Search

Open in new tab Download slide OBJECTIVES To evaluate the impact of antiplatelet therapy on the long-term descending thoracic aorta (DTA) fate and prognosis of extensive repaired type A aortic dissection (TAAD). METHODS 1147 eligible TAAD patients from January 2010 to December 2019 were stratified into non-antiplatelet (n  = 754) and antiplatelet groups (n  = 393). The primary end points were overall survival, and DTA remodelling, including false lumen (FL) thrombosis and aortic redilation. The secondary end points were DTA reintervention or rupture and major bleeding events (MBEs). RESULTS The 5-year overall survival rates were 95.6% and 94.3% in the non-antiplatelet and antiplatelet groups (P  = 0.53), respectively. In the stent covering segment, the 1-year FL complete thrombosis rates were 92.1% and 92.4% in the non-antiplatelet and antiplatelet groups (P  = 0.27), respectively, while in the stent uncovering segment, the 5-year FL complete thrombosis rates were 47.1% and 56.5% in the non-antiplatelet and antiplatelet groups (P  = 0.12), respectively. Antiplatelet therapy was not an independent predictor of aortic redilation at the pulmonary artery bifurcation (β±SE = –0.128 ± 0.203, P  = 0.53), diaphragm (β±SE = 0.143 ± 0.152, P  = 0.35) or coeliac artery (β±SE = 0.049 ± 0.136, P  = 0.72) levels. With death as a competing risk, the cumulative incidences of DTA reintervention or rupture at 5 years were 4.6% and 4.0% in the non-antiplatelet and antiplatelet groups (sHR = 0.85, 95% CI, 0.49∼1.19; P  = 0.58), respectively, and the 5-year cumulative incidences of MBEs were 2.1% and 2.3% in the non-antiplatelet and antiplatelet groups (sHR = 0.82, 95% CI, 0.56∼2.67; P  = 0.62), respectively. CONCLUSIONS Antiplatelet therapy did not impact long-term DTA FL thrombosis, redilation, reintervention or rupture, MBEs or overall survival on extensive repaired TAAD. Thus, antiplatelet therapy can be administered as indicated on extensive repaired TAAD. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Currently, there is a lack of expert consensus and clinical guidelines about the treatment strategy for aortic roots in patients with acute Stanford type A aortic dissection with aortic sinuses less than 45 mm in diameter and without combined connective tissue disorder. The physiological aortic sinus plays a key role in the protection of the aortic valve and cardiac function. Thus, we invented a "watching without dealing with" technique of aortic root repair to preserve the aortic sinus as much as possible. This technique could simplify the operation and improve the patient's prognosis, which is worth learning and promoting. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Open in new tab Download slide OBJECTIVES The goal of this study was to compare clinical outcomes of double arterial cannulation (DAC), axillary cannulation and femoral cannulation in patients undergoing frozen elephant trunk for type A aortic dissection. METHODS Between 2015 and 2020, the study included 488 patients and was divided into 3 groups: 171 in the DAC group, 217 in the axillary group and 100 in the femoral group. Overall survival was the primary end point and clinical outcomes were analysed after inverse probability weighting. RESULTS A total of 43 patients died during the follow-up period. DAC group presented higher percentages of coeliac trunk, renal and iliac artery malperfusion, but early outcomes and overall survival did not differ among groups. Subgroup analyses suggested that in patients requiring cardiopulmonary bypass duration ≥180 min, DAC approach was associated with a tendency to improved overall survival compared with axillary [hazard ratio (HR): 0.35, 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.14–0.90, P = 0.029) and femoral cannulation (HR: 0.38, 95% CI: 0.14–1.03, P = 0.058). Inverse probability weighting adjustment (axillary as reference: HR: 0.34, 95% CI: 0.13–0.86, P = 0.022; femoral as reference: HR: 0.33, 95% CI: 0.11–0.90, P = 0.030) and multivariable Cox proportional hazards model (covariates including age, gender, acute dissection, any organ malperfusion and deep hypothermic circulatory arrest) confirmed this result. CONCLUSIONS DAC approach was commonly used in patients with branch artery malperfusion and clinical outcomes did not differ compared with axillary and femoral cannulation. It provides a flexible and effective option with adequate