Membranous duodenal stenosis: initial experience with balloon dilatation in four children.

INTRODUCTION: We present a novel approach to the treatment of membranous duodenal stenosis (MDS). To our knowledge this is the first paper to describe balloon dilatation for this entity. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Four children, 2 boys and 2 girls, aged between 8 and 28 days, underwent duodenal balloon dilatation. Balloon dilatation was performed under general anaesthesia using standard angiography balloons per os. Balloon diameters ranged from 6 to 14 mm. RESULTS: All balloon dilatations were successful. None of the procedures showed procedural or post-procedural complications. None of the patients subsequently required surgical intervention. To date all children are doing well. DISCUSSION: The initial experience with balloon dilation of MDS showed a 100% success rate, without procedural or post-procedural complications. The results obtained in this small group of patients suggest that the use of balloon dilatation in cases of MDS may be a safe technique that can be readily performed by an experienced interventional radiologist.

Replacement of a prosthetic valve after the Bentall procedure.

Patients undergoing a composite graft replacement of the aortic root with reimplantation of the coronary ostia (Bentall procedure) are at risk for late prosthetic heart valve dysfunction: approximately 10% of the patients are expected to experience this complication at 10 years. Therefore, replacement of the prosthetic valve is indicated. This procedure involves technical problems related to the manipulation and the reconstruction of the composite graft without distortion of the coronary arteries. We describe a simple surgical approach to treat these particular patients.

[Follow-up of patients undergoing surgery for aortic dissection: evaluation with transesophageal echocardiography]. / Follow-up dei pazienti operati per dissezione aortica: valutazione con ecocardiografia transesofagea.

BACKGROUND: Transesophageal echocardiography (TEE) is a useful means in the diagnosis of acute aortic dissection (AD), owing to its very high sensibility and specificity. In this study, TEE was performed to assess post-surgical evolution. PATIENTS: Between 1982 and 1991, 119 pts. were operated on in our institution for AD (De Bakey I and II type): 87 pts. underwent replacement of the ascending aorta with a composite tubular graft bearing a mechanical valve; 26 had a simple tubular graft and 6 had aortic reconstruction. Sixty-eight of 72 discharged pts. were followed for up to 9.5 years (mean 4.5 +/- 2.6). Nine years after surgery actuarial survival of discharged pts. was 75%. Seven pts. died after a mean period of 3.4 years from surgery: only one died from postoperative complication (dehiscence of proximal anastomosis), none for aortic rupture distal to the graft. TEE was performed in 32 of these pts. and in other two operated on elsewhere, after 4.4 +/- 2.7 years from surgery; before the operation, type I AD was diagnosed in 23 pts. and type II in 11 pts. RESULTS: In 10/11 pts. with type II AD the aortic arch and the descending aorta looked normal; in one patient a localized intimal flap was found up to the arch. The descending aorta diameter was somewhat higher than in normal subjects (25.2 +/- 2.8 vs 21.9 +/- 3.7 mm), but in only one case was it beyond 2DS (32 mm). In all type I pts. an intimal flap persisted distal to the graft, along the whole thoracic aorta. Within the false lumen a flow was detected by color-Doppler in 14/23 pts. (61%), and spontaneous echo-contrast was noted in 14 pts. (61%). A thrombus was observed in 7 pts. (30%) and it was generally localized; in only one case it was extensive with total obliteration of the false lumen. In 16 pts. (70%) communications between the two lumina were found. The descending aorta diameter ranged from 25 to 53 mm, and mean value was higher than in normal subjects (34.2 +/- 6.2 vs 21.9 +/- 3.7 mm). CONCLUSIONS: In most pts. with type II AD, surgery can be a definitive treatment, as the remaining aorta keeps to normal size and appearance. In type I AD, operation is only palliative, as the dissection persists: the false lumen is often perfused through one or more communications with the true lumen and seldom its obliteration is noted. The persistence of dissection does not necessarily seem to be an ominous finding, as the survival of the study population was high and no patient died from aortic rupture. Nevertheless, long-term prognosis can be affected by aorta dilation that often (but not always) follows the persistence of wall dissection. For its high reliability, easy feasibility and low cost TEE is a very useful method for following up patients operated on for AD and for detecting those who are at higher risk of aortic rupture because of lumen dilation.

