Common Arterial Trunk Repair by Means of a Handmade Bovine Pericardial-Valved Woven Dacron Conduit.

BACKGROUND: Surgical repair of common arterial trunk (CAT) by means of a homograft conduit has become a standard practice. We report our experience in the correction of this heart disease with a handmade bovine pericardial-valved woven Dacron conduit as an alternative procedure to homografts, with a focus on early, mid-term, and long-term results. METHODS: We designed a retrospective study that included 15 patients with a mean age of 1.5 years (range: three months to eight years), who underwent primary repair of simple CAT. Right ventricular outflow tract was reconstructed in all the cases with this handmade graft that was explanted at the time of its biological stenotic degeneration. A peeling procedure was performed at this time, in order to reconstruct the right ventricle-to-pulmonary artery continuity. RESULTS: Overall mortality was 13.3% (one death at the early postoperative primary repair and the other at the mid-term postoperative peeling reoperation). Actuarial survival rate was 93.3%, 86.7%, and 86.7% at 5, 10, and 15 years, respectively. All of the 14 survivors developed stenosis of the handmade conduit at the mid-term period (8 ± 3 years), but after the peeling procedure, 13 survivors remain asymptomatic to date. CONCLUSIONS: Primary repair of common arterial trunk using a handmade conduit can be performed with very low perioperative mortality and satisfactory mid-term and long-term results, which can be favorably compared with those reported with the use of homografts. When graft obstruction develops, peeling procedure is a good option because it does not affect the overall survival, although long-term outcomes warrant further follow-up.

[Operative results in cardiovascular surgery of the neonate]. / Resultados inmediatos en cirugía cardiovascular neonatal.

OBJECTIVE: To present our institutional postoperative results in cardiovascular surgery of the neonate, and to give an idea of its contribution to the national problematic knowledge in this area. MATERIAL AND METHODS: A retrospective, descriptive, and observational study was carried out, including all neonates with congenital heart disease who were operated at the Ignacio Chávez National Cardiology Institute in a 7 year period. We made special emphasis in postoperative morbidity and mortality, as well as in the risk factors for early mortality. RESULTS: We operated on 484 neonates with congenital heart disease due to total anomalous pulmonary venous conection, classic transposition of great arteries, pulmonary atresia, and aortic coarctation. Causes for early mortality were cardiac failure, pulmonary hypertension, pulmonary sepsis, and arrhythmias. Operative mortality was 12.2% and was due mainly to congenital heart disease with 5 and 6 RACHS-1 risk score. Risk factors for operative mortality were: age < 15 days, body surface area < 0.20 m2, weight < 4 kg, and univentricular heart physiology. CONCLUSIONS: There is still a high operative mortality for complex neonatal heart disease in this series. Our institutional outcomes can not be extrapolated to the rest of the country, but highlights several challenges that national pediatric health care institutions and associations must assume in order to improve the attention that neonatal patients demand.

[Congenital heart disease in Mexico. Regionalization proposal]. / Problemática de las cardiopatías congénitas en México. Propuesta de regionalización.

Congenital cardiopathies are the most frequent congenital malformations. Reports of its prevalence around the world range from 2.1 to 12.3 for every 1000 newborns. Prevalence in our country remains unknown, but it probably occupies sixth place for mortality in infants less than a year old, and third place for mortality in those aged between 1 and 4 years. Based on birthrate, it is calculated that 10 to 12 000 infants in our country have some cardiac malformation. To understand the magnitude of the problem, it is important to identify the global number of newborns with some congenital cardiopathy each year and the type of malformation that they have, in order to determine the necessary resources and to plan their distribution. The main objective of regionalization is the justification of the resources with an emphasis in the specialized medical services to provide the best results for the patients. Hence, reason, based on the resources of each state, as well as their natality and infant mortality rates related to congenital cardiovascular pathology, we should proceed to regionalize the attention, and to simultaneously create a trustworthy database of the congenital cardiopathies. This should have many benefits, such as increase the number of total attended cases, improve the quality of attention, use appropriately the existent resources, and -surely- decrease the infant mortality.

[Importance of the heart-brain binomial in the management of congenital heart disease]. / Importancia del binomio corazón-cerebro en el manejo integral de las cardiopatías congénitas.

A case of a two month infant with complex congenital heart disease (aortic coarctation with ventricular septal defect) associated to a cellular brain migration failure is presented. The management strategy consisted on the correction of congenital heart disease by means of a two-stage surgery without a further preoperative evaluation of the neurological status. The patient developed several perioperative complications such as two episodes of cardiac arrest, reconnection to cardiopulmonary bypass, cardiac tamponade, chilothorax and septic shock. A neurological protocol consisting in electroencephalography, brain magnetic resonance and Single Photon Emission Computed Tomography (SPECT) was practiced during the postoperative period, which detected microgyria with paquigyria and a cellular brain migration failure was suspected. The final outcome was death due to multisystemic failure and the autopsy confirmed the neurological disease, as well as poor life function prognosis. Should the heart-brain binomial had been considered in an integral preoperative evaluation, the therapeutical approach could have been modified.

