• Journal of Chest Surgery
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• v.38 no.3 s.248
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• pp.204-213
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• 2005

In spite of the improvement in the quality of artificial heart valves and surgical techniques, the incidence of the complications following valve replacement is still high. We reviewed the clinical results of the valve replacements peformed in Korean University Anam Hospital during the last 26 years. Material and Method: The data of 571 patients who received valve replacement between December 1976 and December 2003 were reviewed. Result: There were 304 cases of MVR which was the most common procedure performed. There were 122 cases of AVR, and 111 cases of AVR with MVR. Among the 47 patients who received redo operation 38 cases were redo cases including 31 cases of MVR. $32.5\%$ of the patients who had tissue valve replacement had second valve replacement with 10.2 $\pm$ 3.9 years interval. $24.3\%$ (139/571) of the patients developed valve related complications and cerebral infarction was the highest in frequency. Atrial fibrillation was related with increased complication rates and the mechanical valve replaced group had higher hemorrhagic complication rate than tissue valve replaced group. The operative mortality was $3.68\%$ and the most common cause of the failure was low output syndrome. The operative mortality was higher in the patient group who had valve replacement before the year 1990. The patient group who had mechanical valve replacement had higher operative mortality rate th;3n the tissue valve group. The 5-year survival rate was $92.2\%$ and 10 year survival rate was $85.7\%$. Conclusion: The operative mortality of valve replacement has been improved. The mechnical valve replaced patients had higher hemorrhagic complication rate than the tissue valve replaced patients and more tissue valve replaced patients received redo valve replacement.

• Journal of Chest Surgery
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• v.30 no.9
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• pp.891-898
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• 1997

Between May 1984 and January 1996, 130 patients were replaced cardiac valve using 150 St. Jude Medical prosthetic valves(42 aortic, 68 mitral, 20 aortic and mitral valve replycements). Follow-up was 97.6% complete. The early mortality rate was 5.4%, and late mortality rate was 4.9%. The valve-related late mortality rate was 3.3%. Of late complications, there were 6 anticoagulant related hemorrhages, 4 thromboembolisms and 1 paravalvular leakage. Linearized rates of late complication and valve-related late mortality were as follows: total late complications, .1.68o per patient-year: anticoagulant related hemorrhages, 0.92% per patient-year: thromboembolism, 0.61% per patient-year: paravalvular leakage, 0.15% per patient-year: reoperation, 0.15% per patient-year: and valve-related late mortalities, 0.61% per patient-year. Actuar al event free rate at 10 years was 87.4 $\pm$ 3.2%. The overall actuarial survival rate was 90.4$\pm$2.7% at 5 years, 87.5$\pm$3.3% at 10 years. Ninety eight percent of the survivors were in the New York Heart Association functional class I or II at the end of follow-up. There was significant improvement of cardiothoracic ratio. In conclusion, this study suggests the excellent durability of the St. Jude Medical Heart valve and remarkable functional benefit for the majority of the patients. However, prosthesisrelated complications are still common. Outcome is strongly related to the patient's preoperative cardiac condition and to the adequacy of anticoagulation control.

• Journal of Chest Surgery
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• v.29 no.1
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• pp.7-13
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• 1996

The conventional glutaraldehyde (GA) fixation method of tissue valves is considered to be responsible for accelerated valve degeneration. The release of toxic GA from the valve tissue is believed to limit endothelial cell (EC) ingrowth. Removal of toxic GA by reaction with L-glutamic acid and storage in a Paraben solution may offer good EC growth. To investigate the conditions for endothelialization of tissue valves, the growth properties of ECs on the conventionally and alternatively treated pericardial tissue were compared. Conventional preparation included zero-pressure fixation for 72 hours in phosphated-buffered saline (PBS) solution containing 0.5% GA at 4$^{\circ}C$ and storage into PBS containing 0.2% GA(group I). Alternatively treated pericardial tissues were divided into three postfixation treatment groups : (1) storage in PBS solution containing Paraben(group II), (2) treatment with PBS containing 8$^{\circ}C$ L-glutamic acid(PH 7.35) and storage in PBS solution containing Paraben (g oup III), (3) treatment with L-glutamic acid dissolved in distilled water (PH 3.5) (group IV). Pericardial tissue were transferred into the 24-well plate after storage for 4 weeks. ECs were harvested enzymatically from the bovine pulmonary artery and grown to confluence on culture flask surfaces. Detached ECs by trypsin were incubated into the each well of the 24-well plate including test pericardial tissues. Cells were detached by trypsin, 1, 2, 3, 5, 7 days after incubation and counted on the hemacytometer. Cell viability test was performed by frypan-blue exclusion method. Acute cell death in the group I were found even after prolonged washing. The group II showed prolonged cell survival compared with the group I. Both group III and group IV showed better cell growth than group II. There was no statistically significant difference between group III and group IV method in terms of EC growth. This results suggest that treatment by L-glutamic ac id and storage in a Paraben solution be a promising approach for improvement of durability of GA-treated tissue valves.

