Intraoperative prophylactic right ventricular assist device in prevention of postcardiotomy failure.

OBJECTIVES: In patients at risk of developing right ventricular failure after cardiac surgery, right ventricular support with a ventricular assist device may be a promising strategy to reduce mortality. We present our experience with intraoperative right ventricular assist device implantation as a prevention strategy of right ventricular failure after cardiac surgery. METHODS: Between 2016 and 2022, we implanted four right ventricular assist devices prophylactically in a series of patients with surgical indication for valvular heart disease and high risk of postoperative right ventricular failure. Indications for the right ventricular assist device were suprasystemic pulmonary hypertension or severe right ventricular dysfunction. RESULTS: Externalization of the device cannulas through intercostal spaces was performed in three patients, allowing early mobilization and withdrawal without resternotomy. Removal of the device ocurred on the eighth postoperative day. ICU and hospital length of stay was 12 (±1.6) and 23 days (±4.2) respectively. Hospital mortality was null. No patient died during follow-up, mean follow-up was 32.5 months [1-72]. Patients improved their NYHA functional class up to grade II during follow-up. CONCLUSIONS: Acute right ventricular failure after cardiac surgery remains a significant cause of morbidity and mortality. Prophylactic strategies to prevent postoperative right ventricular dysfunction may decrease the incidence of refractory postoperative right ventricular failure. We propose a novel approach to prevent right failure after cardiac surgery with prophylactic intraoperative ventricular assist device implantation.

Primary pulmonary artery sarcoma: a new surgical technique for pulmonary artery reconstruction using a self-made stapled bovine pericardial graft conduit.

Primary pulmonary artery sarcoma is an uncommon neoplasm with a grim prognosis. Complete resection is the only treatment that can improve the patient's survival. The role of multimodality treatment is still controversial, although adjuvant chemotherapy possibly could improve outcomes of these patients. Several pulmonary artery reconstructive techniques have been reported in the scientific literature, such as patch reconstruction, end-to-end anastomosis, synthetic prosthesis or biological grafts. In this article, we propose a new surgical option for pulmonary artery reconstruction after radical tumour resection using a self-made stapled bovine pericardial graft conduit in a patient with a mass in the pulmonary trunk and right pulmonary artery. We believe that the use of this technique adds safety and effectiveness, and reduces the surgical time.