Sutureless aortic valve replacement in high-risk patients with active infective endocarditis

BACKGROUND: Surgical aortic valve replacement remains the gold standard of treatment in patients with active infective endocarditis. Such procedures tend to carry a significantly higher operative risk when compared to the conventional aortic valve replacement for a non-infective aortic valve disease. Sutureless aortic valve replacement (SU-AVR) has been introduced into cardiac surgery to allow for a simpler implementation of minimally invasive procedures. Although SU-AVR in several extended indications has proven to be successful, the data on the implementation of SU-AVR in patients with infective aortic valve endocarditis remain scarce. The aim of the study was to examine the feasibility of SU-AVR in high-risk patients with active infective aortic valve endocarditis. METHODS: Between December 2019 and March 2022, a total of 151 consecutive patients underwent a SU-AVR for various indications at our institution. Of those, in 13 consecutive high-risk patients SU-AVR was indicated because of infective aortic valve endocarditis. In all cases Perceval S aortic valve prosthesis (Corcym, Saluggia, Italy) was used and the implantation has been performed with Snugger-method. RESULTS: The mean age of the patients at operation was 74.05±11.6 years. Eight of the patients suffered from prosthesis endocarditis while the other five patients presented with the endocarditis of the native aortic valve. All patients suffered from multiple comorbidities, as reflected by a mean logistic EuroSCORE of 47.9%±23.1% and EuroSCORE II of 28.7%±22.0%. In 8 patients (61.5%) a concomitant procedure was necessary. Also 8 patients (61.5%) underwent a redo procedure. Bypass- and cross-clamp (CC) times were 89.8±33.6 and 59.1±27.8 minutes, respectively. We observed no paravalvular leakage and no cases of left-ventricular outflow tract obstruction. Postoperative mean gradients after SU-AVR implantation were 8.1±4.8 mmHg. CONCLUSIONS: SU-AVR in patients presenting with active infective endocarditis is a safe and feasible surgical alternative to the conventional operation. Clearly, this operative approach should be considered particularly for high-risk patients in whom successful operative outcomes are determined by a reduction in bypass and CC time. SU-AVR provides excellent hemodynamic performance with a low risk of paravalvular leakage and low transvalvular gradients, whilst simplifying the surgical procedure

Conventional Biological versus Sutureless Aortic Valve Prostheses in Combined Aortic and Mitral Valve Replacement

Background: Sutureless aortic valve prostheses have proven to provide a significant decrease in procedural, cardiopulmonary bypass and cross-clamp time, leading to a significant reduction in mortality risk in elderly high-risk cohorts. In this study, we sought to review our institutional experience on the sutureless aortic valve replacement (SU-AVR) and the concomitant mitral valve replacement (SMVR), comparing the combined conventional surgical aortic valve replacement (SAVR) with SMVR. Methods and Material: Between March 2018 and July 2022, 114 consecutive patients underwent a combined aortic and mitral valve replacement at our institution. We stratified the patients according to the operative procedures into two groups and matched them 1:2: Group 1 underwent a combined conventional SAVR and SMVR (n = 46), and Group 2 included combined SU-AVR with Perceval prosthesis and SMVR (n = 23). Results: No significant differences in the preoperative characteristics were present. SU-AVR combined with SMVR demonstrated excellent haemodynamic performance, comparable to that of SAVR plus SMVR, with median postoperative gradients over the aortic valve of 4 mmHg (IQR 3.0-4.0) in Group 1 and 4 mmHg (IQR 3.0-4.0) in Group 2 (p = 0.67). There was no significant difference in the occurrence of postoperative major adverse events such as death, stroke, myocardial infarction and kidney failure between the groups. There was also no significant difference in the permanent pacemaker implantation rate, paravalvular leakage or valve dislocation. We also could not detect any significant difference in postoperative mortality between the groups. Conclusions: SU-AVR has proven to be a reliable alternative to conventional valve prostheses in patients with multivalve disease undergoing combined aortic and mitral valve replacement, offering shorter procedural time and outstanding hemodynamic performance compared to the conventional surgical method

Development and evaluation of a novel combined perfusion decellularization heart-lung model for tissue engineering of bioartificial heart-lung scaffolds

BACKGROUND: Bioengineered transplantable heart-lung scaffolds could be potentially lifesaving in a large number of congenital and acquired cardiothoracic disorders including terminal heart-lung disease. METHODS: We decellularized heart-lung organ-blocs from rats (n = 10) by coronary and tracheal perfusion with ionic detergents in a modified Langendorff circuit. RESULTS: In the present project, we were able to achieve complete decellularization of the heart-lung organ-bloc. Decellularized heart-lung organ-blocs lacked intracellular components but maintained structure of the cellular walls with collagen and elastic fibers. CONCLUSIONS: We present a novel model of combined perfusion and decellularization of heart-lung organ-blocs. This model is the first step on the pathway to creating bioengineered transplantable heart-lung scaffolds. We believe that further development of this technology could provide a life-saving conduit, significantly reducing the risks of heart-lung failure surgery and improving postoperative quality of life

