We present a case of dissecting aneurysm of ascending aorta in a 15-year-old patient secondary to Takayasu arteritis with concomitant tuberculosis, with an emphasis on multimodality imaging findings ...and to illustrate preoperative and postoperative medical management. Antituberculosis therapy, high-dose corticosteroids, antiplatelet therapy, and β-blockers were administrated during the initial active phase. The patient presented with acute chest pain 3 months after medical therapy initiation. We performed an ascending aorta and aortic arch replacement with branched Dacron grafts. Only a handful of similar, but not identical, cases of Takayasu arteritis with concomitant tuberculosis leading to aortic dissection have been described previously.
The current organ shortage in hepatic transplantation leads to increased use of marginal livers. New organ sources are needed, and deceased after circulatory death (DCD) donors present an interesting ...possibility. However, many unknown remains on these donors and their pathophysiology regarding ischemia reperfusion injury (IRI). Our hypothesis was that DCD combined with abdominal normothermic regional recirculation (ANOR) is not inferior to deceased after brain death (DBD) donors. We performed a mechanistic comparison between livers from DBD and DCD donors in a highly reproducible pig model, closely mimicking donor conditions encountered in the clinic. DCD donors were conditioned by ANOR. We determined that from the start of storage, pro-lesion pathways such as oxidative stress and cell death were induced in both donor types, but to a higher extent in DBD organs. Furthermore, pro-survival pathways, such as resistance to hypoxia and regeneration showed activation levels closer to healthy livers in DCD-ANOR rather than in DBD organs. These data highlight critical differences between DBD and DCD-ANOR livers, with an apparent superiority of DCD in terms of quality. This confirms our hypothesis and further confirms previously demonstrated benefits of ANOR. This encourages the expended use of DCD organs, particularly with ANOR preconditioning.
Full text
Available for:
IZUM, KILJ, NUK, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, UL, UM, UPUK
The shortage of organs for transplantation has led health professionals to look for alternative sources of donors. One of the avenues concerns donors who have died after circulatory arrest. This is a ...special situation because the organs from these donors are exposed to warm ischaemia-reperfusion lesions that are unavoidable during the journey of the organs from the donor to the moment of transplantation in the recipient. We will address and discuss the key issues from the perspective of team organization, legislation and its evolution, and the ethical framework. In a second part, the avenues to improve the quality of organs will be presented following the itinerary of the organs between the donor and the recipient. The important moments from the point of view of therapeutic strategy will be put into perspective. New connections between key players involved in pathophysiological mechanisms and implications for innate immunity and injury processes are among the avenues to explore. Technological developments to improve the quality of organs from these recipients will be analyzed, such as perfusion techniques with new modalities of temperatures and oxygenation. New molecules are being investigated for their potential role in protecting these organs and an analysis of potential prospects will be proposed. Finally, the important perspectives that seem to be favored will be discussed in order to reposition the use of deceased donors after circulatory arrest. The use of these organs has become a routine procedure and improving their quality and providing the means for their evaluation is absolutely inevitable.
Full text
Available for:
GEOZS, IJS, IMTLJ, KILJ, KISLJ, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBJE, UILJ, UL, UM, UPCLJ, UPUK, ZAGLJ, ZRSKP
Primary cardiac lymphomas (PCLs) are rare in immunocompetent patients. Their clinical presentation is highly variable and in case of cardiogenic shock, death is often inevitable with a diagnosis made ...post-mortem. We report the case of a 65-year old immunocompetent man with cardiogenic shock requiring emergent extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO). Soon after, a diagnosis of PCL was given and chemotherapy was delivered under ECMO support. The patient was progressively weaned from the mechanical support. Six months later, he had fully recovered.
Objectives. Conservative management of patients with flail chest is the treatment of choice. Rib fracture repair is technically challenging; however, with the advent of specially designed molding ...titanium clips, surgical management has been simplified. Surgical stabilization has been used with good outcomes. We are reporting on our institutional matched-case-control study. Methods. Between April 2010 and April 2011, ten polytraumatized patients undergoing rib stabilization for flail chest were matched 1 : 1 to 10 control patients by age ±10 years, sex, neurological or vertebral trauma, abdominal injury, and arm and leg fractures. Surgery was realized in the first 48 hours. Results. There were no significant differences between groups for matched data and prognostic scores: injury severity score, revised trauma score, and trauma injury severity score. Ventilator time (142 ± 224 versus 74 ± 125 hours, P=0.026) and overall hospital stay (142 ± 224 versus 74 ± 125 hours, P=0.026) were significantly lower for the surgical group after adjustment on prognostic scores. There was a trend towards shorter ICU stay for operative patients (12.3 ± 8.5 versus 9.0 ± 4.3 days, P=0.076). Conclusions. Rib fixation with Stracos is feasible and decreases the length of ventilation and hospital stay. A multicenter randomized study is warranted so as to confirm these results and to evaluate impact on pulmonary function status, pain, and quality of life.
Full text
Available for:
DOBA, FZAB, GIS, IJS, IZUM, KILJ, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBMB, SIK, UILJ, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK, VSZLJ
We describe the replacement of a single cusp in two patients with severe aortic regurgitation due to endocarditis with a one third stentless bioprosthesis, with excellent results in both.
We describe the case of a 57-year-old woman with noncompaction of the left ventricle and regurgitant bicuspid aortic valve who presented with progressive congestive heart failure and was successfully ...treated with aortic root replacement. The long-term outcome for these patients is poor because of progressive left ventricular impairment, increased rates of life-threatening arrhythmias, and intraventricular thrombi. To our knowledge, only 3 patient with noncompaction of the left ventricle has been reported to have undergone aortic valve replacement for severely regurgitant bicuspid aortic valve. Herein, we describe a patient with noncompaction of the left ventricle who underwent successful mechanical aortic root replacement.
PDF
