• Journal of Chest Surgery
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• v.46 no.4
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• pp.249-255
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• 2013

Background: The continuous suture (CS) technique has several advantages as a method for simple, fast, and secure aortic valve replacement (AVR). We used a simple CS technique without the use of a pledget for AVR and evaluated the surgical outcomes. Materials and Methods: Between October 2007 and 2012, 123 patients with aortic valve disease underwent AVR alone (n=28) or with other concomitant cardiac procedures (n=95), such as mitral, tricuspid, or aortic surgery. The patients were divided into two groups: the interrupted suture (IS) group (n=47), in which the conventional IS technique was used, and the CS group (n=76), in which the simple CS technique was used. Results: There were two hospital deaths (1.6%), which were not related to the suture technique. There were no significant differences in cardiopulmonary bypass time or aortic cross-clamp time between the two groups for AVR alone or AVR with concomitant cardiac procedures. In the IS group, two patients had prosthetic endocarditis and one patient experienced significant perivalvular leak. These patients underwent reoperations. In the CS group, there were no complications related to the surgery. Postoperatively, the two groups had similar aortic valve gradients. Conclusion: The simple CS method is useful and secure for AVR in patients with aortic valve disease, and it may minimize surgical complications, as neither pledgets nor braided sutures are used.

• Journal of Chest Surgery
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• v.11 no.3
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• pp.303-315
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• 1978

During the full 10-year period from June 1968 through June 1978, 112 consecutive patients underwent isolated or double valve replacement. A total of 130 valves were used in aortic, mitral or tricuspid positions: 63 prosthetic valves in 56 and 67 glutaraldehyde-preserved porcine aortic valves in 56 patients. There were 31 early and 9 late deaths with a cumulative mortality rate of 35.7 percent. Eighty-five patients survived longer than 10 days postoperatively were studied for the occurrence of thromboembolism and complications related to anticoagulant therapy. At the end of follow-up period, 68 patients were on Coumadin; 74 were on Persantin with or without Coumadin; 11 were off any antithrombotic drugs with 6 of them being off electively after 6 months of tissue valve replacement. Thromboembolism occurred in 7 [8.2%] of 85 patients or 10.9%/patient-year. Embolic rates were as follows: one of 18 patients anticoagulated [5.6%] or 6.1%/patient-year and 4 of 16 patients not anticoagulated [25.0%] or 17.8%/patient-year for the prosthetic valve replacement; and one of 40 patients anticoagulated [2.5%] or 7.9%/patient-year and one of 11 patients not anticoagulated [9.1%] or 7.9%/patient-year for tissue valve replacement. Three complications of major bleeding were experienced by 3 patients during the follow-up period, being related to Coumadin therapy. The importance of proper anticoagulation were stressed for the successful management of patients after cardiac valve replacement, both prosthetic and tissue valves.

• Journal of Chest Surgery
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• v.18 no.3
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• pp.383-390
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• 1985

108 cases of open heart surgery were done at our department in 1984. There were 58 male and 50 female patients ranging in age from 20 months to 52 years. 75 cases were congenital heart disease, and 33 cases were acquired heart disease. There were 75 congenital heart anomalies with 5 operative deaths [6.7%], consisting of 62 acyanotic cases with 2 deaths [3.2%] and 13 cases of cyanotic cases with 3 deaths [23.1]. In 33 patients of acquired valvular disease, 29 valves were implanted; 20 mitral valve replacement with 2 death [10%], 2 aortic valve replacement with 1 death [50%], 2 double valve replacement [MVR+AVR] and 2 open mitral commissurotomy plus aortic valve replacement with no death. Postoperative, Warfarin sodium was medicated with checking prothrombin time. Finally, the operative mortality was 9.2% in congenital anomaly, and 9.1% in acquired heart disease, overall mortality rate was 9.3%.

• Journal of Chest Surgery
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• v.22 no.4
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• pp.693-697
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• 1989

A forty-eight-year-old female patient with ascending aortic aneurysm with aortic insufficiency underwent a modified Bentall operation. The ascending aorta and the aortic valve were replaced with a composite graft containing a St. Jude valve. The coronary orifices were anastomosed to the tubular Dacron prosthesis by means of a second smaller Gore-Tex tube, and a fistula between the aneurysmal sac and the right atrial appendage was created to drain oozing from the prosthesis. The postoperative course was uneventful and the patient was discharged without complication. She is doing well on the 14 months follow-up.

• Journal of Chest Surgery
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• v.48 no.5
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• pp.359-363
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• 2015

The comprehensive aortic root and valve reconstruction (CARVAR) technique comprises two main procedures, which are aortic root reduction using prosthetic rings and neo-leaflet reconstruction using a pericardial patch. Although concerns about durability of the pericardial neo-leaflet have been raised in the CARVAR technique, complications related to leaflet reconstruction have not been reported to date. The present report describes two cases of complications associated with leaflet reconstruction. After resecting the reconstructed leaflets, aortic valve replacement was performed in the patients. Careful and close follow-up is required for patients who had undergone CARVAR surgery, and aortic valve surgery should be performed in a timely manner if needed.

• Journal of Yeungnam Medical Science
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• v.35 no.1
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• pp.17-26
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• 2018

Transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI) has evolved from a challenging intervention to a standardized, simple, and streamlined procedure with over 350,000 procedures performed in over 70 countries. It is now a novel alternative to surgical aortic valve replacement in patients with intermediate surgical risk and its indications have been expanded to cohorts with bicuspid aortic valves, low surgical risk, and younger age and fewer comorbidities. Attention should be paid to further reducing remaining complications, such as paravalvular aortic regurgitation, conduction abnormalities, cardiac tamponade, and stroke. The aim of this review is to provide an overview on the rapidly changing field of TAVI treatment and to explore past achievements, current issues, and future perspectives of this treatment modality.

