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Intraoperative surgical prosthetic heart valve (SHV) choice is a key determinant of successful surgery and positive postoperative outcomes. Currently, many controversies exist around the sizing and labelling of SHVs rendering the comparison of different valves difficult.To explore solutions, an expert Valve Labelling Task Force was jointly initiated by the European Association for Cardio-Thoracic Surgery (EACTS), The Society of Thoracic Surgeons (STS) and the American Association for Thoracic Surgery (AATS). The EACTS-STS-AATS Valve Labelling Task Force, comprising cardiac surgeons, cardiologists, engineers, regulators and representatives from the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) and major valve manufacturers, held its first in-person meeting in February 2018 in Paris, France. This article was derived from the meeting's discussions. The Task Force identified the following areas for improvement and clarification: reporting of physical dimensions and characteristics of SHVs determining and labelling of SHV size, in vivo and in vitro testing and reporting of SHV hemodynamic performance and thrombogenicity. Furthermore, a thorough understanding of the regulatory background and the role of the applicable ISO standards, together with close cooperation between all stakeholders (including regulatory and standard-setting bodies), is necessary to improve the current situation. Cardiac surgeons should be provided with appropriate information to allow for optimal SHV choice. This first article from the EACTS-STS-AATS Valve Labelling Task Force summarizes the background of SHV sizing and labelling and identifies the most important elements where further standardization is necessary. (C) 2019 by The Society of Thoracic Surgeons, The American Association for Thoracic Surgery, and the European Association for Cardio-Thoracic Surgery

OBJECTIVES To conduct a survey across European cardiac centres to evaluate the methods used for cerebral protection during aortic surgery involving the aortic arch. METHODS All European centres were contacted and surgeons were requested to fill out a short, comprehensive questionnaire on an internet-based platform. One-third of more than 400 contacted centres completed the survey correctly. RESULTS The most preferred site for arterial cannulation is the subclavian-axillary, both in acute and chronic presentation. The femoral artery is still frequently used in the acute condition, while the ascending aorta is a frequent second choice in the case of chronic presentation. Bilateral antegrade brain perfusion is chosen by the majority of centres (2/3 of cases), while retrograde perfusion or circulatory arrest is very seldom used and almost exclusively in acute clinical presentation. The same pumping system of the cardio pulmonary bypass is most of the time used for selective cerebral perfusion, and the perfusate temperature is usually maintained between 22 and 26°C. One-third of the centres use lower temperatures. Perfusate flow and pressure are fairly consistent among centres in the range of 10-15 ml/kg and 60 mmHg, respectively. In 60% of cases, barbiturates are added for cerebral protection, while visceral perfusion still receives little attention. Regarding cerebral monitoring, there is a general tendency to use near-infrared spectroscopy associated with bilateral radial pressure measurement. CONCLUSIONS These data represent a snapshot of the strategies used for cerebral protection during major aortic surgery in current practice, and may serve as a reference for standardization and refinement of different approaches

Objective: A multicentre experience with the Mitroflow pericardial bioprosthesis has been evaluated longitudinally over a 20-year period. Methods: From 1988 through 2008, 1591 patients (mean age, 75.3 ± 6.8 years, and 60.1% female) from 12 centres had a Mitroflow in the aortic position. Concomitant coronary artery bypass was performed in 41.9% (n = 666) of patients, urgency/emergency surgery in 9.5% (n = 152) and replacement of degenerated prosthesis in 2.3% (n = 36). Follow-up (7.447 patient-years) was 99.2% complete. Median follow-up was 61.9 months (interquartile range (IQR) 30.8-90.9 months). The study was carried out following American Association for Thoracic Surgery/Society for Thoracic Surgeons/European Association for Cardio-Thoracic Surgery (AATS/STS/EACTS) Guidelines for reporting valve morbidity and mortality. Results: The early (30-day) mortality was 6.5% (n = 104). Actuarial survival rates at 10, 15 and 18 years were 53%, 34% and 27%, respectively (2.2 patient/year). Re-operation was required in 96 patients (5.9%), of whom 59 patients (3.7%) for structural valve degeneration. Actuarial freedom from prosthetic valve degeneration at 18 years was 65.5% (78% in patients >70 years) with a linearised rate of 1.4 patient/year (0.8 patient/year in patients >70 years). At 18 years, freedom from embolism was 82% (0.9 patient/year), freedom from valve endocarditis was 89% (0.6 patient/year) and freedom from bleeding episodes was 95% (0.2 patient/year), respectively. Conclusions: This independent multicentre study indicates that the Mitroflow pericardial bioprosthesis provides favourable long-term postoperative results with a low rate of valve-related events and need of re-intervention, particularly in patients older than 70 years.

