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Background: The aim of this study was to evaluate the predictability of postoperative pulmonary artery pressure (PAP) using intraoperative flow study in patients undergoing bidirectional Glenn operation.Methods: Patients who underwent Glenn operation under cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB) were included in the study. During the operation, after the completion of additional procedures under CPB, an intraoperative flow study was performed prior to Glenn anastomosis. After the completion of bidirectional Glenn, the patient was separated from the CPB and PAP was measured. The relationship between this pressure and flow study measurement was analyzed.Results: Nine patients who underwent bidirectional Glenn operation with additional procedures under CPB between July 2018 and January 2019 were included in the study. The median PAP was 9 mm Hg (interquartile range [IQR]: 7-10 mm Hg) in the flow study and 10 mm Hg (IQR: 8-11 mm Hg) after CPB, and the median difference between these pressures was 1 mm Hg (IQR: 1-3 mm Hg). There was a strong correlation between these two measurements (r= 0.732; P= .025).Conclusion: The results of this study show that PAP after the Glenn procedure can be estimated using an intraoperative flow study. We believe that this method may be useful in intraoperative decision-making for Glenn operation in single ventricular patients who require extensive pulmonary artery (PA) reconstruction due to limited PA development, branch PA stenosis, or nonconfluent PAs. Also, this method can be used as a sort of intraoperative pulmonary resistance reversibility study in patients with high preoperative pulmonary vascular resistance due to surgically correctable pulmonary venous hypertension.

Background This study aimed to describe the learning curve of the extracardiac Fontan procedure in a single center and to analyze the changes in clinical applications and outcomes.Methods A retrospective chart review of all extracardiac Fontan patients in a single tertiary care center was undertaken. Patients with a diagnosis of hypoplastic left heart syndrome and those who had undergone a lateral tunnel modification, intra/extracardiac Fontan, Kawashima procedure, or inferior vena cava-to-azygous vein connection were excluded from the analysis.Results Between May 2004 and February 2018, data of 159 extracardiac Fontan patients were analyzed. The median age was 5.5 years (range 4.5–8.2 years). Based on a cumulative sum analysis, a hinge point was determined to divide the cohort into 2 phases. Phase 1 (n= 70) represented the first learning phase and phase 2 (n= 89) represented the later phase. Mortality decreased in phase 2 (2/89; 2%) compared to phase 1 (10/70; 14%; p= 0.004). Two (3%) patients had extracorporeal membrane oxygenation in phase 1, and 5 (6%) in phase 2 (p= 0.47). More patients in phase 2 underwent a prior bidirectional Glenn procedure (83/89 vs. 57/70; p= 0.02), fenestration (80/89 vs. 9/70; p< 0.001), and pulmonary artery reconstruction (37/89 vs. 2/70; p< 001).Conclusions This study shows that increased use of extracorporeal membrane oxygenation, strict implementation of the three-stage management plan, routine fenestration, and a low threshold for pulmonary artery reconstruction may be associated with decreased mortality in the extracardiac Fontan procedure.

Endothelial dysfunction may play a major role in both peripheral arterial disease (PAD) and Buerger’s disease (BD). Asymmetric dimethylarginine (ADMA) is an endogenous inhibitor of endothelial nitric oxide synthase and increased ADMA levels impair vascular homeostasis. We aimed to determine the plasma levels of ADMA and evaluate the relationship of ADMA levels with smoking and clinical severity of the disease in patients with BD and to compare these results with those of patients with PAD and healthy individuals.

Tetraplegia is a rare complication after coronary artery bypass surgery. The authors present a case of tetraplegia after uncomplicated coronary artery bypass surgery because of cervical disc herniation. No distinct abnormality was found in the preoperative neurologic examination although the postoperative cervical magnetic resonance imaging revealed a huge hernia at C5–C6 level presenting with tetraplegia. Surgical decompression was performed on the second postoperative day of bypass surgery, and neurologic deficits gradually improved.

Tetraplegia is a rare complication after coronary artery bypass surgery. The authors present a case of tetraplegia after uncomplicated coronary artery bypass surgery because of cervical disc herniation. No distinct abnormality was found in the preoperative neurologic examination although the postoperative cervical magnetic resonance imaging revealed a huge hernia at C5–C6 level presenting with tetraplegia. Surgical decompression was performed on the second postoperative day of bypass surgery, and neurologic deficits gradually improved.