perfusion for cases with various dissection-involved statuses and prolonged cardiopulmonary bypass duration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article, published in the European Heart Journal Case Reports, presents a case report of a 71-year-old male patient with an extensive aortic arch aneurysm. The patient underwent a type III hybrid arch repair, which involved ascending aortic and total arch replacement with frozen elephant trunk, and subsequent thoracic endovascular aortic repair. The surgical team utilized multimodality neuroimaging, including computed tomographic angiography (CTA) and transcranial Doppler (TCD) monitoring, to guide the procedure and mitigate neurological risks. The surgery was successful, with stable cerebral blood flow and no significant post-operative neurological complications. The case highlights the importance of individualized neuroimaging and targeted cerebral perfusion strategies in complex cardiac surgeries. [Extracted from the article]

Objectives: To summarize the experience of mitral valve (MV) repair with artificial chordae replacement in children, and analyze early and intermediate outcomes. Methods: From January 2011 to May 2019, all patients (< 18 years) who received MV repair with artificial chordae replacement were retrospectively reviewed. Freedom from MV reoperation, MV dysfunction, moderate or severe MR were estimated by the Kaplan–Meier curve and log-rank test. Results: A total of 30 patients were included in this study. According to our definition, 15 patients had simple lesions and 15 patients had complex lesions. During 36 months' follow-up (range 3–97 months), two patients received MV reoperation and seven patients developed MV dysfunction, including six patients with moderate or severe MR and one patient with mitral stenosis. Freedom from MV reoperation at 1, 5 and 8 years were 100%, 91.3% and 91.3%, respectively. And freedom from MV dysfunction at 1, 3 and 5 year were 96.0%, 77.1% and 61.8%, respectively. Five-year freedom from MV dysfunction showed significant differences between patients with simple lesions and patients with complex lesions (100% vs 32.7%, log-rank P = 0.008), and between patients aged less than 12 years and patients aged more than 12 year (33.5% vs 90.0%, log-rank P = 0.025). Conclusion: The early and intermediate outcomes of mitral valve repair with artificial chordae replacement were acceptable in children, and the outcomes were optimal in patients with simple lesions, and patients aged more than 12 years. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Total aortic arch replacement (TAR) with frozen elephant trunk (FET) requires hypothermic circulatory arrest (HCA) for 20 min, which increases the surgical risk. We invented an aortic balloon occlusion (ABO) technique that requires 5 min of HCA on average to perform TAR with FET and investigated the possible merit of this new method in this study.Methods: This retrospective study included consecutive patients who underwent TAR and FET (consisting of 130 cases of ABO group and 230 cases of conventional group) in Fuwai Hospital between August 2017 and February 2019. In addition to the postoperative complications, the alterations of blood routine tests, alanine transaminase (ALT) and aspartate transaminase (AST) during in-hospital stay were also recorded.Results: The 30-day mortality rates were similar between ABO group (4.6%) and conventional group (7.8%, P = 0.241). Multivariate analysis showed ABO reduced postoperative acute kidney injury (23.1% vs. 35.7%, P = 0.013) and hepatic injury (12.3% vs. 27.8%, P = 0.001), and maintained similar cost to patients (25.5 vs. 24.9 kUSD, P = 0.298). We also found that AST was high during intensive care unit (ICU) stay and recovered to normal before discharge, while ALT was not as high as AST in ICU but showed a rising tendency before discharge. The platelet count showed a rising tendency on postoperative day 3 and may exceed the preoperative value before discharge.Conclusions: The ABO achieved the surgical goal of TAR with FET with an improved recovery process during the in-hospital stay. