Frozen elephant trunk surgery in acute aortic dissection Di Bartolomeo, Roberto, MD; Pantaleo, Antonio, MD; Berretta, Paolo, MD ...
Journal of thoracic and cardiovascular surgery/The Journal of thoracic and cardiovascular surgery/The journal of thoracic and cardiovascular surgery,
02/2015, Volume:
149, Issue:
2
Journal Article
Peer reviewed
Open access
Objectives Acute aortic dissection is a catastrophic condition, for which emergency surgery is the mainstay of therapy. In approximately 70% of patients who survive surgery, a dissected distal aorta ...remains, posing a risk of late aneurysmal degeneration, rupture, and malperfusion, and secondary extensive interventions are often required. Methods In order to improve the long-term prognosis, a more extensive intervention, the frozen elephant trunk (FET) procedure, has been introduced. This involves the simultaneous replacement of the aortic arch and antegrade stenting of the descending thoracic aorta (DTA). Although FET is assumed to produce total thoracic aortic remodeling by inducing both coverage of secondary entry tears located in the proximal DTA and obliteration of the false lumen at the proximal DTA, its role in patients with acute dissection remains controversial mostly because of its technical complexity and increased risk of paraplegia. Results Data available in literature show that, after FET interventions, hospital death, stroke, and spinal cord injury occur in 10.0%, 4.8%, and 4.3% of patients with acute dissection, respectively. Available long-term data are sparse but suggest that aortic remodeling with partial or complete thrombosis of the persistent false lumen can be expected in approximately 90% of cases. Conclusions The FET technique is a promising approach in patients with acute dissection. Solid long-term data are warranted to validate the assumed short- and long-term benefits, but we believe that thoughtful patient selection criteria remain crucial.
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GEOZS, IJS, IMTLJ, KILJ, KISLJ, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBJE, UILJ, UL, UM, UPCLJ, UPUK, ZAGLJ, ZRSKP
Background Few data exist on clinical/imaging characteristics, management, and outcomes of patients with type A acute dissection and mesenteric malperfusion. Methods Patients with type A acute ...dissection enrolled in the International Registry for Acute Dissection (IRAD) were evaluated to assess differences in clinical features, management, and in-hospital outcomes according to the presence/absence of mesenteric malperfusion. A mortality model was used to identify predictors of in-hospital mortality in patients with mesenteric malperfusion. Results Mesenteric malperfusion was detected in 68 (3.7%) of 1809 patients with type A acute dissection. Patients with mesenteric malperfusion were more likely to be older and to have coma, cerebrovascular accident, spinal cord ischemia, acute renal failure, limb ischemia, and any pulse deficit. They were less likely to undergo surgical/hybrid treatment (52.9% vs 87.9%) and more likely to receive only medical (30.9% vs 11.6%) or endovascular (16.2% vs 0.5%) management ( P < .001). Overall in-hospital mortality was 63.2% and 23.8% in patients with and without mesenteric malperfusion, respectively ( P < .001). In-hospital mortality of patients with mesenteric malperfusion receiving medical, endovascular, and surgical/hybrid therapy was 95.2%, 72.7%, and 41.7%, respectively ( P < .001). At multivariate analysis, male gender (odds ratio OR, 1.7; P = .002), age (OR, 1.1/y; P = .002), and renal failure (OR, 5.9; P = .020) were predictors of mortality whereas surgical/hybrid management (OR, 0.1; P = .005) was associated with better outcome. Conclusions Type A acute aortic dissection complicated by mesenteric malperfusion is a rare but ominous complication carrying a high risk of hospital mortality. Surgical/hybrid therapy, although associated with 2-fold hospital mortality, appears to be associated with better long-term outcomes in the management of type A acute aortic dissection in this setting.
