Eugene A. Grossi

A survey of 77 major infectious complications of median sternotomy: a review of 7,949 consecutive operative procedures.

Sternal wound infections developed following 77 (0.97%) of 7,949 operative procedures involving median sternotomy at New York University Medical Center from 1976 to 1984. Risk factors associated with the development of a sternal wound infection included combined revascularization and valve replacement, early reexploration for bleeding, prolonged low cardiac output syndrome, and prolonged ventilatory support (greater than 24 hours). Concomitant infection at other sites with the same organism as cultured from the sternum was present in 42% of the patients. Thirty-seven patients (48%) were treated with radical debridement followed by closed antibiotic irrigation. In 31 other patients (40%), the wounds were debrided and left to heal by open granulation. Both initial treatments had equally high success rates (78.4% and 74.2%, respectively). However, the open granulation method resulted in a hospital stay that was an average of 10 days longer than the closed antibiotic irrigation method. Muscle flaps were used to expedite healing of open granulation in 9 patients. Analysis of the results of different treatment strategies revealed that if debridement was accomplished within 20 days of the initial cardiac procedure, 76% of the patients could be successfully treated with closed antibiotic irrigation. Conversely, if treatment was delayed for longer than 20 days, 81% of the patients were treated with open granulation (p less than 0.001). Also noted was an inverse relationship between the serum blood urea nitrogen (BUN) level and the success rate of initial treatment with closed antibiotic irrigation. Patients with a serum BUN level of less than 40 mg/dl at the time of debridement had a 90% success rate as opposed to a success rate of 38% when the BUN level was 40 mg/dl or greater. The data presented suggest the following conclusions. Early diagnosis is crucial to successful treatment of sternal wound infection. When diagnosis can be established within 20 days, 80% of infections can be eradicated by the simple approach of debridement and closed antibiotic irrigation. When diagnosis is delayed, however, prompt debridement followed by muscle flaps is the procedure of choice. Open granulation alone, while successful, unnecessarily prolongs the hospital course.

Minimally invasive mitral valve surgery: a 6-year experience with 714 patients.

BACKGROUND This study analyzes a single institutional experience with minimally invasive mitral valve operations of 6 years, reviewing short-term morbidity and mortality and long-term echocardiographic follow-up data. METHODS Seven hundred fourteen consecutive patients had minimally invasive mitral valve procedures between November 1995 and November 2001; concomitant procedures included 91 multiple valves and 18 coronary artery bypass grafts. Of these 714 patients, 561 patients had isolated mitral valve operations (375 repairs, 186 replacements). Mean age was 58.3 years (range, 14 to 96 years; 30.1% > 70 years), and 15.4% of patients had previous cardiac operations. Arterial cannulation was femoral in 79.0% and central in 21%, with the port access balloon endo-occlusion used in 82.3%. Cardioplegia was transjugular retrograde (54.1%) or antegrade (29.4%). Right anterior minithoracotomy was used in 96.6% and left posterior minithoracotomy in 2.2%. RESULTS Hospital mortality for primary isolated mitral valve repair was 1.1% and 5.8% for isolated mitral valve replacement. Overall hospital mortality was 4.2% (30 of 714). Mean cross-clamp time was 92 minutes and mean cardiopulmonary bypass time was 127 minutes. Postoperatively, median ventilation time was 11 hours, intensive care unit time was 19 hours, and total hospital stay was 6 days. Complications for all patients included permanent neurologic deficit (2.9%), aortic dissection (0.3%); there was no mediastinal infection (0.0%). Follow-up echocardiography demonstrated 89.1% of the repair patients had only trace or no residual mitral insufficiency. CONCLUSIONS This study demonstrates that the minimally invasive port access approach to mitral valve operations is reproducible with low perioperative morbidity and mortality and with late outcomes that are equivalent to conventional operations.

