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This report presents the case of an 82-year-old man with known dextrocardia and situs inversus totalis who presented with increasing dyspnea on exertion and was diagnosed with severe aortic stenosis. Transcatheter aortic valve replacement was performed and required deviation from standard techniques for patients with normal anatomy and left-sided aortic arch. We describe two technical differences required for patients with dextrocardia and right-sided aortic arch that facilitate transcatheter aortic valve replacement in this patient group., (Copyright © 2019 The Society of Thoracic Surgeons. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Introduction: Transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) is now an established treatment for certain patients with severe aortic valve stenosis (AS). However, as the number of patients screened for TAVR increases, many are found to have absolutely no option for peripheral artery access. Transaortic valve replacement (TAoVR) has been proposed as a new alternative route in patients deemed unsuitable for conventional approaches. We present our first series of TAoVR cases using the Edwards Sapien-XT and the Medtronic CoreValve prostheses., Methods: Twenty-five (25) symptomatic patients (mean age 78 ± 8 years, mean logistic EuroSCORE I 25 ± 11%) with severe AS underwent TAoVR using the Sapien-XT valve (10 patients) or the CoreValve (15 patients)., Results: The mean fluoroscopy time was 15.6 ± 4.2 minutes, the mean time in the intensive care unit was 1.9 ± 1.0 days, and the mean hospital stay was 6.4 ± 1.6 days. The mean effective aortic valve area increased (from 0.68 ± 0.15 cm(2) to 1.82 ± 0.34 cm(2), p<0.001) and the mean transvalvular pressure gradient declined (from 48 ± 15 mmHg to 9 ± 5 mmHg, p<0.05) post implantation. The procedural mortality was 0% and the in-hospital mortality was 4% (one death at day 3 due to cardiogenic shock). The mean NYHA functional class improved from 3.2 ± 0.4 to 1.5 ± 0.9 at 30 days., Conclusions: Our initial experience with the TAoVR approach using both the Edwards Sapien-XT and the Medtronic CoreValve prosthesis demonstrated that it could be performed safely, resulting in substantial acute echocardiographic and early clinical improvement.

Introduction: Mitral valve (MV) repair is the treatment of choice for degenerative mitral regurgitation (MR), but the surgical options for functional MR are limited. Percutaneous edge-to-edge MV repair using the MitraClip system has evolved as a new tool for the treatment of certain anatomical subsets of both functional and degenerative MR. We present the first Greek series of MV repair using the MitraClip., Methods: Five symptomatic patients (age 75 ± 9 years, logistic EuroSCORE 29 ± 11%) with moderate-tosevere (n=2) or severe (n=3) MR underwent MV repair using the MitraClip. All patients were treated with one clip and there were no primary adverse events., Results: Acute MR reduction by 3 grades was achieved in 2 patients and by 2 grades in 3 patients (reduction 2 grades in 100%). The total procedure time was 2.9 ± 2 hours (median 2 hours), the length of the ICU stay was 1 ± 0 day and the total length of hospital stay was 3.2 ± 0.6 days. All patients reported functional status improvement by 1 month (mean NYHA class improved from 3.0 ± 0.3 to 1.6 ± 0.6)., Conclusion: Our initial experience with percutaneous MV repair using the MitraClip system demonstrated that it can be performed safely, resulting in substantial acute echocardiographic and early clinical improvement.

There are currently two different surgical approaches to the abnormal pathway, Wolff-Parkinson-White (WPW) syndrome-the endocardial (ENDO) and epicardial (EPI) techniques. In recent years, ablation of accessory pathways can be achieved by catheter-induced radiofrequency (RF) current. This study was undertaken to assess our results of surgical treatment for WPW syndrome in the current era of catheter ablation. From 1985 to 1993, 51 patients (33 male and 18 female) with WPW syndrome underwent operations for ablation of accessory pathways. Associated anomalies included Ebstein's anomaly, coronary artery disease, and tricuspid atresia. Preoperatively, 6 patients underwent unsuccessful RF catheter ablation. Fifteen (29%) patients were operated with the ENDO technique and 36 (71%) with the EPI technique. There was no early death in either group. In the immediate postoperative period 40 (78%) patients were in sinus rhythm. The electrophysiological studies revealed successful ablation of the pathway in 50 (98%) patients. On complete late follow-up (mean, 36 months) all patients were back to preoperative levels of activity. Our experience indicates that excellent results can be achieved with each of these two techniques. The left free wall accessory pathways may be ablated in a more reproducible way with the ENDO approach. The concept that surgical ablation of accessory pathways may prevent further atrial fibrillation is supported by the low incidence in this series. Operations for WPW syndrome may become indicated for RF ablation failure, when additional procedures are required. In these cases the surgical skill should be available, and this is a skill that should not be lost.

