J Seeburger

Transapical aortic valve implantation in 100 consecutive patients: comparison to propensity- matched conventional aortic valve replacement

AIMS To evaluate the outcome of transapical aortic valve implantation (TA-AVI) in comparison to conventional surgery. METHODS AND RESULTS One hundred consecutive high-risk patients with symptomatic aortic valve stenosis received TA-AVI using the Edwards SAPIEN pericardial xenograft between February 2006 and January 2008. Patient age was 82.7 +/- 5 years, 77 were females, logistic EuroSCORE predicted risk of mortality was 29.4 +/- 13% and Society Thoracic Surgeons score risk for mortality was 15.2 +/- 8.3%. Propensity score analysis was used to identify a control group of patients that underwent conventional aortic valve replacement (C-AVR). Transapical aortic valve implantation was performed successfully in 97 patients, whereas three patients required early conversion. There were no new onset neurological events in the TA-AVI group and early extubation was performed in 82 patients. Echocardiography revealed good valve function with low transvalvular gradients in all patients. Thirty-day survival was 90 +/- 3 vs. 85 +/- 4% for TA-AVI vs. C-AVR, and 1-year survival was 73 +/- 4 vs. 69 +/- 5% (P = 0.55). CONCLUSION Transapical aortic valve implantation is a safe, minimally invasive, and off-pump technique to treat high-risk patients with aortic stenosis. Results of the initial 100 patients are good and compare favourably to conventional surgery.

Increased risk of dehiscence after tricuspid valve repair with rigid annuloplasty rings

OBJECTIVES Surgical management of tricuspid valve regurgitation mainly consists of tricuspid valve annuloplasty, usually performed with implantation of a rigid ring or a flexible band. METHODS We performed a retrospective analysis on 820 patients who underwent tricuspid valve repair between March 2002 and July 2009 with either a flexible Cosgrove-Edwards band (n = 415; Edwards Lifesciences LLC, Irvine, Calif) or a rigid Carpentier-Edwards Classic annuloplasty ring (n = 405; Edwards Lifesciences). Mean patient age was 69.2 ± 9.5 years, 54.1% were female, and average logistic EuroSCORE was 13.3% ± 12.5%. Concomitant procedures were performed in 94.6% of patients (mitral valve surgery, 80.6%; aortic valve surgery, 28.2%; coronary artery bypass grafting, 24.5%; atrial fibrillation ablation, 44.5%). One fifth of the operations were reoperative procedures. Follow-up was 94% complete, with mean duration of 21.0 ± 19.0 months. RESULTS Thirty-day mortality was 10.1% (Cosgrove-Edwards, 11.9%; Carpentier-Edwards, 8.4%), and 5-year survival was 62.4% (Carpentier-Edwards, 64.7%; Cosgrove-Edwards, 60.3%). Postoperative echocardiography showed significant improvement in tricuspid valve function, with reduction in tricuspid regurgitation grade from 2.3 ± 0.7 to 0.7 ± 0.7, and no differences between groups. Use of a Carpentier-Edwards ring, however, was associated with significantly higher risk of dehiscence (Carpentier-Edwards, 8.7%; Cosgrove-Edwards, 0.9%; P < .001), almost exclusively at the septal leaflet portion of the annulus. Multivariate analysis identified annuloplasty type as independently predicting ring dehiscence (odds ratio, 10.7; 95% confidence interval, 3.2-36.5; P < .001). Patients with annuloplasty dehiscence had more residual tricuspid regurgitation on predischarge echocardiography than did patients without dehiscence (1.4 ± 0.63 vs 0.7 ± 0.6; P < .001). Ten patients underwent reoperation for recurrent tricuspid regurgitation, 4 with ring dehiscence. Five-year freedom from reoperation was 95.3% (Cosgrove-Edwards, 97.7%; Carpentier-Edwards, 92.3%). CONCLUSIONS Although both rigid and flexible systems provide acceptable early tricuspid valve repair results, use of a rigid ring increases risk of subsequent ring dehiscence.

Redo aortic valve surgery: Influence of prosthetic valve endocarditis on outcomes.

