The application of left anterior minimally invasive thoracotomy to surgical repair of subarterial ventricular septal defect in children / 中国胸心血管外科临床杂志

@#Objective    To summarize the application and clinical effect of left anterior minimally invasive thoracotomy to surgical repair of subarterial ventricular septal defect (VSD) in children. Methods    From October 2015 to April 2019, 21 children with subarterial VSD underwent surgical repair via left anterior minimally invasive thoracotomy. There were 13 males and 8 females, aged 5-13 (9.1±2.2) years, and weighing 22-55 (35.6±9.5) kg. The diameter of subarterial VSD was 4-15 (9.1±3.3) mm. Eight patients had right coronary valve prolapse, and 4 aortic valve regurgitation (3 mild and 1 mild-to-moderate). The minimally invasive surgery was performed via left parasternal thoracotomy through the second or third intercostal space. The peripheral perfusion was performed with femoral arterial and venous cannulation. After aortic cross-clamp (ACC), subarterial VSD was performed with direct suture of patch closure through an incision on the root of pulmonary artery. Results    All patients successfully underwent surgical repair (patch closure, n=15; direct suture, n=6) of subarterial VSD through left anterior minimally invasive thoracotomy. The cardiopulmonary bypass time was 45-68 (57.1±6.3) min. The ACC time was 23-40 (32.6±4.7) min. The postoperative ventilation time was 5-9 (6.3±1.3) h, postoperative in-hospital time was 5-8 (5.7±1.0) d and drainage volume was 33-105 (57.5±17.7) mL in postoperative 24 h. No death, residual VSD shunt, atrioventricular block, wound infection or thoracic deformity occurred during the perioperation or follow-up. Only one patient still had trivial aortic valve regurgitation. Conclusion    Left anterior minimally invasive thoracotomy could be safely and effectively applied to surgical repair of subarterial VSD in children, with satisfactory early- and mid-term outcomes.

Early- and mid-term results of emergent aortic arch replacement using moderate hypothermic circulatory arrest and unilateral selective antegrade cerebral perfusion / 中国胸心血管外科临床杂志

@#Objective    To investigate the results of emergent aortic arch replacement using moderate hypothermic circulatory arrest and unilateral antegrade cerebral perfusion (MHCA+UACP). Methods    We retrospectively analyzed the clinical data of 146 patients who underwent emergent aortic arch replacement using MHCA+UACP in our institution from January 2008 to June 2018. There were 111 males and 35 females aged 60.3±7.2 years. According to different surgical approaches, patients were divided into two groups: a total arch replacement (TAR) group (n=104) and a semi arch replacement (SAR) group (n=42). Right axillary artery was cannulated for cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB) and cerebral perfusion. Core temperature at the onset of MHCA was 23.4±1.4 ℃. UACP was initiated at 18-22 ℃ with the flow of 5-10 ml/(kg·min). Flow was adjusted to maintain cerebral perfusion pressure of 50–60 mm Hg. Results    CPB time was 235.0±42.0 min. Aortic clamp time was 154.0±29.0 min. Circulatory arrest (CA) time was 48.1±13.0 min. The CPB time and CA time of the TAR group were longer than those of SAR group. Overall mortality rate was 9.6%. Complications included permanent neurological dysfunction (PND), temporary neurological dysfunction (TND), acute kidney injury (AKI) requiring dialysis and delayed extubation (mechanical ventilation time > 72 hours). Overall incidence of PND and TND was 2.7% and 6.8%, respectively. The incidence of AKI requiring dialysis was 4.1%. The incidence of delayed extubation was 21.9%. No difference of mortality rate or incidence of complications was found between the two groups. The average follow-up was 63.0±33.1 months. The 5-year survival rate was 72.6% in the TAR group and 85.5% in the SAR group. Conclusion    Emergent aortic arch replacement using MHCA+UACP can be accomplished with excellent results.

Minimally invasive surgery through right lateral thoracotomy for atrial septal defect combined with atrial fibrillation in adults / 中国胸心血管外科临床杂志

