Transapical off-pump mitral valve repair with Neochord Implantation (TOP-MINI): step-by-step guide

open10openColli, Andrea; Zucchetta, Fabio; Torregrossa, Gianluca; Manzan, Erica; Bizzotto, Eleonora; Besola, Laura; Bellu, Roberto; Sarais, Cristiano; Pittarello, Demetrio; Gerosa, GinoColli, Andrea; Zucchetta, Fabio; Torregrossa, Gianluca; Manzan, Erica; Bizzotto, Eleonora; Besola, Laura; Bellu, Roberto; Sarais, Cristiano; Pittarello, Demetrio; Gerosa, Gin

Minimally Invasive Approach in Surgery for Congenital Heart Disease

Surgery for congenital heart disease (CHD) has changed considerably during the last decade. Improved surgical results in patients with simple CHD and new interventional cardiology procedures have stimulated the surgeon to adopt minimally invasive techniques to reduce the patient’s surgical insult and obtain good functional and cosmetic results. As a consequence, new surgical techniques and specialized equipment for minimally invasive cardiac surgery (MICS) procedures have been developed and refined in recent years. The improving surgical outcomes in patients with CHD, the significant advances in surgical instrumentation and perfusion technology, and the broad utilization of new catheter-based interventional procedures to repair simple CHD have triggered surgeons’ interest to adopt and innovate minimally invasive approaches for CHD repair, so as to reduce patient’s surgical trauma and improve functional and cosmetic results while maintaining a high standard of clinical outcomes and possibly shortening hospitalization times. This article reports on our updated full experience and institutional protocols with MICS in children and adults with CHD

Sevoflurane vs propofol in high risk cardiac surgery: design of the randomized trial “Sevo-Aifa”

Objective. Recent evidence indicates that volatile anesthetics improve post-ischemic recovery. In a meta-analysis of 22 randomized studies, the use of volatile anesthetics was associated with significant reduction in myocardial infarction and mortality. All the studies in this meta-analysis included low risk patients undergoing isolated procedures (mostly isolated coronary artery bypass grafting). We want to confirm the cardioprotective effects of volatile anesthetics, in cardiac surgery, as indicated by a reduced intensive care unit stay and/or death in a high risk population of patients, undergoing combined valvular and coronary procedures. Methods. Four centres will randomize 200 patients to receive either total intravenous anesthesia with propofol or anesthesia with sevoflurane. All patients will receive a standard average dose of opiates. Perioperative management will be otherwise identical and standardized. Transfer out of the intensive care unit will follow standard criteria. Results. Reduced cardiac damage will probably translate into better tissue perfusion and faster recovery, as documented by a reduced intensive care unit stay. The study is powered to detect a reduction in the composite end point of prolonged intensive care unit stay (>2days) and/or death from 60% to 40%. Conclusions. This will be the first multicentre randomized controlled trial comparing the effects of volatile anesthetics and total intravenous anesthesia in high risk patients undergoing cardiac procedures. Our trial should help clarify whether or not volatile agents should be recommended in high risk patients undergoing cardiac surgery

Transapical off-pump Neochord implantation on bileaflet prolapse to treat severe mitral regurgitation

A 74-year old lady was admitted for the presence of a symptomatic severe mitral regurgitation (MR) due to bileaflet prolapse. The patient refused any surgical conventional procedure because of severe arthrosis and osteoporosis documented by previous fractures requiring knee and hip replacements, and was sent directly to us for transapical off-pump mitral valve repair with Neochord implantation (TOP-MINI procedure). The TOP-MINI procedure was performed under general anaesthesia and transoesophageal echocardiographic guidance. Four Neochordae were implanted on the posterior leaflet and two on the anterior leaflet in order to correct a residual anterior prolapse that was not seen at preoperative screening. After 11 months of follow-up, the patient presented with recurrence of symptomatic moder-ate MR due to rupture of one of two neochordae implanted on the anterior leaflet and new onset of atrial fibrillation. The patient under-went uneventful mitral valve replacement. Keywords:Mitral regurgitation • Transapical mitral valve repair Transapical off-pump mitral valve (MV) intervention Neochord implantation (TOP-MINI, Neochord Procedure) is a MV repair technique that has been proved to have a safety and efficacy profile in patients with degenerative mitral regurgitation (MR) due to a flail leaflet or prolapse of one leaflet (anterior or poster

Planned Combo Strategy for LVAD Implantation in ECMO Patients: A Proof of Concept to Face Right Ventricular Failure

We propose a patient-tailored strategy that considers the risk for postoperative right heart failure, utilizing the percutaneous ProtekDuo cannula (Livanova, London, UK) in an innovative way to perform cardiopulmonary bypass during LVAD implantation in ECMO patients. Our novel protocol is based on the early intra-operative use of the ProtekDuo cannula, adopting the distal lumen as the pulmonary vent and the proximal lumen as the venous inflow cannula during cardiopulmonary bypass. This configuration is rapidly switched to the standard fashion to provide planned postoperative temporary right ventricular support, in selected patients at high risk of right ventricular failure. From September 2020 to June 2022, six patients were supported with the ProtekDuo cannula during and after an intracorporeal LVAD implantation (five of which were minimally invasive): four HeartMate III (Abbott, U.S.A.) and two HVAD (Medtronic Inc, MN). In all cases, the ProtekDuo cannula was correctly positioned and removed without complications after a median period of 8 days. Non-fatal bleeding (bronchial hemorrhage) occurred in one patient (17%) during biventricular support. Thirty-day mortality was 0%. From this preliminary work, our novel strategy demonstrated to be a feasible solution for planned minimally invasive right ventricular support in ECMO patients scheduled for a durable LVAD implantation

DOUBLE TRANS-APICAL ACCESS DURING NEOCHORD IMPLANTATION

Mitral valve repair using trans-apical off-pump beating-heart neochordae implantation is a relatively new procedure with promising early and mid-term results in selected patients. However early failures few days after the procedure, requiring surgical reintervention, have been described. We describe a case of intraoperative acute procedural failure treated with a second procedure through a different trans-apical access adjacent to the first one. The final result was excellent with trivial residual regurgitation and the subsequent hospitalization was uneventful. This case demonstrates that a second trans-apical mitral neochordae implantation is feasible and should be considered in case of intraoperative acute procedural failure