Does the degree of preoperative mitral regurgitation predict survival or the need for mitral valve repair or replacement in patients with anomalous origin of the left coronary artery from the pulmonary artery?

BackgroundAnomalous origin of the left coronary artery from the pulmonary artery causes severe myocardial ischemia, global left ventricular dysfunction, and annular dilatation producing varying degrees of mitral regurgitation. Mitral regurgitation secondary to the left ventricular or papillary muscle dysfunction in infants will usually improve in the absence of ongoing ischemia. The aim of this study is to determine the influence of the degree of preoperative mitral regurgitation on the early and late outcomes of patients with anomalous origin of the left coronary artery from the pulmonary artery who underwent coronary reimplantation.MethodsTwenty-five patients underwent coronary reimplantation and 1 early patient had ligation during a 30-year period (median age, 4 months; range, 1 month to 16 years), with a median follow-up of 7 years (range, 4 months to 25 years). Before repair, 7 infants (27%) presented in extremis requiring ventilatory and inotropic support, and 17 patients (65%) presented with heart failure. Mitral regurgitation was present in all patients: trivial in 6 patients, mild in 12 patients, moderate in 5 patients, and severe in 3 patients. No patient underwent mitral valve repair or replacement at the time of anomalous origin of the left coronary artery from the pulmonary artery repair.ResultsHospital survival was 92%. Three patients underwent mitral valve repair or replacement at the mean time of 3.5 years (all with severe preoperative mitral regurgitation). The degree of mitral regurgitation gradually improved in all remaining patients with preoperative mild and moderate mitral regurgitation. Echocardiographic studies demonstrated improvement in left ventricular function in all children. None of the patients showed any evidence of supravalvar pulmonary stenosis as a result of their pulmonary artery reconstruction.ConclusionLong-term clinical outcome and left ventricular function are good despite severe left ventricular dysfunction at presentation. Mitral valve repair or replacement is generally not necessary at the time of anomalous origin of the left coronary artery from the pulmonary artery repair. Significant residual mitral regurgitation is present in some patients and can usually be managed surgically at a later date depending on its degree of severity

Anterior pericardial tracheoplasty for long-segment tracheal stenosis: Long-term outcomes

ObjectiveAlthough several techniques have been described for the treatment of tracheal stenosis, including slide tracheoplasty, tracheal autograft, rib grafting, and use of a pericardial patch, the optimal repair remains controversial because of a lack of long-term follow-up data. The purpose of this study is to examine the long-term results of anterior pericardial tracheoplasty.MethodsTo assess the long-term outcomes of patients who underwent repair of tracheal stenosis with anterior pericardial tracheoplasty, we reviewed the case histories of 26 consecutive patients (1984–present). All but 5 had long-segment tracheal stenosis with more than 10 complete tracheal rings. Twenty-one had significant cardiac disease, and 10 had their cardiac lesions repaired at the time of their tracheoplasty. The median age was 6 months (range, 2 days–25 years). All patients underwent anterior pericardial tracheoplasty through a median sternotomy during normothermic cardiopulmonary bypass. We have previously described our tracheoplasty technique. An average of 14 tracheal rings (range, 5–22) was divided anteriorly, and a patch of fresh autologous pericardium was used to enlarge the trachea to 1.5 times the predicted diameter for age and weight.ResultsThere were 3 hospital deaths (at 1, 2, and 7 months, respectively) and 2 late deaths (at 2 and 13 years postoperatively, respectively). No deaths were related to airway obstruction. Two survivors required tracheostomy postoperatively, one after formation of granulation tissue and stenosis and the other after failure to wean from mechanical ventilation. All survivors remain asymptomatic, with minimal to no evidence of airway obstruction. Median follow-up is 11 years (range, 3 months–22 years).ConclusionAnterior pericardial tracheoplasty for tracheal stenosis provides excellent results in the majority of patients at long-term follow-up

Compositional Tuning of Ultrathin Surface Oxides on Metal and Alloy Substrates Using Photons: Dynamic Simulations and Experiments

We report on the ability to modify the structure and composition of ultrathin oxides grown on Ni and Ni-Al alloy surfaces at room temperature utilizing photon illumination. We find that the nickel-oxide formation is enhanced in the case of oxidation under photo-excitation. The enhanced oxidation kinetics of nickel in 5% Ni-Al alloy is corroborated by experimental and simulation studies of natural and photon-assisted oxide growth on pure Ni(100) surfaces. In case of pure Ni substrates, combined x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy analysis, and atomic force microscope current mapping support the deterministic role of the structure of nickel passive-oxide films on their nanoscale corrosion resistance. Atomistic simulations involving dynamic charge transfer predict that the applied electric field overcomes the activation-energy barrier for ionic migration, leading to enhanced oxygen incorporation into the oxide, enabling us to tune the mixed-oxide composition at atomic length scales. Atomic scale control of ultrathin oxide structure and morphology in the case of pure substrates as well as compositional tuning of complex oxide in the case of alloys leads to excellent passivity as verified from potentiodynamic polarization experiments.Engineering and Applied SciencesPhysic

Outcomes in patients with interrupted aortic arch and associated anomalies: a 20-year experience