Surgical implications of transesophageal echocardiography to grade the atheromatous aortic arch

Stroke is an especially serious complication of cardiopulmonary bypass with an incidence of 2% to 5%. This prospective study used transesophageal echocardiography (TEE) in 97 patients more than 65 years of age (mean age, 73 years) to identify those at high risk for aortic atheroemboli. The atheromatous disease of the aorta was graded by TEE: grade I = minimal intimal thickening (n = 29); II = extensive intimal thickening (n = 33); III = sessile atheroma (n = 15); IV = protruding atheroma (n = 10); V = mobile atheroma (n = 10). Clinical evaluation was also performed by intraoperative aortic palpation. Four patients who were graded as having normal aortas by palpation had intraoperative strokes. In contrast, 3 of these 4 patients were in grade V on TEE. The relationship of TEE to incidence of stroke was statistically significant (p less than 0.006), whereas there was no significant correlation between clinical grade and stroke incidence. Four of 10 TEE grade V patients were treated with hypothermic circulatory arrest and aortic arch debridement, and none suffered strokes. The other 6 patients were treated with standard techniques, and 3 had strokes. These results suggest that patients with mobile atheromatous disease are at high risk for embolic strokes that are not predicted by routine clinical evaluation. Selective use of circulatory arrest in the presence of TEE-detected mobile arch atheromas may reduce the risk of intraoperative stroke.

AORTIC VALVE REPLACEMENT FOR AORTIC STENOSIS IN PERSONS AGED 80 YEARS AND OVER

Seventy-one patients aged greater than or equal to 80 years (mean +/- standard deviation 82 +/- 2) with aortic stenosis or mixed stenosis and regurgitation underwent aortic valve replacement alone (n = 35, group 1) or in combination with a coronary artery bypass procedure without any other valve procedure (n = 36, group 2). Preoperatively, 91% had severe cardiac limitations (New York Heart Association class III or IV). Hospital mortality was 12.7% overall (9 of 71), 5.7% (2 of 35) for group 1 and 19.4% (7 of 36) for group 2. Perioperatively, 1 patient (1.4%) had a stroke. Survival from late cardiac death at 1 and 3 years was 98.2 and 95.5%, respectively, for all patients, 100% for patients who underwent isolated aortic valve replacement, and 96.3 and 91.2%, respectively, for patients who underwent aortic valve replacement plus coronary artery bypass. Eighty-three percent of surviving patients had marked symptomatic improvement. Freedom from all valve-related complications (thromboembolism, anticoagulant, endocarditis, reoperation or prosthetic failure) was 93.3 and 80.4% at 1 and 3 years, respectively. Thus, short- and long-term morbidity and mortality after aortic valve replacement for aortic stenosis in patients aged greater than or equal to 80 years are encouragingly low, although the addition of coronary artery bypass grafting increases short- and long-term mortality.

A comparison of mitral valve reconstruction with mitral valve replacement: Intermediate-term results☆

The continued good results after mitral valve reconstruction prompted this retrospective study to compare operative and late results from our institutional experience since 1976 with 975 porcine mitral valve replacements (MVRs) (1976 to December 1987), 169 mechanical MVRs (1976 to December 1987), and 280 Carpentier-type mitral valve reconstructions (CVRs) (1980 to mid-1988). The operative mortality was 2.0% for isolated CVR, 6.6% for isolated mechanical MVR, and 8.5% for isolated porcine MVR. The overall operative mortality was 5.0% for CVR, 16.6% for mechanical MVR, and 10.6% for porcine MVR. The overall 5-year survival including hospital deaths was 76% for CVR, 72% for mechanical MVR, and 69% for porcine MVR. By multivariate analysis, the predictors of increased operative risk and of decreased survival were age, New York Heart Association functional class IV status, previous cardiac operation, and performance of concomitant cardiac surgical procedures. The type of valvular procedure was not predictive of operative risk or overall survival. The 5-year freedom from reoperation was 94.4% for nonrheumatic patients having CVR, 77.4% for rheumatic patients having CVR, 96.4% for mechanical MVR, and 96.6% for porcine MVR (p less than 0.05, rheumatic patients with CVR versus both MVR groups). The 5-year freedom from all valve-related morbidity and mortality was significantly better for valve reconstruction compared with both types of valve replacement. Thus, the operative risk and late survival obtained after mitral valve reconstruction were at least equivalent to those obtained after MVR. In addition, patients receiving mitral valve reconstruction had less valve-related combined morbidity than patients receiving valve replacement, thus making mitral valve reconstruction preferable in some patients with mitral insufficiency.