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GEOZS, IJS, IMTLJ, KILJ, KISLJ, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBJE, UILJ, UL, UM, UPCLJ, UPUK, ZAGLJ, ZRSKP
Abstract Objective We sought to investigate the clinical outcomes of patients with isolated severe aortic stenosis and an intermediate- to high-risk profile treated by means of conventional surgery ...(surgical aortic valve replacement), sutureless valve implantation, or transcatheter aortic valve replacement in a multicenter evaluation. Methods Among 991 consecutive patients with isolated severe aortic stenosis and an intermediate- to high-risk profile (Society of Thoracic Surgeons score >4 and logistic European System for Cardiac Operative Risk Evaluation I >10), a propensity score analysis was performed on the basis of the therapeutic strategy: surgical aortic valve replacement (n = 204), sutureless valve implantation (n = 204), and transcatheter aortic valve replacement (n = 204). Primary end points were 30-day mortality and overall survival at 24-month follow-up; the secondary end point was survival free from a composite end point of major adverse cardiac events (defined as cardiac-related mortality, myocardial infarction, cerebrovascular accidents, and major hemorrhagic events) and periprosthetic regurgitation greater than 2. Results Thirty-day mortality was significantly higher in the transcatheter aortic valve replacement group (surgical aortic valve replacement = 3.4% vs sutureless = 5.8% vs transcatheter aortic valve replacement = 9.8%; P = .005). The incidence of postprocedural was 3.9% in asurgical aortic valve replacement vs 9.8% in sutureless vs 14.7% in transcatheter aortic valve replacement ( P < .001) and peripheral vascular complications occurred in 0% of surgicalaortic valve replacement vs 0% of sutureless vs 9.8% transcatheter aortic valve replacement ( P < .001). At 24-month follow-up, overall survival (surgical aortic valve replacement = 91.3% ± 2.4% vs sutureless = 94.9% ± 2.1% vs transcatheter aortic valve replacement = 79.5% ± 4.3%; P < .001) and survival free from the composite end point of major adverse cardiovascular events and periprosthetic regurgitation were significantly better in patients undergoing surgical aortic valve replacement and sutureless valve implantation than in patients undergoing transcatheter aortic valve replacement (surgical aortic valve replacement = 92.6% ± 2.3% vs sutureless = 96% ± 1.8% vs transcatheter aortic valve replacement = 77.1% ± 4.2%; P < .001). Multivariate Cox regression analysis identified transcatheter aortic valve replacement as an independent risk factor for overall mortality hazard ratio (hazard ratio, 2.5; confidence interval, 1.1-4.2; P = .018). Conclusions The use of transcatheter aortic valve replacement in patients with an intermediate- to high-risk profile was associated with a significantly higher incidence of perioperative complications and decreased survival at short- and mid-term when compared with conventional surgery and sutureless valve implantation.
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GEOZS, IJS, IMTLJ, KILJ, KISLJ, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBJE, UILJ, UL, UM, UPCLJ, UPUK, ZAGLJ, ZRSKP
Background Aortic root management in type A acute aortic dissection is controversial. This study compared outcomes of root replacement (RR) interventions versus more conservative root (CR) ...management. Methods Of 1,995 type A acute aortic dissection patients enrolled in the International Registry of Acute Aortic Dissection, 699 (35%) underwent RR interventions and 1,296 (65%) underwent CR management. Independent predictors of hospital and 3-year survival were identified using multivariable logistic and Cox regression models. Results Compared with CR patients, RR patients were younger (56.9 versus 62.3 years; p = 0.023) and more likely to present with larger root diameter (4.7 cm versus 4.0 cm; p < 0.001), Marfan syndrome (8.7% versus 2.5%; p < 0.001), aortic insufficiency (64.0% versus 50.3%; p < 0.001), and hypotension, shock, or tamponade (33.0% versus 26.5%; p = 0.003). Root replacement management did not increase hospital mortality (propensity score–adjusted odds ratio, 1.14; p = 0.674). On Kaplan-Meier analysis, 3-year survival (RR, 92.5% ± 1.7% versus CR, 91.6% ± 1.3%; log-rank p = 0.623) and freedom from aortic root reintervention (RR, 99.2% ± 0.1% versus CR, 99.3% ± 0.1%; log-rank p = 0.770) were similar. Only 2 patients (1 per group) underwent follow-up root reintervention. Propensity score–adjusted Cox regression excluded a relationship between root treatment and follow-up survival (hazard ratio, 1.5; 95% confidence interval, 0.502 to 5.010; p = 0.432). Conclusions In type A acute aortic dissection patients more-extensive RR interventions are not associated with increased hospital mortality. This supports such an approach in young patients and patients with connective tissue diseases and bicuspid aortic valves. Excellent midterm survival and freedom from root reintervention in both groups suggest stable behavior of the nonreplaced aortic sinuses at 3 years. Thus, pending studies with longer follow-up, the use of aggressive RR techniques can be determined by patient-specific and dissection-related factors.
