Effect of sequential coronary artery bypass venous grafting on right ventricular functions assessed by tissue Doppler echocardiography.

BACKGROUND: Coronary artery bypass graft surgery is a well-known and proven method of treatment for coronary artery disease. A modification of this method is complete revascularisation of the right ventricle by sequential bypass grafting of the right coronary artery, the effects of which on ventricular function need to be clarified. We sought to determine the effect of the sequential bypass graft method on right ventricular (RV) function utilising tissue Doppler echocardiography. METHODS: A total of 35 coronary artery disease patients (group A: 20 sequential grafts; group B: 15 individual grafts) were enrolled. Patients were examined pre-operatively with tissue Doppler echocardiography for RV function, and again postoperatively after the first month. RESULTS: Pre-operatively, there were no significant differences with regard to demographics or basal echocardiographic findings. On the other hand, postoperative right ventricular diastolic function was found to have improved significantly as the right ventricular E wave and E/A increased (9.5 ± 1.6 vs 7.6 ± 2.7 cm/s, p = 0.009 and 1.4 ± 0.2 vs 0.9 ± 0.2, p ≤ 0.01, respectively), while the A wave and isovolumic relaxation times (6.8 ± 2.1 vs 8.3 ± 3.4 cm/s, p < 0.03 and 55.2 ± 11.9 vs 87.2 ± 16.2 ms, p < 0.001, respectively) decreased. Although the S-wave peak amplitude decreased in group A patients, it did not reach statistical significance. CONCLUSIONS: Sequential, but not single, complete revascularisation of the right coronary artery appeared to improve the diastolic function of the right ventricle.

A rare case of left main coronary stenosis and neutropenia treated with G-CSF prior to CABG.

A 70-year-old male known with myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS) was admitted with effort angina and fever, which developed into unstable angina. On coronary angiography a critical stenosis of the left main coronary artery and 75% stenosis of the right coronary artery were found. On complete blood count the number of leukocytes was 1600/µl. We administered granulocyte colony-stimulating factor (G-CSF) twice daily to increase the number of leucocytes. After two days the number of leukocytes had increased to 8700/µl. The patient was admitted to the operating room and off-pump coronary artery bypass grafting was performed successfully.

Reduced P-selectin in hearts pretreated with fluvastatin: a novel benefit for patients undergoing open heart surgery.

OBJECTIVE: P-selectin is an adhesion molecule that plays a role in the pathogenesis of atherosclerosis. The aim of this study was to assess whether or not the treatment with fluvastatin for 3 weeks preoperatively would reduce the levels of circulating P-selectin in patients with coronary heart disease undergoing coronary artery bypass grafting surgery (CABG). MATERIALS AND METHODS: Forty-six patients referred to CABG operation were included in the study. The patients were randomized into two groups (1:1): one treated with fluvastatin (80 mg/day, fluvastatin group, n = 23), and the other one treated with placebo (placebo group, n = 23) for three weeks before surgery. All patients underwent CABG using CPB. Blood samples were collected at baseline (the day before surgery), before and after aortic cross-clamping (ACC), at postoperative 0 h (the end of surgical intervention), and at 4, 12, and 24 hours postoperatively. Concentrations of soluble P-selectin (sP-selectin) were analyzed. RESULTS: The sP-selectin values measured in the fluvastatin group were significantly lower than the values measured in the placebo group. There was less use of intraoperative inotropic agents in the fluvastatin group ( P < 0.015) and the difference in the length of ICU and hospital stay showed a significantly shorter stay for the fluvastatin group. CONCLUSIONS: Pretreatment with fluvastatin seemed to reduce P-selectin levels compared to patients given placebo, and hence, we think that pretreatment with a statin, fluvastatin in our study, might reduce the perioperative cardiac injury caused by cardiopulmonary bypass-induced inflammatory changes. We believe that routine preoperative use of fluvastatin should be carefully considered.

Minimally invasive mitral valve surgery: the subxiphoid approach.