Importancia del binomio corazón-cerebro en el manejo integral de las cardiopatías congénitas / Importance of the heart-brain binomial in the management of congenital heart disease

Se presenta el caso de un lactante de dos meses con una cardiopatía congénita compleja del tipo coartación aórtica con comunicación interventricular asociada a un trastorno de migración celular cerebral. El manejo consistió en la corrección de la cardiopatía congénita en dos tiempos quirúrgicos sin haber profundizado en la evaluación neurológica preoperatoria. El paciente desarrolló múltiples complicaciones perioperatorias que incluyeron paro cardiaco en dos ocasiones, reconexiones consecutivas a circulación extracorpórea, tamponamiento cardiaco, quilotórax y choque séptico. Concomitante a las complicaciones postoperatorias, se realizó una evaluación neurológica secundaria bajo un protocolo de abordaje neurológico que consistió en electroencefalografía, resonancia nuclear magnética y tomografía por emisión de positrón (SPECT). De esta forma se detectó paquigiria con microgiria y se sospechó trastorno de migración celular cerebral. La evolución final fue hacia el deceso por falla multisistémica y la autopsia confirmó la patología neural, así como el pobre pronóstico para la función y la vida. De haberse considerado en el preoperatorio un estudio integral que incluyera el binomio corazón-cerebro, el planteamiento terapéutico podría haberse modificado.

A case of a two month infant with complex congenital heart disease (aortic coarctation with ventricular septal defect) associated to a cellular brain migration failure is presented. The management strategy consisted on the correction of congenital heart disease by means of a two-stage surgery without a further preoperative evaluation of the neurological status. The patient developed several perioperative complications such as two episodes of cardiac arrest, reconnection to cardiopulmonary bypass, cardiac tamponade, chilothorax and septic shock. A neurological protocol consisting in electroencephalography, brain magnetic resonance and Single Photon Emission Computed Tomography (SPECT) was practiced during the postoperative period, which detected microgyria with paquigyria and a cellular brain migration failure was suspected. The final outcome was death due to multisystemic failure and the autopsy confirmed the neurological disease, as well as poor life function prognosis. Should the heart-brain binomial had been considered in an integral preoperative evaluation, the therapeutical approach could have been modified.

Problemática de las cardiopatías congénitas en México: Propuesta de regionalización / Congenital heart disease in Mexico: Regionalization proposal

Las malformaciones congénitas más frecuentes son las cardiopatías congénitas. La prevalencia reportada a nivel mundial va de 2.1 a 12.3 por 1000 recién nacidos. En nuestro país, se desconoce su prevalencia real; como causa de muerte infantil, se ubica en el sexto lugar en menores de un año y como la tercera causa en los niños entre uno y cuatro años; con base en la tasa de natalidad, se calcula que alrededor de 10 mil a 12 mil niños nacen con algún tipo de malformación cardiaca. Es de suma importancia conocer la magnitud del problema, identificar el número de niños que nacen cada año con una cardiopatía congénita y de manera desglosada por el tipo de la malformación; lo que permitiría determinar con mayor exactitud los recursos necesarios y planear su distribución. La regionalización tiene como objetivo la racionalización de los recursos con énfasis en servicios médicos muy especializados con la finalidad de lograr un mejor resultado para los pacientes. Por lo que, de manera simultánea a la creación de una base de datos fidedigna de las cardiopatías congénitas y, con base a la tasas de natalidad y mortalidad infantil secundaria a patología cardiovascular congénita y recursos en cada Estado, se debería proceder a regionalizar la atención. Lo anterior tendría diversos beneficios, ya que permitiría aumentar el número de casos atendidos, mejorar la calidad de la atención, aprovechar adecuadamente los recursos existentes y, seguramente, obtener una disminución de la mortalidad infantil.

Congenital cardiopathies are the most frequent congenital malformations. Reports of its prevalence around the world range from 2.1 to 12.3 for every 1000 newborns. Prevalence in our country remains unknown, but it probably occupies sixth place for mortality in infants less than a year old, and third place for mortality in those aged between 1 and 4 years. Based on birthrate, it is calculated that 10 to 12 000 infants in our country have some cardiac malformation. To understand the magnitude of the problem, it is important to identify the global number of newborns with some congenital cardiopathy each year and the type of malformation that they have, in order to determine the necessary resources and to plan their distribution. The main objective of regionalization is the justification of the resources with an emphasis in the specialized medical services to provide the best results for the patients. Hence, reason, based on the resources of each state, as well as their natality and infant mortality rates related to congenital cardiovascular pathology, we should proceed to regionalize the attention, and to simultaneously create a trustworthy database of the congenital cardiopathies. This should have many benefits, such as increase the number of total attended cases, improve the quality of attention, use appropriately the existent resources, and -surely- decrease the infant mortality.

Morfometria del colon sigmoide / Morphometry of sigmoid colon

Se revisaron 245 estudios radiologicos de colon en pacientes que consultan por estrenimento y dolor abdominal entre 1984 y 1992 en los Servicios el Hospital de Clinicas, tomandose como patron de estduio cualitativo la morfologia del asa sigmoide de acuerdo a la clasificacion de Gregoire para el tipo de colon y la de Kantor para los tipos de dolicosigmoide. En 172 (70 por ciento ) pacientes se observo dolicosigmoide, de los cuales en 102 (59 por ciento ) se presentaba el asa pelvica central, en 58 (34 por ciento ) el doble angulo esplenico y en 12 (7 por ciento ) asa pelvica derecha. Se enfatiza la importancia clinica de esta alteracion en relacion a la patologia frecuente en el medio, particularmente el volvulo de sigmoides que es la causa mas importante de obstruccion intestinal baja.