Background A growing body of evidence has shown that delayed management of traumatic injury of the thoracic aorta determines survival benefits as compared with immediate treatment. However, few data ...exist comparing outcomes after delayed open surgical or endovascular management. Accordingly, we reviewed our experience with delayed management, stratifying the data according to type of repair; open surgical versus endovascular. Methods Since 1992, delayed aortic repair has represented our first-line management for all blunt traumatic thoracic aortic injury (BTTAI) patients, except for those who presented with or became unstable due to impending aortic rupture. These patients were converted to urgent primary aortic repair. Thus, between 1992 and 2010, a total of 77 BTTAI patients were managed according to this policy. There were 57 (74%) men having a mean age of 33.4 years. Thirty-one (41.3%) patients underwent open surgical repair (SR), 44 (58.6%) underwent endovascular repair (ER), and 2 died while awaiting aortic repair. At admission, the clinical and trauma characteristics were similar in both groups. The trauma-to-repair time span (in days) was 200 (Q1-Q3: 27 to 340) and 10 (Q1-Q3: 2 to 79) for SR and ER patients, respectively ( p = 0.001). Due to unpaired hemodynamic or imaging signs of impending aortic rupture, 15 patients required urgent repair, which was endovascular in 11 (25%) cases and surgical in 4 (12.9%). Results Overall, hospital mortality was 3.9% (n = 3), being 0% in SR patients and 2.3% (n = 1) in ER patients ( p = 0.398). No new postoperative paraplegia occurred; a cerebellar stroke occurred in 1 (2.3%) ER patient receiving intentional coverage of the left subclavian artery. During follow-up (96.1% complete at 95 ± 70 months), no late deaths occurred. At 15 years, the estimates of survival and freedom from secondary aortic procedures were 96% and 100%, respectively. Conclusions Delayed management of traumatic aortic injury was associated with satisfactory short- and long-term results without significant differences between open surgical and endovascular repair. However, the reduced invasiveness of endovascular repair can optimize operative timing allowing prompt aortic repair in unstable patients, earlier repair in stable patients, and, when indicated, easier concomitant non-aortic surgery.
OBJECTIVES
To assess early and long-term outcomes in a large cohort of patients undergoing open aortic arch surgery.
METHODS
From 1996 to 2012, 623 consecutive patients (mean age: 62.8 years) ...underwent aortic arch interventions in our institution. Of these, 208 (33.4%) presented with an acute aortic syndrome (AAS) and 415 (66.6%) with a chronic aortic pathology (CAP). During the study period, our surgical strategy involved extensive resections of the diseased aortic tissue at elective interventions, and a tear-oriented aortic replacement in patients with acute dissection. More extensive interventions were often performed in younger patients, and in those with connective tissue diseases and bicuspid aortic valves. A total arch replacement was frequently performed (53.3%). Antegrade selective cerebral perfusion was used in all cases.
RESULTS
Overall in-hospital mortality was 23.1% in patients with AAS and 11.1% in patients with a CAP; in the same groups, postoperative permanent neurological dysfunction (PND) occurred in 9.6 and 5.6%, respectively. The follow-up was 94.4% complete. For in-hospital survivors, 5- and 10-year survival (%) were 79.4 ± 2.1 and 60.9 ± 3.2, respectively, not influenced by the underlying aortic disease. Cox regression identified age (hazard ratio HR: 1.048; P < 0.001), preoperative renal failure (HR: 2.3; P = 0.003), diabetes (HR: 1.805; P = 0.005) and PND (HR: 2.4; P = 0.03) to be independent predictors for the follow-up mortality. Overall, 109 (59% endovascular) aortic reinterventions were performed: 18.3% were proximal and 81.7% distal to the aortic arch. Five- and 10-year freedom from aortic redo (%) were 82.8 ± 1.9 and 77.7 ± 2.6, respectively. Aortic dissection (HR: 1.7; P = 0.03) was the only independent predictor of reoperative surgery at the follow-up.