@#Objective     To explore the technique of performing minimally invasive Cox Maze Ⅳ procedure by bipolar clamp through right lateral minithoracotomy for atrial septal defect (ASD) combined with atrial fibrillation (AF) in adults. Methods     Thirty-five patients (21 males, 14 females with age ranging from 45 to 73 years) with ASD and persistent or long-standing persistent AF received minimally invasive Cox Maze Ⅳ procedure and ASD closure from August 2012 to April 2016 at Department of Cardiothoracic Surgery, Xinhua Hospital. Diameter of left atrium ranged from 39 to 60 mm and left ventricle ejection fraction (LVEF) ranged from 48% to 62%. Diameter of ASD ranged from 20 to 35 mm. Cox-maze Ⅳ procedure was performed through right minithoracotomy entirely by bipolar radiofrequency clamp. Then, mitral or tricuspid valvuloplasty and surgical ASD closure was performed through right minithoracotomy.   Results     All patients successfully underwent this minimally invasive surgery. No patient needed conversion to sternotomy. The mean cardiopulmonary bypass time was 120.1±14.1 min. The mean aortic cross-clamp time was 79.5±12.2 min. There was no early death or pacemaker implantation perioperatively. The average length of hospital stay was 10.1±2.7 d. At a mean follow-up of 22.8±12.2 months, sinus rhythm was restored in 32 patients (32/35, 91.4%). Cumulative maintenance of normal sinus rhythm without AF recurrence at 2 years postoperatively was 89.1%±6.0%. Conclusion     The minimally invasive Cox Maze Ⅳprocedure performed by bipolar clamp through right minithoracotomy is safe, feasible, and effective for adult patients with ASD combined with AF.

Mid-term results of surgical treatment for prosthetic valve endocarditis / 中国胸心血管外科临床杂志

@#Objective    To analyze the mid-term results of surgical treatment for prosthetic valve endocarditis (PVE). Methods    We retrospectively analyzed the clinical data of 22 PVE patients operated in our institution from January 2006 to June 2016. There were 14 males and 8 females, aged 31-62 (49.6±11.8) years. PVE occurred following single valve replacements in 20 patients, including aortic valve replacements in 12 and mitral valve replacements in 8. Two patients suffered PVE after multi-valve replacement, which was aortic and mitral valves. Mechanical valves were used in all patients. Early PVE (<1 year after valve implantation) was detected in 10 patients, and late PVE (>1 year after valve implantation) in 12 patients. Blood culture was negative in 6 patients. Fifteen patients underwent emergent or urgent surgery (within one week after definite diagnosis) and 7 elective surgery. Paravalvular abscess was detected in 12 patients and repaired bovine pericardium. Results    Three patients (13.6%) died postoperatively in hospital, among whom two died of multiple systemic organ failure, and the other died of cerebral hemorrhage. Main postoperative complications included low cardiac output syndrome in 5 patients (22.7%), renal dysfunction in 6 (27.3%), respiratory failure in 5 (22.7%) and pulmonary infection in 4 (18.2%). During the follow-up of 6-120 (53.6±20.8) months, 2 deaths were observed in the middle term, including one sudden death and the other of cerebral infarction. No recurrent infection or valve-related surgery was observed during the follow-up. The survival rate was 86.4% in 1 year and 70.4% in 5 years. Conclusion    PVE is a very severe disease with high mortality. Early surgical treatment and complete removal of infectious tissues have preferable early- and mid-term results.

Risk factors and predictive value of the triple biomarkers for myocardial infarction in non-coronary cardiac surgery / 中国胸心血管外科临床杂志

@#Objective    To investigate the perioperative change and the predictive value of myoglobin, creatine kinase-MB (CK-MB), and cardiac troponin I (cTnI) in non-coronary cardiac surgery. Methods    The clinical data of 77 patients undergoing cardiac surgery for non-coronary lesions in the Shanghai Xinhua Hospital from March 2016 to November 2016 were retrospectively reviewed, including 37 males and 40 females with a median age of 2 years. There were simple congenital heart diseases in 45 patients, complicated congenital heart diseases in 10, and heart valve diseases in 22. The levels of myoglobin, CK-MB and cTnI were collected at the first postoperative day. The ventilation duration and the length of ICU stay were recorded. The recovery condition was accessed by senior surgeons. Results    The myoglobin, CK-MB and cTnI concentrations increased at the first postoperative day, and cTnI increased most significantly. The multivariate linear regression analysis indicated that these changes were only related to cardiopulmonary bypass time and aortic cross-clamping time (P<0.001). The high cTnI level was associated with prolonged ventilation duration and length of ICU stay. Fourteen patients (18.2%) did not recovered well, and their cTnI level was significantly higher than that of well-recovered patients (16.8±16.7 ng/ml vs. 5.1±4.4 ng/ml, P<0.001). The cTnI cutoff value of 5.33 ng/ml could predict whether patients had good postoperative recovery (area under the receiver operating characteristic  curve=0.862, P<0.001), and the predictive value of cTnI was superior to that of myoglobin and CK-MB. Conclusion    The increase levels of myoglobin, CK-MB and cTnI post non-coronary cardiac surgery are associated with prolonged cardiopulmonary bypass time and aortic cross-clamping time. cTnI on postoperative 24 h may predict good recovery, and it is a useful biomarker.