A Rare Case of Carcinoid Constrictive Pericarditis.

We describe a case of atypical carcinoid heart disease. A 62-year-old woman with well-differentiated neuroendocrine tumor metastatic to the liver and lymph nodes presented with recurrent unilateral pleural effusions and lower extremity edema. Multimodality imaging and workup resulted in the diagnosis of carcinoid-related constrictive pericarditis, a rare form of carcinoid heart disease. (Level of Difficulty: Intermediate.).

Case report: recurrent metastatic breast cancer in internal mammary dissection bed discovered at the time of coronary bypass.

INTRODUCTION: Many patients who undergo coronary artery bypass surgery have a prior history of cancer and potentially chest radiation which is a known risk factor for coronary atherosclerosis. Prior radiation increases fibrosis and can make the dissection of the left internal mammary artery (LIMA) more challenging. CASE REPORT: A 72-year-old woman with a history of stage IIA pT2N0M0 left breast intraductal carcinoma treated with lumpectomy, adjuvant chemotherapy and radiation therapy 11 years prior presented to the emergency room with a non-ST elevation myocardial infarction and was taken for cardiac catheterization followed by three-vessel coronary artery bypass grafting. The LIMA was found to be encased in scar tissue and was deemed unsuitable as a conduit, and a saphenous vein graft was bypassed to the left anterior descending artery in its place. Pathologic review of the LIMA showed nests of tumor cells infiltrating within dense fibrous tissue with areas of necrosis and calcifications consistent with recurrent breast cancer. Interestingly the patients original breast cancer was positive for estrogen receptors (ER) and progesterone receptors (PR) ER and PR and negative for HER2 and she had therefore been treated with 5 years of hormonal therapy. The recurrent cancer found in the LIMA dissection bed at the time of bypass surgery was ER, PR, and HER2 negative, suggesting hormonal therapy driven clonal selection of these metastatic tumor cells. DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS: Scarring in the LIMA dissection bed in patients with a history of cancer and prior chest radiation should be carefully evaluated for the possibility of recurrent cancer. The gross appearance of tissue can be misleading and sending a biopsy for a formal frozen section histologic evaluation should be considered if there is any question of recurrent malignancy.

Surgical Technique to Facilitate Explantation of Mechanical Circulatory Support Devices: LVADs, BiVADs, and TAHs Before Heart Transplantation.

Thoughtful preparation of the surgical field at the time of initial mechanical circulatory support (MCS) implantation has the potential for decreasing operative time and surgical risk of subsequent heart transplantation. It sets the stage for expeditious, safe sternal reentry, and identification of structures necessary for initiation of cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB).

Hemodynamic Consequences of Laparoscopy for Patients on Mechanical Circulatory Support.

BACKGROUND: Technologic advances and superior survival with mechanical circulatory support (MCS) have led to an expanding population that develops intraabdominal conditions requiring intervention. Whether laparoscopy can be performed without detrimental effects on hemodynamics and device function is not well described. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Effects of laparoscopy performed on MCS were retrospectively assessed. Intraoperative hemodynamics and device function were compared with the same time interval 24 hours prior to surgery using intrapatient paired t tests. Outcomes included survival, transfusion, thromboembolic events, and infection. RESULTS: Twelve patients with ventricular assist devices or total artificial hearts underwent laparoscopy from 2012 to 2014. Median follow-up was 116 days. Operations included cholecystectomy, diagnostic laparoscopy, gastrojejunostomy, and gastrostomy. There were no differences between preoperative and intraoperative mean arterial pressure, heart rate, and inotrope or vasopressor requirements (P > .05). Device fill volume, flow, rate, and power were unchanged (P > .05), whereas pulsatility index decreased by 0.2 (95% confidence interval, 0.03, 0.36) with laparoscopy (P = .03). All intraoperative fluctuations in hemodynamics and device function improved with reduction of pneumoperitoneum, adjusting device speed, or pharmacologic support. There were no operative mortalities. Thirty-day survival and survival to discharge were 75% and 50%, respectively. Despite antiplatelet therapy and preoperative international normalization ratio of 2.2 ± 0.9, there were no re-operations for bleeding, and 50% did not require transfusion. Two patients with recent cardiac surgery had thromboembolic events: one stroke and one device thrombus. None had postoperative bacteremia or driveline infection. CONCLUSIONS: Laparoscopy can be performed on MCS with low morbidity and mortality and minimal perturbations in hemodynamics and device function.

Surgical therapy for heart failure.

Today's healthcare delivery system is challenged with an escalating number of heart failure patients who have exhausted medical therapy and overwhelmed the limits of organ transplantation. Scientific and technological advances over the last 20 years have now brought new surgical options to this vast patient population, ranging from ventricular restoration surgery to surgical gene therapy and beyond. This article reviews the myriad of surgical options that are available to these patients, their benefits and shortcomings, as well as potential future directions.

Chronic mitral valve rejection requiring replacement in a nine-year-old allograft.

A 43-year-old woman underwent mitral valve replacement for severe mitral regurgitation nine years after orthotopic heart transplant. Histopathology showed chronic rejection of the mitral valve with lymphocytic infiltrates. The patient is well at one year follow-up. This report describes an identified case of chronic mitral valve rejection requiring valve replacement.

Beyond complete myocardial revascularization: is it important and does it matter?

Constructing more than one graft per coronary system (left anterior descending, circumflex, right) has been widely and enthusiastically practiced for many years because it was thought to confer long-term freedom from major adverse coronary events. In reality the medical and surgical literature do not document the importance of maximizing the number of coronary vessels bypassed beyond one per system. Published series exhibit great variation in patient cohort, length of follow-up and lack the whole gamut of clinical endpoints. None of the published series provide an analysis based on subset stratification according to detailed coronary vessel anatomopathologic inventory in relation to revascularization strategy.