Mustafa Sirlak

Comparative study of microfibrillar collagen hemostat (Colgel) and oxidized cellulose (Surgicel) in high transfusion-risk cardiac surgery

OBJECTIVE The effects of microfibrillar collagen hemostat (Colgel) and oxidized cellulose (Surgicel) on bleeding and allogeneic transfusions were compared in cardiac operations with a predicted high risk of bleeding. METHODS Between August 1999 and November 2001, 71 patients undergoing elective, high risk of bleeding operations were studied after giving informed consent. The procedures included repeat cardiac operations (aorta-coronary bypass operations or valvular operations), ascending aortic aneurysm repair necessitating deep hypothermic circulatory arrest, and ascending aortic grafting without deep hypothermic circulatory arrest. Subjects were excluded if they had recent (<5 days) acetylsalicylic acid ingestion, thrombolytic therapy, or anticoagulant therapy (heparin <4 hours preoperatively or warfarin <3 days preoperatively). Consenting subjects were randomized to receive either Colgel or Surgicel. RESULTS Chest tube drainage in the first 24 hours was 373 +/- 143 mL in the Colgel group and 571 +/- 144 mL in the Surgicel group (P =.01). Total postoperative chest tube drainage was 423 +/- 154 mL (range, 280-1100 mL) in the Colgel group and 677 +/- 128 mL (range, 285-1350 mL) in the Surgicel group (P =.01). In addition, chest tube drainage was compared between the 2 groups every 3 hours after operation. Blood loss in the first 3 postoperative hours was significantly less in the Colgel group (132 +/- 41 vs 228 +/- 57 mL, P <.001). In the following 3-hour interval, this significant difference persisted (67 +/- 24 vs 121 +/- 49 mL, P <.001). CONCLUSIONS In conclusion, the easy application, low cost, and significant blood-loss reduction effect of microfibrillar collagen powder renders this agent attractive for cardiac operations associated with high risk of bleeding.

The effect of preoperative digitalis and atenolol combination on postoperative atrial fibrillation incidence

PURPOSE The most frequent arrhythmia after coronary artery bypass surgery is atrial fibrillation (AF). The prevention and treatment of this type of arrhythmia is subobtimal. Digitalis, beta-blockers, diltiazem and amiodarone are the preferred drugs for the treatment. This study was designed to compare the effects of preoperatively started digitalis and atenolol in combination and separately, on the incidence of AF that occurs within 7 days following the operation. MATERIALS AND METHOD One-hundred and sixty patients who had similar demographic properties were randomly grouped as group I, that preoperatively received combined drug therapy (n=40), group II preoperatively used digitalis (n=40), group III atenolol (n=40), and group IV was the control group (n=40). RESULTS Postoperative AF incidence was 25, 15,4, and 17,9% in groups IV, III, and II, respectively, whereas it was 5% in group I which was lower than all other groups, but the difference was only significant between groups I and IV (P=0.012). CONCLUSION The combined use of atenolol and digitalis preoperatively was considered as an efficient treatment for lowering the incidence of AF following coronary artery bypass surgery.

Vacuum-assisted closure and bilateral pectoralis muscle flaps for different stages of mediastinitis after cardiac surgery

PurposeTo assess the results of bilateral pectoralis major muscle flaps (BPMMF) and vacuum-assisted closure (VAC) at different stages of postcardiac surgery mediastinitis.MethodsOf 65 patients with a deep sternal wound infection (DSWI) after cardiac surgery, 33 with a stable sternum were treated with VAC (59.3 ± 11.7 years of age) and 32 with an unstable sternum or osteomyelitis (63.3 ± 9.8 years of age) were treated with early BPMMF and continuous irrigation. Delayed BPMMF reconstruction was necessary in six VAC patients.ResultsThe overall incidence of DSWI was 1.04% within the study period. Deep sternal wound infection was diagnosed 15.9 ± 10.8 days (range 5–62 days) after surgery. Diabetes was more common in the BPMMF group than in the VAC group (P = 0.046). Hospital mortality after treatment was 4.6% (n = 3) overall. Causes of death were septic multiorgan failure and respiratory failure. The infective pathogens were methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA; n = 2) and Acinetobacter species (n = 1). The median hospital stay was 29 days (range 15–110 days). After 6 months, only one recurrent sternal infection had occurred in the VAC group.ConclusionsEarly BPMMF is an effective surgical treatment for DSWI in patients with an unstable sternum and osteomyelitis. VAC may be considered for patients without osteomyelitis but a stable sternum, or as adjuvant therapy in patients with comorbidity.