The amount of allogeneic blood transfusion may relate to worse outcome in cardiac surgery. The reinfusion of red blood cells (RBCs) lost by patients, including those of chest drains, is a promising strategy to minimize allogeneic transfusions.To verify this hypotheis, 1047 cardiac surgery patients were randomly assigned to either traditional intraoperative blood salvage followed by chest drain insertion or intra- and postoperative strategy with the Haemonetics cardioPAT system. Allogeneic RBC transfusion rate (primary endpoint) and postoperative complications (secondary endpoint) were recorded at the time of discharge from the hospital and at first month follow-up visit, respectively.The cardioPAT arm received 1.20 units of allogeneic RBCs per patient, whereas the control group required 2.11 units per patient, and this difference proved to be highly significant (p=0.02). We observed a comparable 45-day mortality rate but a lower rate of deep vein thrombosis (p=0.04) and atrial fibrillation (p=0.04) in the cardioPAT arm.A significant reduction in patient exposure to allogeneic RBCs was observed in the cardioPAT system arm. Complications were slightly less frequent in the cardioPAT group. The use of the cardioPAT is a safe and effective strategy to reduce allogeneic RBC transfusions in cardiac surgery.

Compared with medical therapy alone, coronary artery bypass surgery improves survival in patients with coronary disease and left ventricular dysfunction. Many of these patients have a hibernating myocardium secondary to chronic ischemia with the potential for improvement in left ventricular function and heart failure symptoms following revascularization therapy. Cardiac transplantation remains the treatment of choice for patients with severe congestive heart failure.From January 1992 to June 2000, 351 consecutive patients (318 men, 33 women, mean age 62.8 +/- 8.9 years) with a left ventricular ejection fraction (EF)or = 35% and with multivessel coronary artery disease underwent isolated coronary artery bypass grafting. Preoperatively 226 patients were in CCS class III-IV and 113 in NYHA class III-IV. The mean number of grafts was 3.4 +/- 0.8/patient and complete revascularization was achieved in 98.6% of cases. The internal mammary artery was used in 341 patients (97.2%) and in 328 (96%) as a graft for the left anterior descending artery. Follow-up was obtained in 97% of the patients and on average lasted 42 +/- 28 months.The hospital mortality was 5.9%. At multivariate analysis urgent operation (p0.01) and a lower EF (25.9% in deaths vs 29.1%, p0.05) were predictors of an increased operative mortality. EF (assessed postoperatively at transthoracic echocardiography in survivors) improved from 28.9 +/- 5.7 to 34.4 +/- 7.7% (p0.0001). At 1, 3, 5, 7, and 9 years respectively, the all-cause survival was 93 +/- 1.5, 85 +/- 2.2, 77 +/- 3.1, 69 +/- 4.9, and 60 +/- 7.3% and the freedom from cardiac death was 94 +/- 1.4, 89 +/- 1.9, 88 +/- 2, 80 +/- 4.7, and 76 +/- 5.7% with an improvement in the anginal and congestive heart failure status (p0.0001).In patients with coronary artery disease and severe left ventricular dysfunction, after evaluation of the clinical presentation, of the usefulness of vessels as grafts and of the presence of myocardial viability, 1) coronary artery bypass grafting can be performed with a low mortality and a good mid-term survival, 2) improvement in left ventricular function can be documented after coronary bypass surgery, 3) the internal mammary artery can be safely used as a graft, 4) the quality of life is improved as demonstrated by the improvement in the anginal and congestive heart failure status.

The significant involvement of proximal left anterior descending (LAD) coronary artery affects patient prognosis and must be treated. Recently, as alternative methods to conventional coronary bypass (CABG), minimally invasive direct coronary artery bypass grafting (MIDCAB) and percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty with stent implantation (PTCA/S) have been proposed to reduce costs and patient discomfort. The aim of this study was to obtain early and medium-term results of CABG in patients with complex LAD disease in whom the expected results with PTCA/S or MIDCAB would have been suboptimal.We retrospectively examined one hundred consecutive patients subjected to isolated CABG who received either a single graft to LAD or several grafts to LAD and diagonal branches. The choice of CABG was due to poor expectable results with PTCA/S or MIDCAB because of anatomical characteristics of the lesion, inclusion in ongoing randomized study comparing surgical versus non-surgical revascularization, or preference on the part of the cardiologist or patient.Left internal mammary artery (LIMA) was grafted to LAD in 99 (99%) patients; 65 (65%) patients received at least one saphenous graft to the diagonal branches. No death was observed within 30 days from the operation. One (1%) patient had a perioperative non-Q myocardial infarction (MI). At a mean follow-up time of 38 +/- 16 months (range 2-60), there were no cardiac deaths and no new MI. Six patients complained of recurrent angina: in all cases but one (vein graft failure to a diagonal branch), there were no clinical or diagnostic signs suggesting other graft failures. The probability of freedom from early and late events, including cardiac death, MI and recurrence of angina regardless of site, was 99% at 1 year and 86% at 5 years.At present, conventional CABG seems to be the "gold standard palliation" of LAD disease in most cases. It can be performed safely with excellent early and medium-term results in terms of freedom from cardiac events. Its comparison with percutaneous transluminal techniques and MIDCAB needs to be addressed in further prospective studies.

Transcatheter closure of atrial septal defects with left-to-right shunt induces an abrupt overload of the left ventricle that may cause acute heart failure in patients with left ventricular dysfunction. We report two cases of ostium secundum atrial septal defects associated with left ventricular dysfunction of different etiology. The hemodynamic evaluation of left ventricular function during transient abolition of the shunt with the sizing balloon of the Amplatzer system helped to establish the most correct therapeutic strategy.