Transversal trans-septal biatrial approach for mitral valve surgery.

A surgical approach to the mitral valve is very important to visualize all valvular and subvalvular structures. We have used a transversal trans-septal biatrial approach in some mitral procedures. From January 1994 to May 1994, 11 patients were operated on using this technique. Patient ages ranged from 28 to 74 years. Five cases (45.5%) were cardiac reoperations and six (54.5%) were first operations. Three case (27.3%) were mitral reconstructions, 3 (27.3%) were mitral replacement due to mechanical mitral valve thrombosis, 1 (9.1%) as a result of bioprosthetic mitral valve degeneration, 4 (36.4%) were mitral valve replacements for calcified mitral valve disease one case (9.1%) was tricuspid valve replacement due to severe tricuspid insufficiency. There were 4 case (36.4%) of tricuspid valvuloplasties besides the mitral procedures. There was no operative mortality, and all patients preserved their preoperative cardiac rhythm. No important bleeding or supra-ventricular arrhythmias were seen in any case. Aortic cross-clamping and extracorporeal circulation times were comparable with the traditional approach through the left atrial alone. So, we think that this is a very easy and useful technique to expose the mitral valve during some procedures above it, overall when the left atrium is small and total visualization of the mitral is not possible with the traditional approach through the left atrial alone.

[Glycogenosis type II, infantile variant. Report of a case and review of the literature]. / Glucogenosis tipo II variedad infantil. Informe de un caso y revisión de la literatura.

A case of glycogenosis type II infantile onset (Pompe's disease) is presented, and the literature is reviewed in order to establish the basis of the diagnostic suspect. We studied an 8-month old female with muscular weakness--and cardiac failure. The chest X-ray: cardiomegaly; electrocardiogram: PR interval of 0.06 seconds, gigant QRS complexes, biventricular hypertrophy, and the echocardiogram and cineangiography: left ventricle hypertrophy and hypokinesia. The patient died because of refractory heart failure. Histochemical examination demonstrated excessive intracellular accumulation of glycogen. Also, in the muscle, the kidneys and the liver we did not find any alpha 1,4 glucosidase. Then, the diagnosis of glycogenosis type II infantile onset was established. Finally, we conclude that this disease should be suspected in every infant with muscular weakness, cardiac failure, cardiomegaly, electrocardiogram with shortness of PR interval, gigant QRS complexes and biventricular hypertrophy, and that needs to be confirmed by muscle biopsy. At the moment, there has not been reported any case of Pompe's disease in the Mexican literature.

Valve surgery at the Hospital de Cardiología y Neumología del Centro Médico Nacional IMSS.

From January 1964 until February 1985, we performed 8,370 prosthetic valve procedures; this represents 54.32% of our total surgical load. Approximately 93% of the replacements were for rheumatic valve disease; the rest were for ischemic, myxomatous, degenerative, congenital, and traumatic heart disease. All cases were between New York Heart Association (NYHA) Classes II and IV; almost all patients had heart catheterizations before surgery. During the last 6 years, all patients had echocardiograms before undergoing heart catheterization.

[Infectious endocarditis of the heart valves and valvular prostheses. report of 21 cases]. / Endocarditis infecciosa de válvulas cardíacas y prótesis valvulares. reporte de 21 casos.

During 1978, and 1979, the Surgery Division of The Cardiology and Pneumology Hospital of The National Medical Center (Mexican Institute for Social Security), studied and treated surgically twenty one cases -- in twenty patients -- of infectious endocarditis. Nine patients had an active infection in the heart valves and twelve in the prosthesis. The survival rate of the first group was 88.88% and of the second group 58.33%. The causes of death were due to the hemodynamic damage that the valvular or prosthetic dysfunction leads to, when there is a delay in the arrival of the patient to a medical unit of third level. The conventional medical treatment applicable to a reduced number of cases whose characteristics are discussed do not operate when dealing with patients with infected prosthesis or valve infections caused by non-gram positive bacteria. We conclude that this problem demands a better approach, principally surgical, to improve the prognosis of these patients.