• Journal of Chest Surgery
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• v.55 no.1
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• pp.69-76
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• 2022

Background: While the use of bioprosthetic valves for mitral valve replacement (MVR) is increasing, very few studies have compared bovine pericardial and porcine valves in the mitral position to help guide bioprosthetic selection. Methods: In the present study, patients who underwent MVR using bovine pericardial valves were compared with those who underwent MVR with porcine bioprostheses between January 1996 and July 2018. Those with prior MVR, infective endocarditis, congenital mitral valve disease, or ischemic mitral regurgitation were excluded. The primary outcomes were structural valve deterioration (SVD) and mitral valve reoperation from any cause, and death was regarded as a competing risk. Competing risk analysis and propensity score-matching were used for comparisons. Results: Among the 388 patients enrolled, pericardial and porcine bioprostheses were implanted in 217 (55.9%) and 171 (44.1%), respectively. Propensity score-matching yielded 122 pairs of patients that were well-balanced for all baseline covariates. No significant differences were observed between the groups in unadjusted (p=0.09) and adjusted overall survival (hazard ratio [HR], 1.13; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.72-1.76; p=0.60). Competing risk analysis revealed no significant differences in the risks of mitral reoperation (HR, 1.07; 95% CI, 0.50-2.27; p=0.86) and development of SVD (HR, 1.57; 95% CI, 0.56-4.36; p=0.39) between the groups. Matched population analysis confirmed similar results regarding reoperation (HR, 0.99; 95% CI, 0.40-3.22; p=0.98) and SVD (HR, 1.39; 95% CI, 0.41-4.73; p=0.60). Conclusion: No significant differences in survival or valve durability were observed between bovine pericardial and porcine bioprosthetic MVR. These findings require further validation through studies with larger sample sizes.

• Journal of Chest Surgery
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• v.41 no.6
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• pp.679-686
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• 2008

Background: Cellular remnants in the bioprosthetic heart valve are known to be related to a host's immunologic response and they can form the nidus for calcification. The extracellular matrix of the decellularized valve tissue can also be used as a biological scaffold for cell attachment, endothelialization and tissue reconstitution. Thus, decellularization is the most important part in making a bioprosthetic valve and biological caffold. Many protocols and agents have been suggested for decellularization, yet there ave been few reports about the effect of a treatment with hypotonic solution prior to chemical or enzymatic treatment. This study investigated the effect of a treatment with hypotonic solution and the appropriate environments such as temperature, the treatment duration and the concentration of sodium dodecylsulfate (SDS) for achieving proper decellularization. Material and Method: Porcine aortic valves were decellularized with odium dodecylsulfate at various concentrations (0.25%, 0.5%), time durations (6, 12, 24 hours) and temperatures ($4^{\circ}C$, $20^{\circ}C$)(Group B). Same the number of porcine aortic valves (group A) was treated with hypotonic solution prior to SDS treatment at the same conditions. The duration of exposure to the hypotonic solution was 4, 7 and 14 hours and he temperature was $4^{\circ}C$ and $20^{\circ}C$, respectively. The degree of decellularization was analyzed by performing hematoxylin and eosin staining. Result: There were no differences in the degree of decellularization between the two concentrations (0.25% 0.5%) of SDS. Twenty four hours treatment with SDS revealed the best decellularization effect for both roups A and B at the temperature of $4^{\circ}C$, but there was no differences between the roups at $20^{\circ}C$. Treatment with hypotonic solution (group A) showed a better ecellularization effect at all the matched conditions. Fourteen hours treatment at $4^{\circ}C$ ith ypotonic solution prior to 80S treatment revealed the best decellularization effect. The treatment with hypotonic solution at $20^{\circ}C$ revealed a good decellularization effect, but his showed significant extracellular matrix destruction. Conclusion: The exposure of porcine heart valves to hypotonic solution prior to SDS treatment is highly effective for achieving decellularization. Osmotic treatment with hypotonic solution should be considered or achieving decellularization of porcine aortic valves. Further study should be carried out to see whether the treatment with hypotonic solution could reduce the exposure duration and concentration of chemical detergents, and also to evaluate how the structure of the extracellular matrix of the porcine valve is affected by the exposure to hypotonic solution.

• Maxillofacial Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery
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• v.28 no.3
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• pp.237-241
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• 2006

Infective endocarditis remains an important, life-threatening infection despite improvements in diagnosis and management. Despite the decrease in rheumatic heart disease and the improvements in antibiotic prophylaxis, infective endocarditis has been reported with increasing frequency in the last few decades. Presumably, this is due to the rise in the incidence of intravenous drug users, carriers of prosthetic valves and other intracardiac devices, and the longer survival of patients with congenital heart disease. Despite the great advances in medical and surgical treatment, infective endocarditis is still a life-threatening disease with an estimated mortality of 27%. Infective endocarditis represents one of the few potentially fatal infections that may occur in a dental patient. Efforts to reduce the incidence of this disease usually take the form of appropriate antibiotic coverage before dental treatment, together with the establishment and maintenance of good oral health. This study is a case report of a patient who developed infective endocarditis after multiple tooth extractions due to chronic periodontitis of dental origin.

