonary valve stenosis, and aortic valve regurgitation. In the previous 22 years, he had undergone palliative cardiac surgery 3 times. VAD implantation as a bridge to transplantation was planned. Owing to severe adhesions, mesocardia, a left ascending aorta, and moderate aortic regurgitation, we performed VAD implantation and aortic valve closure via a dual left thoracotomy and partial sternotomy.

Outcomes and Patency of Complex Configurations of Composite Grafts Using Bilateral Internal Thoracic Arteries

Background@#It is generally agreed that using a bilateral internal thoracic artery (BITA) composite graft improves long-term survival after coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG). Although the left internal thoracic artery (LITA)-based Y-composite graft is widely adopted, technical or anatomical difficulties necessitate complex configurations. We aimed to investigate whether BITA configuration impacts survival or patency in patients undergoing coronary revascularization. @*Methods@#Between January 2006 and June 2017, 1,161 patients underwent CABG at Seoul National University Bundang Hospital, where the standard technique is a LITA-based Y-composite graft with the right internal thoracic artery (RITA) sequentially anastomosed to non-left anterior descending (LAD) targets. Total of 160 patients underwent CABG using BITA with modifications. Their medical records and imaging data were reviewed retrospectively to investigate technical details, clinical outcomes, and graft patency. @*Results@#Modifications of the typical Y-graft (group 1, n=90), LITA-based I-graft (group 2, n=39), and RITA-based composite graft (group 3, n=31) were used due to insufficient RITA length (47%), problems using LITA (28%), and target vessel anatomy (25%). The overall 30- day mortality rate was 1.9%. Among 116 patients who underwent computed tomography or conventional angiography at a mean interval of 29.9±33.1 months postoperatively, the graft patency rates were 98.7%, 95.3%, and 83.6% for the LAD, left circumflex artery, and right coronary artery territories, respectively. Patency rates for the inflow, secondary, and tertiary grafts were 98.2%, 90.5%, and 80.4%, respectively. The RITA-based graft (group 3) had the lowest patency rate of the various configurations (p<0.011). @*Conclusion@#LITA-based Y composite graft, showed satisfactory clinical outcomes and patency whereas modifications of RITA- based composite graft had the lowest patency and 5-year survival rates. Therefore, when using RITA-based composite graft, other options should be considered before proceeding atypical configurations.

Comparison of Radiofrequency Ablation and Cryoablation for the Recovery of Atrial Contractility and Survival

BACKGROUND: Limited comparative data are available on the efficacy of cryoablation versus radiofrequency ablation in patients with atrial fibrillation. This study aimed to compare radiofrequency ablation and cryoablation with regard to clinical outcomes and the restoration of sinus rhythm or atrial contractility. METHODS: A total of 239 patients who underwent surgical ablation between August 2003 and December 2016 at our institution were included. The patients were divided into 2 groups according to the energy device that was used (group A: n=140, radiofrequency ablator; group B: n=99, cryoablator). Echocardiographic data, overall survival, and major cardiovascular and cerebrovascular event (MACCE)-free survival were compared between the 2 groups. RESULTS: At 1 year of follow-up, the atrial contractility recovery rate was 32.2% (19 of 59) in group A and 48.8% (21 of 44) in group B. In addition, cryoablation was found to be a predictive factor for the recovery of atrial contractility (cryoablation vs. radiofrequency ablation: odds ratio, 2.540; 95% confidence interval, 1.063–6.071; p=0.036). The left ventricular ejection fraction was significantly higher in group B (53.1%±11.5% vs. 59.1%±6.3%, p=0.001). The median follow-up duration was 36 months. The 5-year overall survival rate was 80.1%±3.6% in group A and 92.1%±2.9% in group B (p=0.400). The 5-year MACCE-free survival rate was 70.3%±4.0% in group A and 70.9%±5.6% in group B (p=0.818). CONCLUSION: Cryoablation was associated with a higher atrial contractility restoration rate and better left ventricular function than radiofrequency ablation. However, no significant relationship was observed between the energy source and overall or MACCE-free survival.

Outcomes of Off-Pump Coronary Bypass Grafting with the Bilateral Internal Thoracic Artery for Left Ventricular Dysfunction

This study evaluated the outcomes of off-pump coronary artery bypass surgery (OPCAB) with severe left ventricular dysfunction using composite bilateral internal thoracic artery grafting. From January 2001 to December 2008, 1,842 patients underwent primary isolated OPCAB with composite bilateral internal thoracic artery grafting. A total of 131 of these patients were diagnosed with a severely depressed preoperative left ventricle ejection fraction (LVEF) (0.6). The early mortality for patients with severe LVEF was 2.3%. The 3-yr and 7-yr survival rate for patients with severe LV dysfunction was 86.0% and 82.8%, respectively. Multivariate analysis showed that severe LV dysfunction EF increased the risk of all-cause death (P=0.012; hazard ratio [HR],2.14; 95% confidence interval [CI],1.19-3.88) and the risk of cardiac-related death (P=0.008; HR,3.38; 95% CI, 1.37-8.341). The study identified positive surgical outcomes of OPCAB, although severe LVEF was associated with two-fold increase in mortality risk compared with patients who had normal LVEF.

Surgical Experience of Ascending Aorta and Aortic Valve Replacement in Patient with Calcified Aorta

BACKGROUND: The conventional method of aortic cross-clamping is very difficult and increases the risk of cerebral infarct due to embolism of the calcified aorta in these patients. Accordingly, we analyzed our experience with 11 cases of ascending aorta and aortic valve replacement with hypothermic circulatory arrest. MATERIALS AND METHODS: From January 2002 to December 2009, 11 patients had ascending aorta and aortic valve replacement with hypothermic arrest at our hospital. We performed a retrospective study. RESULTS: There were 5 males and 6 females, with a mean age of 68 years (range, 44 to 82 years). Eight patients had aortic stenosis, and 3 patients had aortic regurgitation. An aortic cannula was inserted into the right axillary artery in 3 patients and ascending aorta in 6 patients. Two patients with aortic regurgitation had a remote access perfusion catheter inserted though the right femoral artery. The mean cardiopulmonary bypass time was 180 minutes (range, 110 to 306 minutes) and mean hypothermic circulatory arrest time was 30 minutes (range, 20 to 48 minutes). The mean rectal temperature during hypothermic circulatory arrest was 21degrees C (range, 19degrees C to 23degrees C). No patient had any new onset of cerebral infarct or cardiovascular accident after surgery. There was no hospital mortality. Early complications occurred in 1 patient who needed reoperation due to postoperative bleeding. Late complications occurred in 1 patient who underwent a Bentall operation due to prosthetic valve endocarditis. The mean follow-up duration was 32 months (range, 1 month to 8 years) and 1 patient died suddenly due to unknown causes after 5 years. CONCLUSION: Patients with a calcified aorta can be safely treated with a technique based on aorta and aortic valve replacement under hypothermic circulatory arrest.

Accessory Cardiac Bronchus with Lung Cancer: A case report / 대한흉부외과학회지

An accessory cardiac bronchus (ACB) is a rare congenital anomaly of the trachobronchial tree. It rarely presents with symptoms, and is usually diagnosed incidentally by chest CT, bronchoscopy, or during surgery. We experienced a case of accessory cardiac bronchus found incidentally in the bronchus intermedius with lung cancer in the right lower lobe, and surgically removed.