Endoscopic vs Open Vein Harvest in Drug-Eluting Stents or Bypass Surgery for Left Main Disease Trial.

BACKGROUND: We investigated outcomes of coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) with endoscopic vein harvest (EVH) vs open vein harvest (OVH) within the Evaluation of XIENCE Versus CABG (EXCEL) trial. METHODS: All patients in EXCEL randomized to CABG were included in this study. For this analysis, the primary end points were ischemia-driven revascularization (IDR) and graft stenosis or occlusion at 5 years. Additional end points were as follows: a composite of death from any cause, stroke, or myocardial infarction; bleeding; blood product transfusion; major arrhythmia; and infection requiring antibiotics. Event rates were based on Kaplan-Meier estimates in time-to-first-event analyses. RESULTS: Of the 957 patients randomized to CABG, 686 (71.7%) received at least 1 venous graft with 257 (37.5%) patients in the EVH group and 429 (62.5%) patients in the OVH group. At 5 years, IDR was higher (11.5% vs 6.7%; P = .047) in the EVH group. At 5 years, rates of graft stenosis or occlusion (9.7% vs 5.4%; P = .054) and the primary end point (17.4% vs 20.9%; P = .27) were similar. In-hospital bleeding (11.3% vs 13.8%; P = .35), in-hospital blood product transfusion (12.8% vs 13.1%; P = .94), and infection requiring antibiotics within 1 month (13.6% vs 16.8%; P = .27) were similar between EVH and OVH patients. Major arrhythmia in the hospital (19.8% vs 13.5%; P = .03) and within 1 month (21.8% vs 15.4%; P = .03) was higher in EVH patients. CONCLUSIONS: IDR at 5 years was higher in the EVH group. EVH and OVH patients had similar rates of graft stenosis or occlusion and the composite of death, stroke, or myocardial infarction at 5 years.

Surgical treatment of postinfarction left ventricular pseudoaneurysm.

BACKGROUND: Left ventricular pseudoaneurysm from myocardial infarction is rare and is associated with a high risk of rapid enlargement and rupture. The purposes of this study were to describe its clinical presentation, assess the accuracy of diagnostic imaging modalities, and determine operative and late surgical results. METHODS: From January 1986 through December 2001, 30 patients aged 50 to 85 years (mean, 68; 70% male) underwent left ventricular pseudoaneurysm repair. Two surgical approaches were used: primary repair (n = 5, 17%) and patch closure (n = 25, 83%). Twenty-one patients (70%) had concomitant procedures, including coronary revascularization (n = 17, 57%) and mitral valve surgery (n = 9, 30%); 8 patients (29%) underwent emergent surgery. Clinical presentation, preoperative imaging data, and surgical outcomes were abstracted from medical records or obtained by patient follow-up. RESULTS: The most common clinical presentations were heart failure (n = 22, 73%) and angina (n = 11, 41%). Pseudoaneurysm was rarely suspected at clinical presentation. Contrast ventriculography was diagnostic in 54% of patients in whom it was performed, as opposed to 97% for two-dimensional echocardiography (p = 0.2). Postoperative intra-aortic balloon pump was required in 7 patients (23%). Hospital mortality was 20%, and late survival was 73%, 59%, and 45% at 1, 5, and 8 years, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: Left ventricular pseudoaneurysm should be suspected in postinfarction patients with unexplained heart failure. Echocardiography is usually diagnostic and is superior to ventriculography. The surgical mortality rate is elevated in this complex patient population. Long-term survival is also poor, mainly because of underlying ischemic cardiomyopathy.

Surgical treatment of pseudoaneurysm of the thoracic aorta.