OBJECTIVE Compared with reoperative aortic valve replacement for nonendocarditic causes, the contemporary risk and long-term outcomes of reoperation for aortic prosthetic valve endocarditis are ill-defined. METHODS Between December 1994 and April 2008, 313 patients underwent reoperative aortic valve replacement, of whom 152 (48.6%) had prosthetic valve endocarditis. Mean follow-up was 6.5 ± 0.4 years and 97.4% complete. RESULTS Patients with prosthetic valve endocarditis were older with a higher risk profile. The overall hospital mortality was 15.3% (n = 48) (prosthetic valve endocarditis vs nonendocarditis: 24.3%, n = 37, vs 6.8%, n = 11; P < .001). Independent predictors of perioperative mortality for prosthetic valve endocarditis were sepsis (odds ratio [OR], 6.5; 95% confidence interval [CI], 2.0-21.0; P < .01), ejection fraction less than 30% (OR, 5.8; 95% CI, 1.3-25.0; P = .02), concomitant coronary artery bypass grafting (OR, 3.3; 95% CI, 1.1-9.8; P = .03), and aortic root abscess (OR, 2.7; 95% CI, 1.2-6.4; P = .02), and for the nonendocarditis group were concomitant coronary artery bypass grafting (OR, 8.1; 95% CI, 2.0-33.0; P < .01), and mitral valve surgery (OR, 4.8; 95% CI, 1.3-17.9; P = .02). The 1-, 3-, 5-, and 10-year survivals for patients with and without prosthetic valve endocarditis were 52% ± 4% versus 82% ± 3%, 43% ± 5% versus 73% ± 4%, 37% ± 5% versus 63% ± 5%, and 31% ± 7% versus 56% ± 8%, respectively (log rank < 0.001). Predictors of long-term mortality in prosthetic valve endocarditis were sepsis (OR, 3.1; 95% CI, 1.5-4.5; P < .01) and unstable preoperative status (OR, 1.8; 95% CI, 1.2-3.5; P = .04), whereas in nonendocarditis patients the only predictor was New York Heart Association class IV (OR, 2.5; 95% CI, 2.8-7.4; P < .01). Five-year actuarial freedom from endocarditis was 80% ± 0.3% versus 95% ± 0.6% (prosthetic valve endocarditis cersus nonendocarditis; P = .002). CONCLUSIONS Despite contemporary therapy, reoperation for aortic prosthetic valve endocarditis is still associated with relatively high perioperative mortality and limited long-term survival.

The role of the heart team in complicated transcatheter aortic valve implantation: a 7-year single-centre experience

OBJECTIVES European guidelines recommend to perform transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI) within a multidisciplinary heart team. However, there is a strong drive--despite existing guidelines--to perform TAVI outside of specialized centres. The aim of this study was to clarify the necessity of on-site cardiac surgery by providing a clear insight into the complications during/after TAVI that needed surgical management. METHODS A total of 2287 (1523 transfemoral, 752 transapical and 12 transaortic) patients, with a mean age of 84.5 ± 5.3 years, and a mean log EuroSCORE of 21.7 ± 16.3, of which 205 were female (84%), underwent TAVI since February 2006 at our institution. All procedure-related complications that required surgical interventions, whether immediate or delayed but within the initial hospital stay, were recorded and retrospectively analysed. RESULTS Out of this cohort, 245 (10.7%) patients required surgical treatment due to major complications. A total of 42 patients (1.8%) underwent conversion to full sternotomy and 27 (1.2%) were dependent on the short-term use of the heart-lung machine. Vascular complications with surgical intervention were seen in 85 patients (3.7%), 54 patients (2.4%) had to have a rethoracotomy within their initial stay and 15 (0.7%) required a cardiac reoperation. CONCLUSIONS Severe complications during TAVI that can only be resolved surgically will continue to occur. Therefore, each TAVI procedure should be conducted or accompanied by a cardiac surgeon and an experienced team within a specialized centre.