Native valve Brucella endocarditis.

Brucellosis is frequently seen in Mediterranean and Middle East countries, including Turkey. We report the medical and surgical management of 31 cases of native endocarditis.

Antiarrhythmic effect of magnesium sulfate after open heart surgery: effect of blood levels

BACKGROUND Arrhythmias following cardiac surgery is still a difficult complication to treat. Magnesium sulfate is an effective antiarrhythmic agent with negligible side effects. In this study, effects of magnesium sulfate as a first line antiarrhythmic agent was compared with results of two different well-accepted antiarrhythmic agents. METHODS One hundred patients with arrhythmia were prospectively randomized to a study and a control group. Lidocaine and amiodarone were accepted as standard antiarrhythmic agents. Patients in study group were received magnesium sulfate routinely as a first line antiarrhythmic agent. Unresponsive arrhythmias were treated with standard antiarrhythmic agents. Control group patients received only standard antiarrhythmics. RESULTS Magnesium sulfate alone was effective in 56% of the study group whereas 74% of the control group were responsive to standard antiarrhythmics (P=n.s.). In study group, a subgroup analysis according to blood levels of Mg2+ revealed that magnesium sulfate was more effective in patients with low Mg2+ levels (63% for low Mg2+ levels, 55% for normal Mg2+ levels, 36% for high Mg2+ levels) and ventricular arrhythmias (60% for ventricular and 40% for supraventricular arrhythmias), without statistical significance. CONCLUSIONS Magnesium sulfate is an effective and safe antiarrhythmic agent for arrhythmias developed after open-heart surgery. Its antiarrhythmic effect may relate to its pharmacological properties and unrelated to normalization of the circulating magnesium concentrations. We recommend its use as a first line antiarrhythmic agent without routine measurement of blood levels.

The efficacies of modified mechanical post conditioning on myocardial protection for patients undergoing coronary artery bypass grafting

BackgroundCoronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) with cardioplegic cardiac arrest and cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB) is associated with myocardial injury. The aim of this study was to investigate whether a modified mechanical post-conditioning (MMPOC) technique has a myocardial protective effect by enhancing early metabolic recovery of the heart following revascularization.MethodsA prospective, randomized trial was conducted at a single-center university hospital performing adult cardiac surgery. Seventy-nine adult patients undergoing first-time elective isolated multivessel coronary artery bypass grafting were prospectively randomized to MMPOC or control group. Anesthetic, cardiopulmonary bypass, myocardial protection, and surgical techniques were standardized. The post reperfusion cardiac indices, inotrope use and biochemical-electrocardiographic evidence of myocardial injury were recorded. The incidence of postoperative complications was recorded prospectively.ResultsOperative characteristics, including CPB and aortic cross-clamp time, were similar between the two groups (p>0.05). The MMPOC group had lower troponin I and other cardiac biomarkers level post CPB and postoperatively, with greater improvement in cardiac indices (p<0.001). MMPOC shortened post surgery hospitalization from 9.1 ± 2.1 to 7.5 ± 1.6 days (p<0.001).ConclusionsMMPOC technique promotes early metabolic recovery of the heart during elective CABG, leading to better myocardial protection and functional recovery.

Coexistence of left-sided inferior vena cava, deep vein thrombosis of the upper and lower extremities and prothrombotic polymorphisms in a young patient: a case report.

A literature review suggests an interaction between an anomaly of the inferior vena cava and thrombophilia in the pathogenesis of deep vein thrombosis. Genetic thrombotic abnormalities have been found in some of the subjects having venous thromboembolic diseases. We report a case of a young man presenting with venous thrombosis of the upper and lower extremities, left-sided vena cava inferior and with combination of heterozygosity of the mutation of the genes Methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase 677 and Factor V 1691.

Effects of prophylactic indomethacin treatment on postoperative pericardial effusion after aortic surgery.

