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Objectives This study was conceived to describe the evolution of aortic dimensions in patients with moderate post-stenotic ascending aorta dilation (50 to 59 mm) submitted to aortic valve replacement (AVR) alone. Background The appropriate treatment of post-stenotic ascending aorta dilation has been poorly investigated. Methods Ninety-three patients affected by severe isolated calcific aortic valve stenosis in the tricuspid aortic valve accompanied by moderate dilation of the ascending aorta (50 to 59 mm) were submitted to AVR only. All patients were followed for a mean of 14.7 ± 4.8 years by means of periodic clinical evaluations and echocardiography and tomography scans of the thorax. Results Operative mortality was 1.0% (1 patient). During the follow-up, 16 patients died and 2 had to be reoperated for valve dysfunction. No patients experienced acute aortic events (rupture, dissection, pseudoaneurysm), and no patient had to be reoperated on the aorta. There was not a substantial increase in aortic dimensions: mean aortic diameter was 57 ± 11 mm at the end of the follow-up versus 56 ± 02 mm pre-operatively (p = NS). The mean ascending aorta expansion rate was 0.3 ± 0.2 mm/year. Conclusion In the absence of connective tissue disorders, AVR alone is sufficient to prevent further aortic expansion in patients with moderate post-stenotic dilation of the ascending aorta. Aortic replacement can probably be reserved for patients with a long life expectancy.

This study was conceived to describe the evolution of aortic dimensions in patients with moderate post-stenotic ascending aorta dilation (50 to 59 mm) submitted to aortic valve replacement (AVR) alone.The appropriate treatment of post-stenotic ascending aorta dilation has been poorly investigated.Ninety-three patients affected by severe isolated calcific aortic valve stenosis in the tricuspid aortic valve accompanied by moderate dilation of the ascending aorta (50 to 59 mm) were submitted to AVR only. All patients were followed for a mean of 14.7 ± 4.8 years by means of periodic clinical evaluations and echocardiography and tomography scans of the thorax.Operative mortality was 1.0% (1 patient). During the follow-up, 16 patients died and 2 had to be reoperated for valve dysfunction. No patients experienced acute aortic events (rupture, dissection, pseudoaneurysm), and no patient had to be reoperated on the aorta. There was not a substantial increase in aortic dimensions: mean aortic diameter was 57 ± 11 mm at the end of the follow-up versus 56 ± 02 mm pre-operatively (p = NS). The mean ascending aorta expansion rate was 0.3 ± 0.2 mm/year.In the absence of connective tissue disorders, AVR alone is sufficient to prevent further aortic expansion in patients with moderate post-stenotic dilation of the ascending aorta. Aortic replacement can probably be reserved for patients with a long life expectancy.

BACKGROUND: We aimed to give an overview of the contemporary status of aortic valve replacement. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This single-center prospective study was initiated in January 2003. From this date on, every patient with aortic valve disease admitted to our hospital was reviewed by a cardiologist and a surgeon to determine eligibility for replacement. In no instance was the operation denied in the absence of surgical consultation. All operations were performed using a median sternotomy, with cardiopulmonary bypass and cardioplegic arrest. RESULTS: A total of 873 cases were screened until the end of the study. We identified three groups of patients: Group 1 (inoperable cases) consisted of 15 patients (1 %); Group 2 (high-risk cases) included 99 patients with an additive EuroSCORE ≥ 10 or an expected mortality > 20 % (logistic model); Group 3 (moderate- to low-risk cases) consisted of 759 patients with an additive EuroSCORE < 10 or an expected mortality < 20 %. In-hospital mortality was 6.0 % (6/99) for Group 2 and 0.3 % (3/759) for Group 3. Major complications occurred in 5 patients of Group 2 (5 %) and in 9 patients of Group 3 (1.1 %). At predischarge echocardiography, 99.3 % of the implanted valves were perfect. At a follow-up of 28.9 ± 12.3 months 798/849 patients were alive; 89 % of them (711) were in NYHA 1-2. CONCLUSIONS: Surgical aortic valve replacement provides excellent results and has a low operative mortality even in high-risk patients. Surgical consultation for every aortic patient resulted in an extremely low rate of surgery refusals. Our data should be regarded as a benchmark for transcatheter techniques.

Aim The effects of post-operative left ventricular mass regression (LVMR) on clinical outcome after aortic valve surgery remains to be established. This study was intended to establish the impact of patient characteristics on post-operative survival in patients referred for aortic valve replacement (AVR), with particular regard to LVMR. Methods and results Two hundred and sixty consecutive cases submitted to aortic valve replacement for valvular stenosis were prospectively followed for a mean of 28±9 months. Baseline, characteristics and extent of LVMR were tested for association with survival by uni- and multivariable analysis. Ten deaths occurred during hospital stay and 52 during out-of-hospital follow-up. Mean left ventricular mass decreased from 190±43 to 158±70 g/m2 ( P

Background To describe our experience in the treatment of high risk coronary artery bypass patients and compare patients assigned to on-pump or off-pump surgery. Methods During a 42-month period 306 high risk (Euroscore > 5) coronary artery bypass patients were consecutively treated at our institution. On the basis of the coronary anatomy and possibility of achieving a complete revascularization, 197 patients were assigned to off-pump and 109 to on-pump operation. Overall mortality was 6.2% (19 of 306 patients). Results Although patients treated off-pump had a better cardiac status, no clinical advantages related to the avoidance of cardiopulmonary bypass were found in the overall population. Off-pump patients had more early and late cardiac complications, whereas patients operated on-pump exhibited an higher incidence of postoperative systemic organ dysfunction. Off-pump surgery improved in-hospital outcome only in the subset of patients at highest risk. Conclusions Avoidance of cardiopulmonary bypass does not confer significant clinical advantages in all high risk coronary patients; instead, there are particular subsets of patients in whom beating heart surgery can be particularly indicated and others for whom on-pump revascularization appears a better solution. Adaptation of the operation to the single patient is probably the way to improve outcome.

