Impact of standardized computed tomographic angiography for minimally invasive mitral and tricuspid valve surgery

Abstract

Background Femoral cannulation for extracorporeal circulation (ECC) is a standard procedure for minimally invasive cardiac surgery (MICS) of the atrio-ventricular valves. Vascular pathologies may cause serious complications. Preoperative computed tomography-angiography (CT-A) of the aorta, axillary and iliac arteries was implemented at our department. Methods Between July 2017 and December 2018 all MICS were retrospectively reviewed ( n \u2009=\u2009143), and divided into 3 groups. Results In patients without CT ( n \u2009=\u200945, 31.5%) ECC was applied via femoral arteries (91.1% right, 8.9% left). Vascular related complications (dissection, stroke, coronary and visceral ischemia, related in-hospital death) occurred in 3 patients (6.7%). In patients with non-contrast CT ( n \u2009=\u200935, 24.5%) only femoral cannulation was applied (94.3% right) with complications in 4 patients (11.4%). CT-angiography ( n \u2009=\u200963, 44.1%) identified 12 patients (19.0%) with vulnerable plaques, 7 patients (11.1%) with kinking of iliac vessels, 41 patients (65.1%) with multiple calcified plaques and 5 patients (7.9%) with small femoral artery diameter (d\u2009≤\u20096\u2009mm). In 7 patients (11.1%) pathologic findings led to alternative cannulation via right axillary artery, additional 4 patients (6.3%) were cannulated via left femoral artery. Only 2 patients (3.2%) suffered from complications. Conclusions CT-A identifies vascular pathologies otherwise undetectable in routine preoperative preparation. A standardized imaging protocol may help to customize the operative strategy.