Incidence, Risk Factors, and Clinical Impact of Intra-Stent Graft Thrombosis in the Thoracic Aorta.

Objectives: Stentgrafts in the thoracic aorta, whether placed during the frozen elephant trunk procedure or thoracic endovascular repair, have been associated with thrombosis. This study aimed to evaluate its incidence, risk factors, and clinical consequences.

Methods: PubMed, Web of Science, and SCOPUS were systematically searched for relevant studies.

Incidental Cardiac Sarcoma Causing Mitral Valve Stenosis: Radical Resection vs Simple Debulking.

Cardiac masses are extremely rare, and in the majority of cases surgical removal or debulking is the treatment of choice for alleviation of symptoms, diagnosis, and treatment. We report our experience with an extremely large and infiltrating mass, cardiac sarcoma, that required extensive surgical excision and reconstruction.

Facing Complexity: Outcomes of Surgical Bailouts from Complications of Transcatheter Aortic Valve Replacement in a Single High-Volume Center.

Transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) is at the forefront of structural heart programs all over the world. With a growing number of TAVR procedures in lower-risk and younger patients, acute and chronic complications require decisive treatment. The aim of the present study is to retrospectively analyze the efficacy of surgical bailout strategies in case of complications from TAVR that had been performed in the highest-volume center in Italy over the past ten years.

Can the Novel Photon-Counting CT Scan Accurately Predict Aortic Wall Thickness? Preliminary Results.

Background: Surgical indication of ascending thoracic aortic aneurysms (ATAA) is generally performed in prevention. Guidelines use aortic diameter as a predictor of rupture and dissection; however, this single parameter alone has a limited value in predicting the real-world risk of acute aortic syndromes. The novel photon-counting CT scan(pc-CT) is capable of better-analyzing tissue composition and aortic characterization.

Long-term outcomes after bioprosthetic tricuspid valve replacement: a multicenter study.

Objectives: Long-term evidence about bioprosthetic tricuspid valve replacement is scarce. This study aims to investigate the long-term clinical outcomes of patients who underwent tricuspid valve replacement with bioprostheses.

Methods: This multicentre retrospective study included patients from 10 high-volume centres in 7 different countries, who underwent tricuspid valve replacement with bioprostheses.

Transcatheter management of residual mitral regurgitation after transcatheter edge-to-edge repair: a systematic review.

Background: Treatment of residual mitral regurgitation (MR) with different percutaneous devices after transcatheter edge-to-edge repair (TEER) has been reported as an alternative option to reclipping or surgery. This review aims at describing the different transcatheter strategies available and their results when managing residual MR after TEER.

Methods: A literature search was undertaken across Pubmed, ScienceDirect, SciELO, DOAJ, and Cochrane library databases, to identify article reporting patients with post-TEER residual MR managed by a transcatheter approach that did not involve only the implantation of new clips.

Valve-Sparing vs Bio-Bentall Aortic Root Replacement in Patients Aged 60 to 75 Years: Survival, Reintervention, and Aortic Regurgitation.

Background: Valve-sparing root replacement (VSRR) with the David technique is an established therapy for aortic root pathology in young patients. This study evaluated short- and long-term outcomes between VSRR and aortic root replacement (ARR) with a biological-valved conduit in sexagenarians.

Methods: A multicenter retrospective review from 2002 to 2022 identified 299 sexagenarians undergoing aortic root surgery, among whom 82 (27.

Normothermic cardiopulmonary bypass and beating heart surgery for renal cell cancer with tumor thrombus extension into inferior vena cava and right atrium: a less invasive strategy.

Purpose: Management of renal cell carcinoma (RCC) with inferior vena cava (IVC) extension is one of the greatest challenges in urology. The gold standard treatment includes extracorporeal circulation and deep hypothermic circulatory arrest (DHCA). However, this surgical treatment has an impact on survival and prognosis.

Editor's Choice - Outcomes of Endovascular Repair Confined to the Ascending Thoracic Aorta: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

Objective: High risk, inoperable patients with ascending aortic disease are increasingly managed with thoracic endovascular aortic repair (TEVAR). The aim of this study was to assess the available literature on TEVAR confined to the ascending aorta (a-TEVAR), describing study and patient characteristics, procedural and stent graft details, and outcomes.

Data Sources: This was a systematic review and meta-analysis.

Impact of surgical aortic valve replacement and transcatheter aortic valve implantation on cardiovascular and cerebrovascular controls: A pilot study.

Surgical aortic valve replacement (SAVR) and transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI) are options in severe aortic valve stenosis (AVS). Cardiovascular (CV) and cerebrovascular (CBV) control markers, derived from variability of heart period, systolic arterial pressure, mean cerebral blood velocity and mean arterial pressure, were acquired in 19 AVS patients (age: 76.8 ± 3.

Antegrade cerebral perfusion via the right subclavian artery during open distal arch or proximal descending aortic repair from left thoracotomy.

In the current endovascular era, open surgery through left posterolateral thoracotomy with moderate to deep hypothermic circulatory arrest remains an alternative for treating chronic distal arch or proximal descending aortic diseases, allowing cardiovascular surgeons to definitively repair the aorta in a single stage. When utilizing this approach, this report illustrates an alternative surgical technique for antegrade body perfusion during cooling, antegrade selective cerebral perfusion and rewarming, through a prosthetic graft on the right subclavian artery. This report shows the safety and feasibility of this technique during open distal arch and/or proximal descending aortic surgery through left posterolateral thoracotomy, after shifting the patient from a supine to the right lateral decubitus position.