Minimally invasive cardiopulmonary bypass with cardioplegic arrest: A closed chest technique with equivalent myocardial protection☆☆☆★★★♢

Thoracoscopic cardiac surgery is presently under intense investigation. This study examined the feasibility and efficacy of closed chest cardiopulmonary bypass and cardioplegic arrest in comparison with standard open chest methods in a dog model. The minimally invasive closed chest group (n = 6) underwent percutaneous cardiopulmonary bypass and cardiac venting, as well as antegrade cardioplegic arrest through use of a specially designed percutaneous endovascular aortic occluder and cardioplegic solution delivery system. The control group (n = 6) underwent standard sternotomy and conventional open chest cardiopulmonary bypass, aortic crossclamping, and antegrade cardioplegia. Ischemic arrest time was 1 hour in each group. Ventricular pressures and sonomicrometer segment lengths were recorded before bypass and at 30 and 60 minutes after bypass. Left ventricular function did not differ significantly between the two groups, as demonstrated by measurements of elastance and end-diastolic stroke work. Also, the preload recruitable work area was 69% and 60% of baseline at 30 and 60 minutes after bypass in the minimally invasive group versus 65% and 62% in the conventional control group (p = not significant); the stroke work end-diastolic length relationship was 78% and 71% of baseline in the minimally invasive group at these intervals versus 77% and 74% in the conventional control group (p = not significant). Myocardial temperatures were similar throughout bypass in the two groups, and ultrastructural examination of prebypass and postbypass biopsy specimens showed no differences between groups. These results demonstrate that minimally invasive cardiopulmonary bypass with cardioplegic arrest is as feasible, safe, and effective as conventional open chest cardiopulmonary bypass. Thus current technology may allow wider clinical application of closed chest cardiac surgery.

The value of silent myocardial ischemia monitoring in the prediction of perioperative myocardial infarction in patients undergoing peripheral vascular surgery

Real-time electrocardiographic monitoring for silent myocardial ischemia was performed on 200 patients undergoing peripheral vascular surgery to try to better define those at high risk of perioperative myocardial infarction. The patients were divided into those undergoing abdominal aortic aneurysm or lower extremity revascularization procedures (group I, n = 120) and those undergoing carotid artery endarterectomy (group II, n = 80). Silent ischemia was detected during the preoperative, intraoperative, or post-operative periods in 60.8% of group I and 67.5% of group II patients. Six group I and three group II patients suffered an acute perioperative myocardial infarction with two cardiac deaths. In both groups I and II a variety of parameters based on monitoring of silent myocardial ischemia were compared between the subgroups of patients who had myocardial infarction and those who did not. The results show that in both groups there was a significantly (p less than or equal to 0.05) greater total duration of perioperative ischemic time, total number of perioperative ischemic episodes, and total duration of perioperative ischemic time as a percent of total monitoring time in patients who suffered a perioperative myocardial infarction compared to those who did not. Multivariate logistic regression analysis of preoperative characteristics in all 200 patients showed the occurrence of preoperative silent myocardial ischemia and angina at rest to be the only significant predictors of perioperative myocardial infarction. Thus perioperative monitoring for silent myocardial ischemia might noninvasively identify those patients undergoing peripheral vascular surgery who are at increased risk for perioperative myocardial infarction, permitting implementation of timely preventive measures in selected patients.

Beta blockade to decrease silent myocardial ischemia during peripheral vascular surgery

Abstract The incidence and duration of intraoperative silent myocardial ischemia have been shown to be significantly correlated with the incidence of perioperative myocardial infarction in patients undergoing peripheral vascular surgery. To assess the effectiveness of intraoperative beta blockade in limiting such silent myocardial ischemia, a group of 48 patients was treated with oral metoprolol immediately prior to peripheral vascular surgery. The total duration of intraoperative silent myocardial ischemia, the percentage of intraoperative time silent myocardial ischemia was present, the number of intraoperative episodes of silent myocardial ischemia, and the intraoperative heart rate in the treated patients were compared with those in 152 similar but untreated peripheral vascular surgery patients. The patients treated with oral metoprolol had significantly less intraoperative silent ischemia with respect to relative duration and frequency of episodes, a significantly lower intraoperative heart rate, and less intraoperative silent myocardial ischemia in terms of total absolute duration. These results suggest that beta-adrenergic activation may play a major role in the pathogenesis of silent myocardial ischemia during peripheral vascular surgery.