• Biotechnology and Bioprocess Engineering:BBE
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• v.10 no.3
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• pp.218-224
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• 2005

Surface modification of glutaraldehyde fixed bovine pericardium (GFBP) was success­fully carried out with hyaluronic acid (HA) derivatives. At first, HA was chemically modified with adipic dihydrazide (ADH) to introduce hydrazide functional group into the carboxyl group of HA backbone. Then, GFBP was surface modified by grafting HA-ADH to the free aldehyde groups on the tissue and the subsequent HA-ADH hydrogel coating. HA-ADH hydrogels could be prepared through selective crosslinking at low pH between hydrazide groups of HA-ADH and crosslinkers containing succinimmidyl moieties with minimized protein denaturation. When HA­ADH hydrogels were prepared at low pH of 4.8 in the presence of erythropoietin (EPO) as a model protein, EPO release was continued up to $85\%$ of total amount of loaded EPO for 4 days. To the contrary, only $30\%$ of EPO was released from HA-ADH hydrogels prepared at pH=7.4, which might be due to the denaturation of EPO during the crosslinking reaction. Because the carboxyl groups on the glucuronic acid residues are recognition sites for HA degradation by hyaluronidase, the HA-ADH hydrogels degraded more slowly than HA hydrogels prepared by the crosslinking reaction of divinyl sulfone with hydroxyl groups of HA. Following a two-week subcutaneous implantation in osteopontin-null mice, clinically significant levels of calcification were observed for the positive controls without any surface modification. However, the calcification of surface modified GFBP with HA-ADH and HA-ADH hydrogels was drastically reduced by more than $85\%$ of the positive controls. The anti-calcification effect of HA surface modification was also confirmed by microscopic analysis of explanted tissue after staining with Alizarin Red S for calcium, which followed the trend as observed with calcium quantification.

• Journal of Chest Surgery
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• v.37 no.9
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• pp.796-799
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• 2004

A 52 day-old male infant who had Taussig-Bing anomaly with coarctation of the aorta underwent initial palliative Damus-Kaye-Stansel (DKS) procedure including arch reconstruction because of suspected intramural coronary artery, size discrepancy of great arteries, potential subaortic stenosis, refractory pneumonia, and severe congestive heart failure. Total repair was done 44 months later, which was composed of VSD patch closure, DKS take-down, and arterial switch procedure, We report a successful case of DKS take-down and arterial switch operation for the reuse of native aortic and pulmonary valves rather than Rastelli-type procedure in a patient with Taussig-Bing anomaly having palliative DKS procedure.

• Journal of Chest Surgery
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• v.20 no.1
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• pp.13-21
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• 1987

To clarify the difference between the outcome of warfarin anticoagulation and the antiplatelet [Aspirin, Dipyridamole] therapy after bioprosthetic heart valve replacement, we compared the following two groups. Group I [Warfarin group] consisted of 557 patients undergone lonescu - Shiley valve replacement between January, 1979 and December, 1985, and treated with scheduled warfarin therapy at Seoul National University Hospital. Group II [Antiplatelet group] consisted of 128 patients undergone lonescu - Shiley, Carpentier - Edwards or Wessex bioprosthetic valve replacement between March, 1983 and December, 1986, and treated primarily with antiplatelet therapy [Aspirin plus Dipyridamole] at SeJong General Hospital. The two groups were similar with respect to age, number of valves utilized per patient, type of operation and risk factors of thromboembolism. In group I, 522 patients excluding 35 hospital death [hospital mortality 6.3%], and in group II, 119 survivors excluding 9 hospital death [hospital mortality 7.0%] were followed. In group I, there were 13 fatal complications, of which seven were thromboembolic [0.6% / pt-yr] and six hemorrhagic [0.5%/pt-yr] during the period of four years. In group II, there were 3 fatal thromboembolic complications [2.3%/pt-yr] during the period of four years. This showed no statistically significant difference. Apart from fatal complications, there were lots of warfarin related minor complications in group I comparing with those of group II. The actuarial probability of the freedom from thromboembolism and of the freedom from fatal complications were very similar at each corresponding years postoperatively. As a result, warfarin anticoagulation in patients with bioprosthetic valve replacement did not reveal any significant advantages over antiplatelet therapy.

• Journal of Chest Surgery
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• v.38 no.9 s.254
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• pp.633-636
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• 2005

Sixteen-day-old baby with severe Ebstein anomaly underwent emergency operation to relieve progressive hypoxia and congestive heart failure. Operative findings showed huge right atrium and atrialized right ventricle (aRV) with very small functional RV by distal displacemcent of tricuspid valve mechanism. We elected to perform modified Starness operation because biventricular repair was deemed unattainable. After pulmonary and tricuspid valves were primarily closed, aRV was obliterated with multiple sutures from RV apex to the base. Then a PTFE (Gore-Tex, USA) vascular graft was interposed between innominate artery and main pulmonary artery for systemic to pulmonary shunt. The patient was discharged uneventfully, and received bi-directional cavopulmonary shunt 6 months later.