• Journal of Chest Surgery
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• v.26 no.12
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• pp.909-914
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• 1993

Complete and optimal visualization of the mitral apparatus is a prerequisite for accurate repair or replacement of the mitral valve. A vertical left atriotomy just posterior to the interatrial groove is the most commonly used approach. However,exposure can be difficult under certain circumstances,such as small left atrium or reoperation. Other approaches have been advocated to deal with this difficult situations. We used an extended transseptal approach in 10 patients and good clinical results and excellent educational effects were obtained. The extended transseptal approach combines two semicircular atrial incisions circumscribing the tricuspid and mitral annuli anteriorly and superiorly,allowing exposure of the mitral valve by deflecting the ventricular side using stay sutures. The right atrium is opened anteriorly along the atrioventricular sulcus. The atrial septum is incised vertically through the fossa ovalis. Right atrial and septal incisions are joined at the superior end of the interatrial septum and extended across the dome of the left atrium to the left atrial appendage. The mitral valve was replaced in all 10 patients. Four of 10 patients had other simultaneous valve procedure: one had aortic valve replacement: 2 underwent tricuspid annuloplasty: 1 had aortic valve replacement and tricuspid annuloplasty. There was no hospital death and complication. Among the 5 patients who had atrial fibrillation preoperatively,4 had atrial fibrillation postoperatively,1 converted to sinus rhythm. The five patients who were in normal sinus rhythm preoperatively remained in sinus rhythm after replacement. A review of our results with this approach confirms the efficacy and safty of this method. So we recommanded this approach for routine mitral valve procedure,especially difficult situations,such as a small left atrium or the redo operation.

• Journal of Chest Surgery
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• v.22 no.2
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• pp.220-224
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• 1989

In candidates for aortic valve replacement [AVR]it is our primary intention to implant the largest possible vale prosthesis of at least 23 mm in diameter in patients with severe valvular aortic stenosis. However, in many patients there is an additional subvalvular asymmetric septal hypertrophy which in some cases may cause an postextrasystolic increase of the LV-aortic gradient. Another component of the aortic stenosis syndrome is a narrow valvular ring, or a combination of both. After complete removal of the diseased valve and decalcification the narrow aortic ring [< 23 mm] can be widened firstly by transaortic subvalvular septal myectomy- [TSM] thus unfolding the left ventricular outflow tract[LVOT]and secondly by extending the oblique aortic incision into the aortic valve ring or further down into the anterior leaflet of the mitral valve. The sub-and supra-valvular defect will be closed by patch enlargement of the aortic root [PEAR] using autologous pericardium. These techniques allow a considerable enlargement of the valvular ring of about 4 to 10 mm in circumference. In a retrospective study using a computerized program, 847 patients with AVR [1980-1984]were reviewed to evaluate the intraoperative hemodynamic results mainly concerning relief of the transvalvular gradient. In 626 patients AVR was performed, 151 patients had double valve replacement [AVR+MVR], and 70 patients had AVR plus additional surgical procedures. Concentrating on the AVR-group [n=626] there were 103 patients with TSM, 24 patients with PEAR and 20 patients with TSM+PEAR which demonstrated that in a total, of 147 patients of this groups [23.5%] an additional procedure was necessary. The Statistical evaluation of the intraoperative pressure measurements before and after AVR in relation to the size of the implanted prostheses indicated the lowest preoperative mean gradient in patients with AVR alone, the highest in patients who afforded TSM plus PEAR. However, after AVR the mean gradients in all three groups were very low [mean 5 to 10 mmHg]. These data indicate that in patients with a narrow aortic ring and additional considerable ASH, TSM and PEAR are suitable techniques to enlarge the aortic root to enable the implantation of an adequate aortic valve prosthesis. Long-term controls have shown that autologous pericardium is a qualified graft material for the ascending aorta.

• Journal of Chest Surgery
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• v.54 no.6
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• pp.554-557
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• 2021

Surgeons are increasingly using the right mini-thoracotomy approach to perform aortic valve surgery. This approach has shown better results in terms of blood loss and length of hospital stay than the sternotomy approach. For selected patients requiring aortic root and ascending aorta surgery, a right mini-thoracotomy approach may prove beneficial. In our technique, we placed a 5-cm horizontal skin incision in the right second intercostal space. Femoro-femoral cardiopulmonary bypass was established. A valved aortic conduit was used for aortic root replacement. The patient's postoperative course was uneventful, with a short hospital stay. This technique offers a minimally invasive approach to aortic root and ascending aorta surgery with easy adaptability and reduced costs.

• Journal of Chest Surgery
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• v.52 no.2
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• pp.109-111
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• 2019

We report the case of a female patient who underwent late reoperation following endocarditis surgery. The patient first underwent surgery at 22 years of age for endocarditis with aortic and tricuspid insufficiency. She underwent aortic root replacement with a homograft and tricuspid valve replacement with a tissue valve. Coronary artery bypass using the internal thoracic artery and ligation of the left main coronary artery were performed. Ten years later, failure of the homograft and the tricuspid valve developed. In the second operation, the patient underwent a successful Bentall operation and tricuspid valve replacement with a mechanical valve under deep hypothermia and retrograde cold cardioplegia without drainage.