Euryclides de Jesus Zerbini

Direct epicardial and thoracic leads: Their relationship in man

Abstract During thoracotomy for pulmonary and cardiac diseases (either acquired or congenital) direct epicardial and multiple thoracic leads were recorded in 56 patients, 28 of whom had normal hearts and the other 28 of whom had either single or combined right and left ventricular hypertrophy. A correlation is shown between the recorded thoracic and epicardial morphologies, although the areas of similar morphologies may not be anatomically adjacent. The fact that a certain thoracic morphology can be correlated to a certain area in the heart is of practical value, but it does not necessarily mean that there is a greater or lesser influence of the subjacent myocardium on a certain point of the epicardial surface; rather, it means only that both thoracic and epicardial points are liable to the same variations in potential during the cardiac activity.

Late results of replacement of cardiac valves by dura-mater allografts.

Homologous dura-mater valve was employed in a series of 2.338 patients in the period between January 1971 and January 1979. A restricted group of the first 272 patients were followed-up from six to eight years. This study showed gratifying results following mitral and tricuspid valves replacement and not as satisfactory results after aortic replacement. The postoperative complications were, for mitral valve: fungal endocarditis (0.68%), bacterial endocarditis (2.56%) thromboembolism (1.36%) valve dysfunction (12.9%) and reoperation was performed in 5.12% of the cases. For aortic valve replacement there was fungal endocarditis in 1.36% of cases, bacterial endocarditis in 5.68%, valve dysfunction in 29.54% and the incidence of reoperation was 23.28%. No anticoagulants were employed in this series.

A 23 years of uneventful evolution in a heart-transplanted patient with chagasic cardiomyopathy on a two-drug immunosuppressive protocol.

Address correspondence to: Lionel Rostaing, M.D., Ph.D., Department of Nephrology, Dialysis and Multiorgan Transplantation, Toulouse University Hospital, 1 Avenue Jean Poulhès, TSA 50032, 31059 Toulouse Cédex 9, France. E-mail: rostaing.l@chu-toulouse.fr Received 19 September 2008. Accepted 29 October 2008. Copyright