Clinical performance of low-profile bioprostheses: results at 10 years.

The purpose of this retrospective study is to evaluate the long-term performance of the Liotta minimally intrusive bioprosthesis (MIB) and to identify its most important risk factors. From January 1980 to March 1982, 73 patients (30 males and 43 females; mean age 45.5 years +/- 11.7 standard deviation; range 11 to 64) underwent operation for heart valve replacement with an MIB. Fifty-two mitral valve replacements (MVR), 16 aortic valve replacements (AVR), 4 mitral and aortic valve replacements (MAVR), and 1 mitral and tricuspid valve replacement (MTVR) have been performed (78 MIBs implanted). Global operative mortality has been 8.2% (6/73): 9.6% (5/52) for MVR and 6.2% (1/16) for AVR. The 10-year follow-up reaches 519 patient-years and 581 valve-years, and is 96.5% and 93.9% complete, respectively. Actuarial freedom from any patient- or valve-related event has been calculated at one time with its hazard function and its incidence normalized per 100 patient- and/or valve-years; statistical significance of difference between curves has been assessed. In this report, overall actuarial survival at 10 years is 79.4% +/- 5.3% SEM (standard error of the mean), including operative deaths (incidence = 2.6% per patient-year). Two patients experienced periprosthetic leakage (PL) at 4 and 9 years, respectively (incidence = 0.4% per valve-year). One patient underwent reoperation because of otherwise untreatable prosthetic valve endocarditis (PVE) at 5 years (0.2% per valve-year).(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

[Traumatic mitral insufficiency secondary to ruptured chordae tendineae. Discussion of one case (author's transl)]. / Insufficienza mitralica post-traumatica secondaria a rottura delle corde tendinee del lembo posteriore. Presentazione di un caso.

One case of mitral insufficiency due to traumatic rupture of the posterior chordae is described. The most consistent clinical and non-invasive cardiovascular findings were: previous non-penetrating thorax trauma; rapidly progressing congestive heart failure; loud apical systolic murmur; sinus rhythm; normal radiological evidence of the left atrium; echocardiographic disorderly movement and coarse fluttering of posterior leaflet, systolic fluttering of mitral valve, diastolic additional echoes between mitral leaflets and systolic ones into the left atrium (due to ruptured chordae?). This patient underwent a valvular replacement surgery. When attempting a diagnosis of this accident, while haemodynamic and angiographic data are helpful mainly in the definition of retrograde mitral flow severity, the echocardiographic findings appears to be more important to state precisely the site and the kind of the lesion.

[Open heart mitral commissurotomy: experience with 286 cases (author's transl)]. / Commissurotomia mitralica a cuore aperto Esperienza su 286 casi

A total of 286 patients with mitral stenosis or predominant mitral stenosis underwent open heart mitral commissurotomy at the San Camillo Hospital between May 1969 and May 1975; mitral annuloplasty was performed on 71 patients, subvalvular apparatus correction on 43. The operative mortality rate was 0,7% (no deaths among the last 220 patients). Early results, evaluated from intraoperative data, clinical course, acoustic and polygraphic postoperative findings, were good in 228 patients (80%), fairly good in 41 (14%), bad in 17 (6%).

[Single coronary artery originating from the left pulmonary artery of a "truncus arteriosus communis" in a living 39 year-old-patient (author's transl)]. / Coronaria unica con origine dall'arteria polmonare sinistra in un uomo di 39 anni ancora vivente, affetto da "truncus arteriosus communis"

Observation of a single coronary artery with origin from left pulmonary artery in a 39 year-old man who was brought to the operating table for correction of a persistent truncus arteriosus is discussed. The anomaly is expectional and has never been described intra vitam. The authors explain the possible formal genesis on the basis of the most accepted embriogenetic theories and they analyze the special physiopathological behaviour which allowed the long survival and the good physical state of the patient which is still only slightly reduced. In this case a precedent cerebral abscess and frequent hemophtysis indicated the surgical treatment of the truncus arteriosus which was nor performed because of the finding of the coronary anomaly not previously seen with angiography. The authors emphasize the necessity of an accurate pre-operative study of the coronary tree in all patients with persistent truncus arteriosus, to avoid the possibility that anomalies of the origin and course of the coronary arteries can make radical surgical treatment difficult or impossible.