BACKGROUND: This report describes mitral valve replacement using a unique subxiphoid approach with a lower ministernotomy and a skin crease incision and compares the operative and echocardiographic results to patients undergoing mitral valve replacements using previously described strategies. METHODS: Fifty-four patients underwent mitral valve replacement using a subxiphoid approach (group 1); 32 patients underwent mitral valve replacement, 11 patients underwent mitral valve replacement + tricuspid reconstruction, 2 patients underwent mitral valve replacement + tricuspid valve replacement, and 9 patients underwent mitral reconstruction. This group of patients was compared to 11 patients who underwent mitral valve replacement through a superior ministernotomy (group 2) and 29 patients who underwent mitral valve replacement with full median sternotomy (group 3, 22 mitral valve replacements, 2 mitral valve replacements + tricuspid reconstruction, 2 mitral reconstructions, and 3 mitral reconstructions + tricuspid reconstruction). RESULTS: There was no operative mortality in all groups. The operation lasted significantly longer in group 2 patients compared to group 1 and 3 patients (p < 0.01). Postoperative mediastinal drainage was significantly lower in groups 1 and 2 (p < 0.001). Pain assessment revealed no difference between the groups. Three patients in group 1 presented with pericardial effusion. Except for this complication, early postoperative echocardiographic findings of the patients were similar in all three groups. All patients were in New York Heart Association functional class I or II at the second postoperative month, irrespective of the surgical technique used. CONCLUSIONS: There was no prominent superiority of the ministernotomy approaches over the standard median sternotomy approach. However, the reliability of the subxiphoid approach is documented echocardiographically and any type of mitral replacement can be performed with this approach.

Minimally invasive replacement of ascending aortic aneurysms: intermediate term results.

BACKGROUND: Minimally invasive techniques have gained recent interest in the realm of cardiac surgery. This report describes our initial experience with graft replacement of ascending aortic aneurysms using a superior mini-sternotomy approach. METHODS: Between March 1997 and October 1997, four patients underwent operation for ascending aortic aneurysm via superior mini-sternotomy approach. There were two female and two male patients, ranging in age from 52 to 62 years (mean 53.7 +/- 7.6). All patients had the stigmata of Marfan's syndrome. Mean diameter of the ascending aortas was 6.1 +/- 0.9 cm. Composite graft replacement with coronary reimplantation was performed in all cases. In one patient hemiarch replacement was performed under total circulatory arrest. There was no hospital (30-day) mortality. Mean aortic cross clamp and cardiopulmonary bypass times were 63 +/- 14.1 minutes (range 44 to 78) and 116.7 +/- 43.3 minutes (range 81 to 177), respectively. One patient was re-explored for bleeding. RESULTS: Lengths of hospital stay ranged from 5 to 7 days (mean 5.5 +/- 1). Patients were followed-up for at least 18 months. One patient suffered a fatal stroke in her third postoperative month. All surviving patients were in NYHA Class I at the sixth postoperative month and thereafter. CONCLUSIONS: Minimally invasive graft replacement of ascending aortic aneurysms can be performed safely and effectively. Long term results are likely to be similar to those of conventional cases performed through a full median sternotomy.

Risk factors of reoperations for prosthetic heart valve dysfunction in the ten years 1984-1993.

From January 1984 to December 1993 a total of 154 patients (89 men and 85 women) required 160 reoperations for prosthetic heart valve dysfunction. Four patients required a second, two patients a third reoperation. Age was (mean +/- SD [range]) 38.8 +/- 10.2 (17 to 64) years. The primary operation was mitral valve replacement in 105 patients, aortic valve replacement in 20, and both aortic and mitral valve replacement in 29. The time interval between initial valve replacement and reoperation was 66.4 +/- 40 (3 to 288) months for the mechanical prostheses and 68.7 +/- 32 (24 to 140) months for bioprostheses; the difference was not statistically significant. Primary tissue failure was the most common cause of the reoperation for bioprostheses and valve thrombosis for mechanical prostheses. The hospital mortality rate was significantly higher in the replacement of mechanical prostheses (14/58 = 24.1% vs. 7/102 = 6.8%, p = 0.004). Low preoperative functional capacity and valve thrombosis were linked to higher mortality rates. It is discussed that monoleaflet mechanical valves yielded the highest operative mortality and that, excluding these, the risk of mortality in prosthetic valve reoperations today does not differ much from that in primary valve replacements.