OBJECTIVES: To examine the clinical profiles, operative outcomes, and late results of patients with pseudoaneurysm of the thoracic aorta. METHODS: From 1990 to 2002, 60 patients underwent repair of aortic pseudoaneurysm: ascending aorta in 70%, ascending aorta and arch in 15%, descending aorta in 10%, and arch alone in 5%. Mean age was 53 +/- 15 years, and 70% were men. Of these, 50 (83%) had undergone previous cardiac surgery, including 22 (37%) composite valve graft operations. The preferred cannulation site was femoral-femoral (n = 27, 45%), with deep hypothermic circulatory arrest in 62% and retrograde cerebral perfusion in 33%; more recently, however, axillary cannulation has been preferred. RESULTS: Principal etiologies were graft infection in ascending aorta pseudoaneurysm and trauma in descending aorta pseudoaneurysm. Fifteen patients (25%) presented with chest pain, 13 (22%) with heart failure, and 20% with moderate or severe aortic regurgitation. The pseudoaneurysm was resected and the aorta replaced (n = 45, 75%) or repaired (n = 15, 25%) using various methods. Hospital mortality was 6.7% (n = 4). Reexploration for bleeding was required in 8.3%, and 3.3% had postoperative stroke. At 30 days, 5 years, and 10 years, survival was 94%, 74%, and 60% and freedom from reoperation was 95%, 77%, and 67%, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: Most patients with aortic pseudoaneurysm require ascending aorta and/or arch replacement, which can be accomplished with low operative mortality and morbidity. Long-term survival and freedom from reoperation in these young patients parallel those expected for complex cardiac and aortic disease.

Bench repair of donor aortic valve with minimal access orthotopic heart transplantation.

While the number of people waiting heart transplantation increases, the number of organ donors decreases. This shrinking donor pool has prompted reassessment of donor selection for heart transplantation. Bench repair of a donor aortic valve was performed before minimal access orthotopic heart transplantation. Aortic insufficiency in the structurally normal tricuspid aortic valve was due to annular dilatation and was corrected with subcommissural annular plication. The postoperative period was uneventful. Follow-up at 4.5 years showed good results and no evidence of aortic regurgitation.

Minimally invasive left ventricular epicardial lead placement: surgical techniques for heart failure resynchronization therapy.

BACKGROUND: Epicardial lead placement for biventricular pacing is often a rescue procedure after failed coronary sinus cannulation. This study aims to determine perioperative and early postoperative outcome of minimally invasive left ventricular lead placement as a management strategy for heart failure, comparing minithoracotomy and endoscopic approaches. METHODS: From October 2002 through October 2003, 41 patients underwent minimally invasive left ventricular lead placement, 23 (56%) by minithoracotomy and 18 (44%) endoscopically. Thirty-one (76%) were males, 19 (46%) had previous cardiac surgery, 21 (51%) had ischemic cardiomyopathy, 17 (41%) were in New York Heart Association class III or IV, and 28 (65%) had implantable cardioverter-defibrillators. RESULTS: There were no in-hospital deaths, intraoperative complications, or failures to implant the left ventricular lead. Median operative time was longer for the endoscopic approach (188 minutes) than for minithoracotomy (151 minutes; p = 0.006). Preoperatively, the endoscopic group had more mitral regurgitation (median, 2.5 versus 1.0, respectively; p = 0.009). QRS duration was shorter postoperatively (mean change from preoperative, -32 +/- 24 ms; p < 0.0001); this change was unrelated to surgical approach. Impedance also was less postoperatively (mean change, -490 +/- 300 ohms; p < 0.0001), and the change was unrelated to surgical approach. Changes were greater the larger their preoperative values (p < 0.0001). Threshold increased with follow-up time (adjusted p < 0.0001), but impedance decreased (adjusted p = 0.0009); these trends were similar for both approaches. No changes were evident in left ventricular dimensions. CONCLUSIONS: Minimally invasive left ventricular epicardial lead placement is safe and effective, offering selection of the best pacing site with minimal morbidity; it can be considered a primary option for resynchronization therapy.

Tricuspid valve repair for biopsy-induced regurgitation in a heart transplant recipient.

Tricuspid regurgitation (TR) is a frequent complication after heart transplantation. The etiology of TR is multifactorial, but biopsy-induced flail leaflet is one of the most important mechanisms. A 61-year-old woman underwent heart transplant, but experienced several rejection episodes which required multiple surveillance endomyocardial biopsies. At three months after transplant, she required tricuspid valve repair due to symptomatic severe TR. The anterior leaflet was flail, with rupture of primary and secondary chordae. Valve repair was performed with a triple leaflet edge-to-edge technique. The procedure consisted of suture fixation of the prolapsed anterior leaflet joining to the septal and posterior leaflets, and placement of a 30-mm annuloplasty ring. The patient was uneventfully discharged home on day 7 with trivial TR. At a four-years post-transplant evaluation, she was in NYHA functional class I, with preserved ventricular function and trivial TR. She has been followed closely because of post-transplant coronary artery disease.