Objective: The surgical results for the repair of interrupted aortic arch (IAA) have evolved in recent years. We report our results for staged repair of this complex congenital malformation. Methods: Sixty-five patients (mean age, 16.9 ± 41.7 days) were diagnosed with IAA and referred for surgical therapy. The surgical management strategy at our institution between 1982 and 2005 has been one-stage complete repair (n = 13) or staged repair (n = 52) in selected patients. Non-complex patients (group I, n = 51) had a ventricular septal defect (87%), aortopulmonary window (8%), and left ventricular outflow tract obstruction (27%). Group II (n = 14) were patients with Taussig–Bing double outlet right ventricle (n = 6) or truncus arteriosus (n = 8). Method of staged repair of IAA was to transect and turn down the left carotid artery and anastomosis it to the descending aorta (n = 41) or graft interposition (n = 2) combined with a pulmonary artery (PA) banding followed in a few months by delayed ventricular septal defect (VSD) closure and PA de-banding. Results: There were 5 early and 10 late deaths. The actuarial survival including early mortality was 92% at 1 year, 81% at 5 years, and 76% at 10 and 15 years. There was an 81% 15-year survival for children in group I compared with a 54% for children in group II (p ≪ 0.001). Risk factors for increased mortality by univariate analysis were as follows: (1) primary aortic anastomosis (p = 0.03), (2) presence of complex anomalies (p = 0.05), and (3) initial IAA repair performed before 1994 (p = 0.05). Actuarial freedom from any type of aortic reoperation or intervention was 86% at 1 year, 69% at 5 years, and 60% at 10 and 15 years. Univariate and multivariate analyses identified no tested variables as risk factors for reoperation. The majority (86%) was in New York Heart Association (NYHA) class I, and 14% remained in NYHA class II. During the postoperative course there were no neurologic deficits, seizures, and growth disturbances in any patient. Conclusion: Staged repair of IAA using a left carotid artery turn down can be safely applied in IAA patients with and without other intracardiac anomalies with good results. Use of the left carotid artery for arch reconstruction did not result in any detectable neurological events or growth disturbances later in life. Associated anomalies played an important role in outcomes. The long-term probability for reoperation and/or reintervention remains high regardless of operative technique

Performance of SynerGraft Decellularized Pulmonary Allografts Compared With Standard Cryopreserved Allografts: Results From Multiinstitutional Data

Background. Structural deterioration of allografts over time is believed to be at least partly related to an immune response mounted against human leukocyte antigen specific to the transplanted tissue. SynerGraft (SG) processing (CryoLife, Kennesaw, GA) is a technology that decellularizes an allograft leaving only connective tissue, therefore, reducing immunogenicity and potentially increasing durability of the implant. Methods. We performed a retrospective review of 163 SG patients and 124 standard allograft controls from 3 medical centers. Patient demographics were tabulated, and conduit stenosis and insufficiency were measured by echocardiography. Results. There were 28 deaths (15 of 163 [9%] SG patients vs 13 of 124 [11%] standard patients; p = 0.72), but no deaths were attributed to structural failure of the conduit. The actuarial survival for SG vs standard cohorts was not different at 5 and 10 years. Among the 274 hospital survivors, 17% SG vs 42% standard had evidence for significant conduit dysfunction at the most recent followup or before conduit replacement. Freedom from conduit dysfunction was significantly worse at 10 years in the standard group (58%) than in the SGgroup (83%, p < 0.001). Conclusions. This study represents a multiinstitutional retrospective comparison of SG and standard cry-opreserved allografts used in right ventricular outflow tract reconstruction in a broad range of patient ages. Our results demonstrate that at an intermediate-term to longterm follow-up, conduit dysfunction and pulmonary insufficiency and stenosis are higher among patients receiving standard allografts. We postulate that the improved durability of SG is related to decreased immunogenicity of the SG technology.12 month embargo; Available online 24 October 2016This item from the UA Faculty Publications collection is made available by the University of Arizona with support from the University of Arizona Libraries. If you have questions, please contact us at [email protected]

Comparing Del Nido And Conventional Cardioplegia In Infants And Neonates In Congenital Heart Surgery

Background The aim of this study was to evaluate outcome measures after the use of del Nido (dN) cardioplegia compared with conventional multidose high-potassium (non-dN) cardioplegia in neonates and infants. Methods We retrospectively analyzed data in patients, aged younger than 1 year, undergoing cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB) from January 2012 to August 2015. We changed our cardioplegia protocol from non-dN to dN administered in a single or infrequently dosed strategy in September 2013. The outcomes of the dN group (n = 107) are compared with the non-dN group (n = 118). We analyzed variables for demographic, intraoperative, early postoperative, and discharge variables. Results The two groups were similar in age, weight, height, CPB, and cross-clamp time; preoperative and postoperative echocardiographic systolic functions; first 24-hour postoperative urine output and inotropic score; length of stay; and mortality rate. The Society of Thoracic Surgeons/European Association for Cardio-Thoracic Surgery Congenital Heart Surgery (STAT) mortality category was significantly higher in the dN group (p = 0.03). The cardioplegia dosing interval was lower for the non-dN group (p \u3c 0.001). The volume and doses of cardioplegia per patient were significantly higher in the non-dN group (p \u3c 0.001). In a subanalysis, when the Norwood patients were excluded from both groups, the overall STAT mortality category difference was no longer significant. The demographic, early postoperative, and discharge variables still showed no significant difference when the two groups were compared. Conclusions Similar outcomes can be achieved with less frequent interruption of the operation and lower volume of cardioplegia when using dN cardioplegia solution compared with conventional cardioplegia. The dN cardioplegia with extended ischemic interval can be used as an alternative strategy in the neonatal and infant population during cardiac operations