Articulation is essential:First in cardiovascular surgery implementation of 360° surgeon-powered robotic instruments

Since the development of endoscopic vision in the late 1970s, the implementation of minimally invasive surgical methods has been rapidly progressing throughout a wide range of surgical disciplines, including cardiovascular surgery. The benefits of minimally invasive procedures including a reduction in operative trauma and postoperative morbidity, have been well-documented and compared to open-heart procedures, eventually becoming the preferred modality of treatment by many centers. Due to the cost ineffectiveness of the robotic systems for numerous institutions, new technologies have been developed to provide the advantages of robotic surgical systems at a lower price, thus making them more widely available. In this paper, we aimed to share our first experiences with Artisential® surgeon-powered robotic instruments and review their general advantages compared to conventional and robotic devices.</p

Sutureless Aortic Valve Prosthesis in Redo Procedures: Single-Center Experience

Background and Objectives: Sutureless aortic valve prostheses have presented favorable hemodynamic performance while facilitating minimally invasive access approaches. As the population ages, the number of patients at risk for aortic valve reoperation constantly increases. The aim of the present study is to present our single-center experience in sutureless aortic valve replacement (SU-AVR) in reoperations. Materials and Methods: The data of 18 consecutive patients who underwent SU-AVR in a reoperation between May 2020 and January 2023 were retrospectively analyzed. Results: The mean age of the patients was 67.9 ± 11.1 years; patients showed a moderate-risk profile with a median logistic EuroSCORE II of 7.8 (IQR of 3.8–32.0) %. The implantation of the Perceval S prosthesis was technically successful in all patients. The mean cardiopulmonary bypass time was 103.3 ± 50.0 min, and the cross-clamp time was 69.1 ± 38.8 min. No patients required a permanent pacemaker implantation. The postoperative gradient was 7.3 ± 2.4 mmHg, and no cases of paravalvular leakage were observed. There was one case of intraprocedural death, while the thirty-day mortality was 11%. Conclusions: Sutureless bioprosthetic valves tend to simplify the surgical procedure of a redo AVR. By maximizing the effective orifice area, sutureless valves may present an important advantage, being a safe and effective alternative not only to traditional surgical prostheses but also to transcatheter valve-in-valve approaches in select cases

Open Transcatheter Multivalve Replacement in Degenerated Valve Prostheses in High-Risk Patients with Endocarditis

Multivalve redo procedures carry a high surgical risk. We describe an alternative surgical treatment for patients presenting with severely degenerated aortic and mitral valve prostheses who have to undergo open surgery due to endocarditis. Open transcatheter multivalve implantation is a feasible bailout strategy in high-risk patients to save cross-clamp and procedural times to reduce morbidity and mortality.</p

Single-Center Real-World Experience with Sutureless Aortic Valve Prosthesis in Isolated and Combined Procedures

Introduction: Due to their favourable hemodynamic performance and the ability to enable minimally invasive access procedures, sutureless aortic valve prostheses have found their place in the armamentarium of cardiothoracic surgeons. In this study, we sought to review our institutional experience of sutureless aortic valve replacement (SU-AVR). Methods: We carried out a retrospective analysis of 200 consecutive patients who underwent an SU-AVR with a Perceval valve between December 2019 and February 2023. Results: The mean age of patients was 69.3 ± 8.1 years, and patients showed a moderate-risk profile with a mean logistic EuroSCORE-II of 5.2 ± 8.1%. An isolated SU-AVR was performed in 85 (42.5%) patients, concomitant CABG was performed in 75 (37.5%) and 40 patients (20%) underwent a multivalve procedure involving SU-AVR. The cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB) and cross-clamp (CC) times were 82.1 ± 35.1 and 55.5 ± 27.8 min, respectively. In-hospital, 30-day, 6-month and 1-year mortality rates were 4.5%, 6.5%, 7.5% and 8.2%, respectively. The postoperative transvalvular mean pressure gradient was 6.3 ± 1.6 mmHg and stayed stable over the follow-up time. We reported no cases of paravalvular leakage, and the incidence of stroke was 0.5%. Conclusions: With their favourable hemodynamic performance and shorter CC and CPB times, sutureless aortic valve prostheses facilitate minimally invasive access surgery, being a safe and durable promising approach for the surgical AVR