CONCLUSIONS
Aortic arch surgery was associated with satisfactory early and long-term outcomes. Survival was largely determined by patient comorbidities and postoperative PND. While the underlying aortic disease did not affect long-term mortality, chronic dissection was associated with increased need for aortic reinterventions.
Objectives The management strategy remains controversial for patients presenting with type A acute aortic dissection with cerebrovascular accident or coma. The present study aimed to help guide ...surgeons treating these high-risk patients. Methods Of 1873 patients with type A acute aortic dissection enrolled in the International Registry for Acute Dissection, 87 (4.7%) presented with cerebrovascular accident and 54 (2.9%) with coma. The hospital and 5-year results were stratified by the presence and type of brain injury (no injury vs stroke vs coma) and management type (medical vs surgical). Independent predictors of short- and mid-term survival were identified. Results Presentation with shock, hypotension, or tamponade (46.8% vs 25.2%; P < .001) and arch vessel involvement (55.0% vs 36.1%; P < .001) was more likely in patients with brain injury. Surgical management was avoided more often in patients with coma (33.3%) or cerebrovascular accident (24.1%) than in those without brain injury (11.1%; P < .001). The overall hospital mortality was 22.7% without brain injury, 40.2% with cerebrovascular accident, and 63.0% with coma ( P < .001). Mortality varied among the management types for both cerebrovascular accident (76.2% medical vs 27.0% surgical; P < .001) and coma (100% medical vs 44.4% surgical; P < .001). Postoperatively, cerebrovascular accident and coma resolved in 84.3% and 78.8% of cases, respectively. On logistic regression analysis, surgery was protective against mortality in patients presenting with brain injury (odds ratio 0.058; P < .001). The 5-year survival of patients presenting with cerebrovascular accident and coma was 23.8% and 0% after medical management versus 67.1% and 57.1% after surgery (log rank, P < .001), respectively. Conclusions Brain injury at presentation adversely affects hospital survival of patients with type A acute aortic dissection. In the present observational study, the patients selected to undergo surgery demonstrated improved late survival and frequent reversal of neurologic deficits.
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GEOZS, IJS, IMTLJ, KILJ, KISLJ, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBJE, UILJ, UL, UM, UPCLJ, UPUK, ZAGLJ, ZRSKP
The diagnosis of periprocedural myocardial infarction (PMI) after coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) is based on biochemical markers along with clinical and instrumental findings. However, there is ...not a clear cutoff value of high-sensitivity cardiac troponin (hs-cTn) to identify PMI. We hypothesized that isolated hs-cTn concentrations in the first 24 h following CABG could predict cardiac adverse events (in-hospital death and PMI) and/or left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) decrease.
We retrospectively enrolled all consecutive adult patients undergoing CABG, alone or in association with other cardiac surgery procedures, over 1 year. Hs-cTn I concentrations (Access, Beckman Coulter) were serially measured in the post-operative period and analyzed according to post-operative outcomes.
300 patients were enrolled; 71.3% underwent CABG alone, 33.7% for acute coronary syndrome. Most patients showed hs-cTn I values superior to the limit required by the latest guidelines for the diagnosis of PMI. Five patients (1.7%) died, 8% developed a PMI, 10.6% showed a LVEF decrease ≥ 10%. Hs-cTn I concentrations did not significantly differ with respect to death and/or PMI whereas they were associated with LVEF decrease ≥ 10% (p value < 0.005 at any time interval), in particular hs-cTn I values at 9-12 h post-operatively. A hs-cTn I cutoff of 5556 ng/L, a value 281 (for males) and 479 (for females) times higher than the URL, at 9-12 h post-operatively was identified, representing the best balance between sensitivity (55%) and specificity (79%) in predicting LVEF decrease ≥ 10%.