Protruding aortic arch atheromas: risk of stroke during heart surgery with and without aortic arch endarterectomy.

BACKGROUND Stroke occurs in 1% to 7% of heart surgery. Aortic arch atherosclerosis is a risk factor for intraoperative stroke, and endarterectomy has been proposed to prevent stroke during heart surgery in patients with arch atheromas. METHODS AND RESULTS Intraoperative transesophageal echocardiography was performed in 3404 patients undergoing heart surgery between 1990 and 1996. Use of transesophageal echocardiography was unselected and based on equipment availability. Aortic arch atheromas (>/=5 mm, or mobile) were seen in 268 (8%) patients. They were evaluated for intraoperative stroke (confirmed by a neurologist and cerebral infarction on computed tomography or magnetic resonance imaging). Arch endarterectomy was performed in 43 patients as an adjunct to their cardiac procedure in an attempt to prevent intraoperative stroke. The intraoperative stroke rate in all 268 patients with atheromas was high (15.3%). On univariate analysis, age, previous stroke, and arch endarterectomy were significantly associated with intraoperative stroke. On multivariate analysis, age (odds ratio 3.9, P =.01) and arch endarterectomy (odds ratio 3.6, P =.001) were independently predictive of intraoperative stroke. Mortality rate in all 268 patients was high (14.9%). These patients with atheromas also had a long recovery room, intensive care unit, and total hospital length of stay (48 days). CONCLUSIONS Patients with protruding aortic arch atheromas are at high risk for intraoperative stroke, significant and multiple morbidity, prolonged hospital stay, and death resulting from heart surgery. Aortic arch endarterectomy is strongly associated with intraoperative stroke; its use should be carefully considered in light of these results.

Off-Pump Coronary Artery Bypass Grafting Reduces Mortality and Stroke in Patients With Atheromatous Aortas: A Case Control Study

Background—Patients with severe atheromatous aortic disease (AAD) who undergo coronary artery bypass (CABG) have an increased risk of death and stroke. We hypothesized that in these high risk patients, off-pump coronary artery bypass (OPCAB) technique is associated with lower morbidity and mortality. Methods and Results—Between June 1993 and January 2002, 5737 patients undergoing CABG had routine intra-operative TEE with 913 (15.9%) found to have severe AAD in the aortic arch or ascending aorta. Of these, 211 patients who underwent OPCAB were matched with 211 on-pump CABG patients by age, ejection fraction, history of stroke, cerebrovascular disease, diabetes, renal disease, nonelective operation, and previous cardiac surgery. Hospital mortality was 11.4% (24/211) for on-pump CABG and 3.8% (8/211) for OPCAB (P =0.003). Multivariate analysis revealed that increased mortality was associated with on-pump CABG (P =0.001), acute MI (P =0.03), number of grafts (P =0.01), age (P =0.01), history of stroke or cerebrovascular disease (P =0.04), CHF (P =0.02), and peripheral vascular disease (P =0.03). Multivariate analysis showed that OPCAB technique was associated with decreased stroke (P =0.05). Freedom from any complication was 78.7% for on-pump CABG and 91.9% for OPCAB (P <0.001). At 36 month follow-up multivariate analysis revealed that increased mortality was associated with age (P =0.001), previous MI (P =0.03), and renal disease (P =0.04), whereas increased survival was associated with increased number of grafts (P =0.001) and OPCAB (P =0.01). Conclusions—OPCAB surgery in patients with severe AAD is associated with lower risk of death, stroke and complications and improved mid-term survival. Routine intra-operative TEE allows identification of these patients and directs choice of appropriate surgical technique.