Significant acceleration of 2D-3D registration-based fusion of ultrasound and x-ray images by mesh-based DRR rendering

For transcatheter-based minimally invasive procedures in structural heart disease ultrasound and X-ray are the two enabling imaging modalities. A live fusion of both real-time modalities can potentially improve the workflow and the catheter navigation by combining the excellent instrument imaging of X-ray with the high-quality soft tissue imaging of ultrasound. A recently published approach to fuse X-ray fluoroscopy with trans-esophageal echo (TEE) registers the ultrasound probe to X-ray images by a 2D-3D registration method which inherently provides a registration of ultrasound images to X-ray images. In this paper, we significantly accelerate the 2D-3D registration method in this context. The main novelty is to generate the projection images (DRR) of the 3D object not via volume ray-casting but instead via a fast rendering of triangular meshes. This is possible, because in the setting for TEE/X-ray fusion the 3D geometry of the ultrasound probe is known in advance and their main components can be described by triangular meshes. We show that the new approach can achieve a speedup factor up to 65 and does not affect the registration accuracy when used in conjunction with the gradient correlation similarity measure. The improvement is independent of the underlying registration optimizer. Based on the results, a TEE/X-ray fusion could be performed with a higher frame rate and a shorter time lag towards real-time registration performance. The approach could potentially accelerate other applications of 2D-3D registrations, e.g. the registration of implant models with X-ray images.

Fate of patients with extracorporeal lung assist as a bridge to lung transplantation versus patients without – a single-center experience

Objectives: Mechanical lung assist (MLA; extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) or extracorporeal lung assist (ECLA)) is increasingly used as a temporary bridge to lung transplantation (LTx). This study was designed to evaluate the impact of preoperative MLA on the operative outcome, including longer-term survival, in comparison to patients undergoing LTx without preoperative MLA. Methods: A total of 143 patients underwent LTx at our institution from 2002 to 2011. Forty-three percent (n=62) of patients presented with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis and 71% (n=102) presented with severely elevated pulmonary artery pressure. Results: Thirteen patients (9.1%) required pre-LTx MLA support (age 44 ±13 years, double LTx 73.3%, female gender 53%) whereas 130 patients did not (age 52 ±11 years, double LTx 41.5%, female gender 36.9%). In one patient, MLA was successfully weaned and the patient underwent subsequent LTx. All patients in the MLA group were intraoperatively supported with continuous ECMO. One patient had to be supported with MLA after LTx for a period of 8 days. The short-term and mid-term postoperative survival of the MLA patient group was not significantly different from the non-MLA group (LogRank p=0.28). The 30-day, 90-day and 1-year survivals were 95%, 90% and 71%, respectively, in the patients without MLA compared to 85%, 77% and 68% in the MLA group. Conclusions: MLA has no impact on long-term survival rate in LTx patients, but has an influence in postoperative survival. MLA support is a valuable tool to bridge unstable patients to LTx.

Applying the Gender Lens to Risk Factors and Outcome after Adult Cardiac Surgery.

Background: Applying the gender lens to risk factors and outcome after adult cardiac surgery is of major clinical interest, as the inclusion of sex and gender in research design and analysis may guarantee more comprehensive cardiovascular science and may consecutively result in a more effective surgical treatment as well as cost savings in cardiac surgery. Methods: We have reviewed classical cardiovascular risk factors (diabetes, arterial hypertension, hyperlipidemia, smoking) according to a gender-based approach. Furthermore, we have examined comorbidities such as depression, renal insufficiency, and hormonal influences in regard to gender. Gender-sensitive economic aspects have been evaluated, surgical outcome has been analyzed, and cardiovascular research has been considered from a gender perspective. Results: The influence of typical risk factors and outcome after cardiac surgery has been evaluated from a gender perspective, and the gender-specific distribution of these risk factors is reported on. The named comorbidities are listed. Economic aspects demonstrated a gender gap. Outcome after coronary and valvular surgeries as well as after heart transplantation are displayed in this regard. Results after postoperative use of intra-aortic balloon pump are shown. Gender-related aspects of clinical and biomedical cardiosurgical research are reported. Conclusions: Female gender has become an independent risk factor of survival after the majority of cardiosurgical procedures. Severely impaired left ventricular ejection fraction independently predicts survival in men, whereas age does in females.