Hs-cTn I at 9-12 h post-CABG may be useful to early identify patients at risk for LVEF decrease and to guide early investigation and management of possible post-operative complications.
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IZUM, KILJ, NUK, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, UL, UM, UPUK
Bradyarrhythmia requiring pacemaker implantation among patients undergoing valve surgery may occur even after several years, with unclear predictors. Our aim was to investigate the incidence of ...pacemaker implantation at different follow-up times and identify associated predictors.
We conducted a retrospective study evaluating 1046 consecutive patients who underwent valve surgery at the Cardiac Surgery Division of Bologna University Hospital from 2005 to 2010.
During 10 ± 4 years of follow-up, 11.4% of these patients required pacemaker implantation. Interventions on both atrioventricular valves independently predicted long-term pacemaker implantation (SHR 2.1, 95% CI 1.2-3.8,
= 0.014). Preoperative atrioventricular conduction disease strongly predicted long-term atrioventricular block, with right bundle branch block as the major predictor (SHR 7.0, 95% CI 3.9-12.4,
< 0.001), followed by left bundle branch block (SHR 4.9, 95% CI 2.4-10.1,
< 0.001), and left anterior fascicular block (SHR 3.9, 95% CI 1.8-8.3,
< 0.001).
Patients undergoing valvular surgery have a continuing risk of atrioventricular block late after surgery until the 12-month follow-up, which was clearly superior to the rate of atrioventricular block observed at long-term. Pre-operative atrioventricular conduction disease and combined surgery on both atrioventricular valves are strong predictors of atrioventricular block requiring pacemaker implantation.
Reoperative surgery on the thoracic aorta Di Bartolomeo, Roberto, MD; Berretta, Paolo, MD; Petridis, Francesco D., MD ...
The Journal of thoracic and cardiovascular surgery,
03/2013, Volume:
145, Issue:
3
Journal Article
Peer reviewed
Open access
Objective The objective of our study was to report our hospital and long-term results after reinterventions on the thoracic aorta. Methods Between 1986 and 2011, 224 reoperations on the proximal ...thoracic aorta after previous aortic surgery were performed in our institution. The number of reinterventions quadrupled during the course of the study period. Mean patient age was 58.1 years, and 174 patients (77.7%) were male. An urgent/emergency operation was performed in 39 patients (17.4%). Indications for surgery included degenerative and chronic postdissection aneurysm (n = 166), false aneurysm (n = 31), active prosthetic infection (n = 16), acute dissection (n = 10), and other (n = 1). Surgical procedures involved the aortic root in 40.6% of patients, the ascending aorta in 9.4%, the aortic arch in 24.6%, and the entire proximal thoracic aorta in 25.4%. Results Hospital mortality was 12.1%. On multivariate analysis, cardiopulmonary bypass time (odds ratio, 1.1023/minute; P < .001), and urgent/emergency status (odds ratio, 5.6; P < .001) emerged as independent predictors of hospital mortality. The follow-up was 98.7% complete. Estimated 1-, 5-, and 10-year survival rates were 84.4%, 72.5%, and 48.5%, respectively. Eighteen reinterventions were performed during follow-up—16 because of the progression of aortic disease at the proximal aorta (n = 2) and downstream aorta (n = 14). Freedom from reoperation at 1, 5, and 10 years was 95.6%, 90.2%, and 81.5%, respectively. Conclusions Reoperative aortic surgery was associated with satisfactory short- and long-term results, especially if carried out on an elective basis. The extent of the aortic replacement did not impact survival and was associated with a reduced need for reintervention. The progressive nature of aortic disease and the favorable results of elective primary aortic interventions suggest favoring aggressive aortic resections at initial surgery.
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GEOZS, IJS, IMTLJ, KILJ, KISLJ, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBJE, UILJ, UL, UM, UPCLJ, UPUK, ZAGLJ, ZRSKP