Long-term outcomes after recurrent acute thoracic aortic dissection: Insights from the International Registry of Aortic Dissection.

Objective: With an aging population and advancements in imaging, recurrence of thoracic aortic dissection is becoming more common.

Methods: All patients enrolled in the International Registry of Aortic Dissection from 1996 to 2023 with type A and type B acute aortic dissection were identified. Among them, initial dissection and recurrent dissection were discerned.

Perfusion quality odds (PEQUOD) trial: validation of the multifactorial dynamic perfusion index as a predictor of cardiac surgery-associated acute kidney injury.

Objectives: The multifactorial dynamic perfusion index was recently introduced as a predictor of cardiac surgery-associated acute kidney injury. The multifactorial dynamic perfusion index was developed based on retrospective data retrieved from the patient files. The present study aims to prospectively validate this index in an external series of patients, through an on-line measure of its various components.

Transcatheter valve-in-valve interventions after aortic root replacement: A systematic review.

Structural valve deterioration after aortic root replacement (ARR) surgery may be treated by transcatheter valve-in-valve (ViV-TAVI) intervention. However, several technical challenges and outcomes are not well described. The aim of the present review was to analyze the outcomes of ViV-TAVI in deteriorated ARR.

Impact of COVID-19 on incidence and outcomes of post-infarction mechanical complications in Europe.

Objectives: Post-acute myocardial infarction mechanical complications (post-AMI MCs) represent rare but life-threatening conditions, including free-wall rupture, ventricular septal rupture and papillary muscle rupture. During the coronavirus disease-19 (COVID-19) pandemic, an overwhelming pressure on healthcare systems led to delayed and potentially suboptimal treatments for time-dependent conditions. As AMI-related hospitalizations decreased, limited information is available whether higher rates of post-AMI MCs and related deaths occurred in this setting.

Native pulmonary valve massive endocarditis in a drug-addicted patients with Covid-19 pneumonia: a case report.

Background: Pulmonary valve (PV) infective endocarditis is a rare pathology. Association between acute endocarditis and Covid pneumonia is equally poorly investigated.

Case Presentation: We present the case of a 50-year-old male active drug-abuser admitted for native PV endocarditis with huge and mobile vegetations and a concomitant interstitial SARS-Cov2 pneumonia.

Transcatheter valvular interventions after heart transplantation: A systematic review.

An increasing number of patients experience late valvular disease after heart transplantation (HTx). While mostly being primarily addressed through surgical interventions, transcatheter valve procedures to treat these conditions are rising, particularly for unsuitable surgical candidates. This review aims at analyzing the outcomes of transcatheter valvular procedures in this subset of patients.

Outcomes of left-sided heart valve surgery after heart transplantation: a systematic review.

As the survival after heart transplantation (HTx) is steadily improving, an increasing number of patients with late cardiac pathologies such as valvular disease is expected to rise. Nevertheless, no guidelines for indication of redo cardiac surgery after HTx exists. The aim of the present systematic review is to describe the results reported in the literature of surgical management of severe aortic and/or mitral valve disease.

Outcomes of tricuspid valve prostheses after heart transplantation: a systematic review.

Tricuspid regurgitation (TR) is the most common valvular pathology after heart transplantation (HTx) and endomyocardial biopsy (EMB) remains responsible for the majority of cases due to the high probability of structural valve damage. The aim of the present review was to describe the results of surgical management of severe tricuspid regurgitation through tricuspid valve replacement (TVR) after a previous HTx. A systematic review was conducted by searching Pubmed, ScienceDirect, SciELO, DOAJ, and Cochrane databases until June 2023 for publications reporting patients undergoing TVR surgery after a previous HTx.

Treatment of severe mitral annulus calcification: An attractive alternative!

Surgical treatment of mitral valve disease with severe mitral annular calcifications (MACs) is challenging, with reported high morbidity and mortality. Transcatheter treatment options are feasible, however, still far from being optimal alternatives. We report our positive experience with the off-label implant of a BioIntegral Injectable BioPulmonic valve fitted on a circumferential pericardial skirt for the treatment of severe MAC.

Characterization of cardiovascular and cerebrovascular controls via spectral causality analysis in patients undergoing surgical aortic valve replacement during a three-month follow-up.

Aortic valve stenosis (AVS) induces left ventricular function adaptations and surgical aortic valve replacement (SAVR) restores blood flow profile across aortic valve. Modifications of cardiac hemodynamics induced by AVS and SAVR might alter cardiovascular (CV) and cerebrovascular (CBV) controls. The study aims at characterizing CV and CBV regulations one day before SAVR (PRE), within one week after SAVR (POST), and after a three-month follow-up (POST3) in 73 AVS patients (age: 63.

The importance of being the morning case in adult cardiac surgery: a propensity-matched analysis.

Objectives: The quality of the outcome after cardiac surgery with cardiopulmonary bypass depends on the patient demographics, co-morbidities, complexity of the surgical procedure and expertise of surgeons and the whole staff. The purpose of the present study is to analyse the timing of surgery (morning versus afternoon) with respect to morbidity and mortality in adult cardiac surgery.

Methods: The primary end point was the incidence of major morbidity defined according to a modified Society of Thoracic Surgeon criterion.