OBJECTIVE This prospective, randomized study assessed the prophylactic effects of indomethacin treatment on pericardial effusion after aortic surgery. METHODS Eighty-five patients were found eligible to participate in this double-blind study. Patients were assigned to a control group receiving oral placebo or to an indomethacin group receiving 25 mg oral indomethacin 3 times daily for 7 days preoperatively. After aortic surgery, patients were followed up clinically and evaluated for pericardial effusion with transthoracic echocardiography on the first and seventh postoperative days during hospitalization and at the second and sixth weeks after discharge. RESULTS The demographic and the operative data were similar between groups. The surgical interventions included Bentall procedure in 63 patients, valve-sparing procedures in 7 patients, and supracoronary ascending aorta replacement in 15 patients. Hemiarch replacement was performed in 16 patients. No patient in either group had pericardial effusion after the first postoperative day. At the end of the first week, however, 2 patients had pericardial effusion, at the end of the second week after discharge, 3 patients had pericardial effusion, and at the end of the sixth week after discharge, 4 patients had PEs. One of the patients who had PE at the end of the sixth week received indomethacin; the others were all in the control group, a significant difference (P=.019). Five patients underwent transthoracic echocardiographically guided pericardiocentesis; 4 underwent surgical pericardiocentesis. CONCLUSIONS Indomethacin may have beneficial effects on the outcomes and incidence of postoperative pericardial effusion after aortic surgery.

Effects of carbamazepine on spinal cord ischemia

BACKGROUND Prophylactic treatment with carbamazepine has been shown to reduce the cerebral damage and neurologic deficit in ischemic conditions. A randomized controlled study based on a rabbit model was designed to study the effect of carbamazepine on a spinal cord ischemic reperfusion injury. METHODS Thirty New Zealand rabbits were randomly assigned to 1 of the 2 groups (n = 15 per group): group I (control group) and group II (carbamazepine group). Spinal cord ischemia was induced by infrarenal aortic crossclamp for 25 minutes in both groups. Functional evaluation with the Tarlov score during a 2-day observation period and histopathologic assessment of the lumbar spinal cord were performed. Changes in spinal cord morphology were observed with hematoxylin-eosin staining and electron microscopy. Gray matter damage was assessed on the basis of the number of normal neurons in the ventral horn. RESULTS Diffuse destruction of gray matter with moderate to severe vacuolization and essentially no normal ganglion cells was observed in the spinal cord of rabbits in the control group, whereas specimens of rabbits assigned to the carbamazepine group showed ganglion cells with normal nuclei and cytoplasm (P < .0001). Neurologic impairment was significantly attenuated in the carbamazepine group compared with the Tarlov scores of the control group (P < .0001 at day 2). CONCLUSION Carbamazepine may protect the spinal cord from ischemic reperfusion injury that is associated with ameliorated neurologic and histopathologic results.

Multiple hydatid cystectomy of the heart necessitating LIMA to LAD anastomosis in a young patient

Cardiac hydatid disease is very rare, even in endemic regions. Clinical manifestations included chest pain, anaphylactic shock, constrictive pericarditis, congestive heart failure, and arterial embolism. Surgery is the exclusive therapy, where the cysts are excised during open-heart surgery. The surgical approach therefore must be performed carefully, given the potential complications that surgery may bring. Because of the risk of potentially lethal complications, early diagnosis and definitive treatment are important. A 32-year-old male patient was admitted with chest pain, weight loss, lethargy, and dizziness. On the transesophageal echocardiography study, a cystic mass (2.5 x 3 x 4.5 cm in dimension adjacent to the left ventricular posterior wall) that was divided into two by a septum was noted. Diagnosis of hydatidosis was confirmed with serologic tests (ELISA and indirect immunofluorescence). Echinococcosis, also known as hydatid disease, is common in several regions of the world, for example, the Mediterranean countries, the Middle East, South America, and East Africa. While performing pericystectomy in the anterior left ventricular wall, we noticed that there were three cysts, contrary to the preoperative diagnosis pointing a single one, and it was impossible to effectively complete the procedure without compromising anterosuperiorly displaced left anterior descending artery (LAD). We decided to go on bypass, arrest the heart, and complete the pericystectomy at the cost of injuring LAD and grafting the left internal mammary artery to LAD. Microscopic examination of the cyst showed a germinal layer and an avascular, eosinophilic, chitinous layer that confirmed the diagnosis of hydatid cyst. The patient was discharged on the fifth postoperative day on albendazole medication.