Gender-dependent differences in patients undergoing tricuspid valve surgery.

OBJECTIVES The proportion of women in tricuspid valve (TV) surgery is almost 60% and above, especially in redo surgery. Is there a different epidemiology for male or female patients regarding the incidence of TV regurgitation? Are there differences in the peri- and postoperative outcome in male and female patients? In these questions, we were interested in and investigated our database of patients with isolated TV surgery. METHODS We present a retrospective analysis of 92 patients (37 men and 55 women) undergoing isolated TV surgery due to symptomatic severe tricuspid regurgitation and/or due to active endocarditis between May 1997 and August 2010. Mean age was 60.5 ± 15.8 years, mean log European System for Cardiac Operative Risk Evaluation (EuroSCORE) was 12.1 ± 11.3%, 51.4% of the operations were redos (men: 27%, women: 65%, p < 0.001), 36% due to active endocarditis (men: 62%, women: 18%, p < 0.001). Follow-up was 95% complete with a mean duration of 34.2 ± 33.0 months. RESULTS Overall 30-day mortality was 5.4% (men: 5.4% and women: 5.5%). Five-year survival was 70.2 ± 11.4 versus 76.3 ± 6.8% (p = 0.3); 5-year freedom from TV-related reoperation was 95.8 ± 4.1 versus 84.6 ± 8.5% for men and women (p = 0.4). There was no significant gender-dependent difference regarding the global postoperative outcome. In a binary logistic regression analysis with the dependent variable gender, the categories age, log EuroSCORE, endocarditis, previous cardiac surgery, and preoperative cardiac rhythm, an odds ratio of 0.17 for men regarding the factor endocarditis (95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.05 to 0.57; p = 0.004) was shown, as well as an odds ratio of 3.2 for women regarding the factor previous cardiac surgery (95% CI: 1.0 to 10.1; p = 0.04) and an odds ratio of 5.9 regarding the factor presence of a permanent pacemaker (95% CI: 1.4 to 24.7; p = 0.02). CONCLUSIONS We were not able to find significant gender-dependent differences in the postoperative outcome after isolated TV surgery, but there seem to be demographic gender-dependent differences regarding the reasons for TV surgery, which could influence the treatment of patients.

Coronary artery disease: a new manifestation in Dubowitz syndrome.

We report here a case of coronary artery disease in a patient with Dubowitz syndrome. A 19-year-old man suffered from recurrent angina after an anterior wall myocardial infarction. Coronary angiogram demonstrated severe stenoses of the left main and obtuse marginal vessels, as well as occlusion of the left anterior descending artery. The patient was successfully treated with coronary artery bypass graft surgery.

Intra-Aortic Balloon Pump Malposition Reduces Visceral Artery Perfusion in an Acute Animal Model.

Visceral artery perfusion can be potentially affected by intra-aortic balloon pump (IABP) catheters. We utilized an animal model to quantify the acute impact of a low balloon position on mesenteric artery perfusion. In six pigs (78 ± 7 kg), a 30-cc IABP was placed in the descending aorta in a transfemoral procedure. The celiac artery (CA) and the cranial mesenteric artery (CMA) were surgically dissected. Transit time blood flow was measured for (i) baseline, (ii) 1:1 augmentation with the balloon proximal to the visceral arteries, and (iii) 1:1 augmentation with the balloon covering the visceral arteries. Blood flow in the CMA and CA was reduced by 17 and 24%, respectively, when the balloon compromised visceral arteries compared with a position above the visceral arteries (flow in mL/min: CMA: (i) 1281 ± 512, (ii) 1389 ± 287, (iii) 1064 ± 276, P < 0.05 for 3 vs. 1 and 3 vs. 2; CA: (i) 885 ± 370, (ii) 819 ± 297, (iii) 673 ± 315; P < 0.05 for 3 vs. 1). The covering of visceral arteries by an IABP balloon causes a significant reduction of visceral artery perfusion; thus, the positioning of this device during implantation is critical for obtaining a satisfactory outcome.