Mediastinal bleeding can be a problem after cardiac surgery, either as a result of coagulation derangements or technical problems. We evaluated 100 patients, treated with temporary chest packing for intractable bleeding, of 9,383 undergoing open heart operations during a 10-year period. Preoperatively, 60 of these patients had one or more predisposing factors for bleeding. There were four predominant sites of hemorrhage: general ooze, needle holes of the aortic and atrial suture lines, inaccessible origin, and another specific place. The chest was packed in the operating room in 84 patients and in the intensive care unit in 16. Four methods of temporary chest closure were used: the skin alone, partial sternal approximation plus skin closure, full closure, and the wound open and covered by a Steri-drape dressing. The bleeding was controlled in 65 patients who had been packed once, and in 29 patients after reexploration and multiple packings, for a total of 94 patients (94%). Sternal wound infection, generalized sepsis, and sternal dehiscence was present in 24 patients, 8 of whom died. The venue for inserting or removing the packs did not affect the incidence of infections. Our experience suggests that packing of the chest after cardiac procedures for intractable bleeding allows a reasonable patient salvage rate and complication risks.

Hereditary spherocytosis is a clinically heterogeneous, genetically determined red blood cell membrane disorder resulting in hemolytic anemia. Structural or functional disorders of the cytoskeletal proteins result in the formation of spherocytes, which lack the strength, durability, and flexibility to withstand the stresses of the circulation. This problem can be accentuated by the deleterious effects of the heart-lung machine. Three patients with hereditary spherocytosis underwent open heart operation with no deaths and no serious complications resulting from the hematologic defect. Splenectomy is recommended, although not essential, before a cardiac operation, and mechanical valves should perhaps be avoided.

A 60-year-old woman underwent mitral and aortic valve replacement with Carpentier-Edwards supra-annular bioprosthesis in 1986. Six years later rapidly progressing exercise dyspnea and orthopnea made hospital admission necessary. At chest x-ray and cardiac catheter examination one of the wire struts of the mitral bioprosthesis was found completely broken causing cusp prolapse. Surgical findings at reoperation confirmed the diagnosis. No apparent cause of the stent fracture was found.

We evaluated 64 patients with hepatic hydatidosis who were treated during 1982 to 1988. The main clinical manifestations were epigastric pain (84 per cent), hepatomegaly (31 per cent), fever (30 per cent) and jaundice (25 per cent). Five patients were asymptomatic. All diagnoses were established by ultrasonography and computed tomography, or both (sensitivity rates of 95 and 93 per cent, respectively). Treatment was exclusively surgical and there were no deaths. In the five patients in group 1, total cystectomy was done without morbidity. The 19 patients in group 2 underwent a limited capsectomy, evacuation of the cyst, omentoplasty, suturing of the biliary communications and drainage of the residual cavity, with a rate of morbidity of 42 per cent. In the 40 patients in group 3, a wide capsectomy and unroofing of the cyst were done, the contents were removed, the cavity edges were hemostatically oversewn and the residual hepatic cavity was drained through a high vacuum, closed drainage system. Omentoplasty was not routinely done. With this technique, the rate of morbidity was reduced to 2.5 per cent. Of 64 patients, 32 were observed for an average of 42 months with a recurrence rate of 9 per cent. Because of the low rate of postoperative morbidity, recurrence and the shorter period of hospitalization, the surgical technique used in group 3 seems to be an efficient method for hepatic hydatidosis.