Background It has been hypothesized that the use of the superior septal approach to the mitral valve can lead to postoperative loss of sinus rhythm. This study was undertaken to evaluate the early and mid-term alterations of the cardiac rhythm in patients with preoperative sinus rhythm (SR) submitted to mitral valve surgery through the superior septal approach Methods Seventy-five cases in preoperative SR submitted to primary isolated mitral valve surgery through the superior septal approach constitute the study population. All patients underwent 12-lead electrocardiography on admission, every day after surgery until discharge and every year during the follow-up period. Results On admission in the intensive care unit, 46 cases maintained their preoperative rhythm, whereas 18 developed a junctional rhythm (JR) and 7 had a first- or second-degree atrio-ventricular block (AVB). Four cases arrived in the unit in atrial fibrillation (AF). On the first postoperative day, these proportions were substantially unchanged, with the only exception being a slight increase in the number of patients in AF. The day before discharge, only 35 of the 74 surviving cases maintained the preoperative SR, whereas 13 developed AF, 10 were in JR, and 16 were in AVB. During the follow-up period (mean, 26 ± 14 months), the majority of cases (47/74) regained SR; 11 patients had AVB, 3 were in JR, and the remaining 13 were in AF. Conclusions The use of the superior septal approach for mitral valve procedures in patients in preoperative SR is associated with minor, transient cardiac rhythm disturbances.

Objective: The optimal treatment of severe monolateral asymptomatic carotid artery stenosis (SMACS) in patients undergoing coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) is still controversial. Materials and methods: This study is based on the in-hospital and mid-term (.5 years) clinical results of a cohort of 139 consecutive CABG patients with SMACS operated at our Institution between January 1989 and December 1995. In the first 73 patients (no carotid surgery group), the SMACS was left untouched at the time of coronary surgery, whereas in the remaining 66 (carotid endoarterectomy group), the carotid stenosis was treated either immediately before or concomitantly with the CABG procedure (depending on the severity of the anginal symptoms). Results: The overall preoperative characteristics of the patients were comparable. The in-hospital results were similar between the two groups with regard to mortality, stroke and major postoperative complications. However, at mid-term follow-up, significantly more patients of the no carotid surgery group suffered cerebral events (transient or permanent) ipsilateral to the SMACS or the lesion had to be operated on. Conclusions: The concomitant treatment (either staged or simultaneous) of SMACS at the time of CABG does not influence the in-hospital results, but confers significant neurological protection during the years after the operation. q 2001 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.

This report describes 20 consecutive patients who underwent surgical procedures for treatment of cardiac arrhythmias. 16 patients have been operated for WPW. syndrome, always using the epicardial approach, without extracorporeal circulation. Three patients underwent surgery for atrio-ventricular nodal reentrant tachycardia, using a discrete perinodal cryotreatment, during normothermic extracorporeal circulation. In one case we used cryoablation of the atrial myocardium below the coronary sinus to treat atrial flutter. This operation was performed under normothermic extracorporeal circulation. In our observations, there was no early or late death; postoperative complications developed in 1 patient (5%) due to pericarditis. Ablation of the AP was completely successful in all the cases (100%) operated for WPW as well as for AVNRT syndromes and atrial flutter.

Não pretendo, neste artigo, refletir sobre as críticas feitas aos observadores “estrangeiros”, aos assessores e à coordenação central do VI Encontro. Não tendo participado pessoalmente, não me considero qualificado para uma tarefa que outros irmãos certamente assumirão. É meu desejo, com igual responsabilidade pastoral, contribuir para o diálogo sobre a vida e a prática das CEBs...

Background We evaluated the in-hospital and long-term effects of surgical grafting of a dominant graftable right coronary artery tributary of an infarcted nonischemic territory in patients with triple-vessel disease who were undergoing coronary artery bypass grafting. Methods Of 303 consecutive patients undergoing coronary artery bypass grafting with 3-vessel coronary disease and a dominant right coronary artery tributary of an infarcted nonischemic territory, 154 were randomized to right coronary artery revascularization and 149 to no right coronary artery grafting. In all cases, standard on-pump surgical myocardial revascularization was performed. Results Overall hospital mortality was 2 of 154 versus 1 of 149 ( P = .97); no difference in in-hospital outcome was observed between the 2 groups. At follow-up, cardiac event–free survival was 84 of 152 in the right coronary artery grafting series and 62 of 148 in the non–right coronary artery grafting group ( P = .20). However, when the analysis was limited to surviving patients without new scintigraphic evidence of ischemia (to avoid confounding factors derived from ischemia in the left coronary system or right coronary artery graft malfunction), we found that patients who received a right coronary artery graft had fewer cardiac events, a lower incidence of arrhythmia, and less left ventricular dilatation than did the non–right coronary artery revascularized series. Conclusions Surgical grafting of a right coronary artery tributary of an infarcted nonischemic territory in patients with 3-vessel coronary artery disease submitted to coronary artery bypass grafting improved late electric stability, ventricular geometry, and event-free survival but did not affect in-hospital or 10-year survival.

Permanent transvenous atrial “J” leads were successfully implanted in 10 patients whose atrial appendages had been previously amputated during heart surgery. Early and late lead performance was satisfactory.