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Open in new tab Download slide Open in new tab Download slide OBJECTIVES The aim of this study was to evaluate the objective outcomes of type II hybrid arch repair (HAR) and total arch replacement with frozen elephant trunk (TAR with FET). METHODS Data from 528 patients who underwent aortic arch repair from January 2017 to June 2019 were collected, which consisted of 175 type II HAR and 353 TAR with FET. The propensity score-matched analysis identified a subgroup of 90 pairs. Perioperative data and mid-term follow-up results were assessed. RESULTS There was no significant difference in the composite adverse events (type II HAR, 20.6%, 36/175 vs TAR with FET, 17.8%, 63/353, P  = 0.450). Multivariable logistic analysis of the 528 patients showed that the procedure type (type II HAR or TAR with FET) was not associated with composite adverse events, 30-day mortality or stroke. The 3-year survival rates were 84.8% in the type II HAR group and 90.1% in the TAR with FET group (P  = 0.12). The 3-year reintervention-free rates in the type II HAR and TAR with FET groups were 98.7% and 96.5% (P  = 0.22), respectively. After matching, no significant difference was found in the incidence of composite adverse events or the 3-year survival and reintervention-free rates. CONCLUSIONS No significant clinical differences were found in the early and mid-term outcomes of type II HAR and TAR with FET. The long-term outcomes remain to be investigated. Careful patient selection for individualized approaches is the key to taking full advantage of the 2 surgical procedures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Obesity is dramatically increasing worldwide, and more obese patients may develop aortic dissection and present for surgical repair. The study aims to analyse the impact of body mass index (BMI) on surgical outcomes in patients with acute Stanford type A aortic dissection (ATAAD).Methods: From January 2017 to June 2019, the clinical data of 268 ATAAD patients in a single centre were retrospectively reviewed. They were divided into three groups based on the BMI: normal weight (BMI 18.5 to < 25 kg/m2, n = 110), overweight (BMI 25 to < 30 kg/m2, n = 114) and obese (BMI ≥30 kg/m2, n = 44).Results: There was no statistical difference among the three groups in terms of the composite adverse events including 30-day mortality, stroke, paraplegia, renal failure, hepatic failure, reintubation or tracheotomy and low cardiac output syndrome (20.9% vs 21.9% vs 18.2% for normal, overweight and obese, respectively; P = 0.882). No significant difference was found in the mid-term survival among the three groups. The proportion of prolonged ventilation was highest in the obese group followed by the overweight and normal groups (59.1% vs 45.6% vs 34.5%, respectively; P = 0.017). Multivariable logistic regression analysis suggested that BMI was not associated with the composite adverse events, while BMI ≥30 kg/m2 was an independent risk factor for prolonged ventilation (OR 2.261; 95% CI 1.056-4.838; P = 0.036).Conclusions: BMI had no effect on the early major adverse outcomes and mid-term survival after surgery for ATAAD. Satisfactory surgical outcomes can be obtained in patients with ATAAD at all weights. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To review the early and intermediate outcomes of patients with transposition of the great arteries (TGA) and intramural coronary artery (IMCA) who underwent arterial switch operation (ASO) at our center. Among 450 patients with TGA who underwent an ASO between 2010 and 2018, 26 (5.8%) patients were identified with IMCA. The left coronary artery was intramural in 21 of 26 patients. We adopted coronary transfer using double coronary buttons with unroofed intramural course for all 26 patients. Early mortality for patients with IMCA was 3 of 26 (11.5%) compared with 10 of 424 (2.4%) for those without IMCA (p = 0.007). Six patients suffered major adverse events, including extracorporeal membrane oxygenation support in 3 patients, delayed sternal closure in 6 patients. The follow-up was available for all 23 survivors, with the mean follow-up period of 73.5 ± 28.7 months. There was no late death and reinterventions, and all patients were asymptomatic at last follow-up. One patient exhibited moderate neopulmonary regurgitation, and 1 patient presented with distal stenosis of the right pulmonary artery. Coronary transfer using double coronary buttons with unroofed intramural course was a good option for patients with TGA and IMCA. With this technique, ASO could be performed with optimal early and intermediate outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]