Abstract： Objective To explore the application of lower sternal incision with on-pump， beating heart intracardiac procedures in mitral valve replacement （MVR）. Methods We retrospectively analyzed clinical data of 42 patients （minimal incision group） with valvular heart diseases who underwent MVR via lower sternal incision under the beating heart condition in Xinqiao Hospital of the Third Military Medical University from January 2011 to December 2011. There were 16 male and 26 female patients with their average age of 42.3±12.7 years in the minimal incision group. We also randomly selected 42 patients with valvular heart diseases who underwent MVR via routine midline sternotomy during the same period in our department as the control group. There were 18 male and 24 female patients with their average age of 43.8±13.1 years in the control group. Operation time， cardiopulmonary bypass time， major complications， chest drainage in postoperative 24 hours， skin incision length and average postoperative hospital stay were observed and compared between the two groups. Results There was no major perioperative complication such as in-hospital death. There was no reexploration for postoperative bleeding， complete atrioventricular block， embolism or perivalvular leakage in the minimal incision group. There was no statistical difference in cardiopulmonary bypass time， operation time， or the incidence of reexploration for postoperative bleeding， wound infection and perivalvular leakage between the two groups（P＞0.05）. The skin incision length in the minimal incision group was shortened by 5.2 cm compared to that in the control group （7.9±1.4 cm vs. 13.1±3.3 cm， P=0.000）. Chest drainage in postoperative 24 hours in the minimal incision group was significantly less than that of the control group （183.6±40.2 ml vs. 273.4±59.9 ml， P=0.000）. Postoperative hospital stay in the minimal incision group was significantly shorter than that of the control group （8.1±1.3 d vs. 10.6±2.1 d， P=0.000）. Forty patients in the minimal incision group were followed up for 3-15 months and 2 patients were lost during follow-up. Four patients had postoperative wound pain， and the majority of patients didn’t have significant wound scar formation but a satisfactory quality of life. Thirty-eight patients in the control group were followed up for 3-15 months， 4 patients were lost during follow-up， and 17 patients had postoperative wound pain. Conclusion Lower sternal incision with beating heart can reduce the surgical injury， simplify the operation procedure and improve the therapeutic efficacy. It is a safe， effective and esthetic surgical approach for MVR.
Abstract: Objective To observe the combined protective effects of U50 488H and hypothermia preservation on isolated rabbit hearts preconditioned. Methods Forty rabbits were randomly divided into five groups, 8 rabbits in each group. The perfusion model of isolated rabbit hearts was established by the Langendorff device. In the control group: the isolated rabbit hearts were preserved with the University of Wissconsin solution (UW ) for six hours; groupI : the isolated rabbit hearts were preconditioned with St. ThomasII cardioplegic solution containing U50 488H (1. 6mmo l/L ) and then preserved with hypothermic preservation for four hours; groupII ; the precondition was the same as group II , hypothermic preservat ion fo r six hours; group III : the precondit ion was the same as group I , hypothermic preservation for eight hours; group IV : the precondit on was the same as group I , hypothermic preservation for ten hours. The cardiac function, myocardial sarcoplasmic reticulum calcium ion adenosine triphosphatase (SRCa2+ -ATPase) act ivity and calcium ion concentrations in mitochondria were determined at thirty minutes after reperfusion. Results As the hypothermic preservation time increased from four to ten hours, the recovery rate of each index of cardiac function, coronary artery flow (Cf) and SRCa2+ -ATPase activity also decreased, but the calcium ion concentrations in the mitochondria increased. Cardiac function index recovery rates in group I and group II w ere higher than those in group III and groupIV respectively (P lt; 0. 05, 0. 01) ,meanwhile recovery rates of cardiac function index in group III were higher than that in group IV (P lt; 0. 05). Recovery rate of Cf in groupII ( 84. 56%±10. 38%)were higher than those in group III (79. 45%±9. 67% ) and group IV (68. 31%±6. 84% , P lt;0.01) , meanwhile the recovery rate of Cf in group III was higher than that in group IV (P lt; 0. 05). SRCa2+ -A Tpase activity in group II (4. 43±0. 41μmo l/m g?h)were higher than those in control group (3. 04±0. 22Lmo l/mg?h ) , group III (3. 26±0. 29Lmo l/m g?h) and group IV (2. 57±0. 63Lmo l/m g?h, P lt; 0. 05) , SRCa2+ -ATPase activity in group III was higher than that in group IV (P lt; 0. 01). The calcium ion concentrations in mitochondria in group II (38176±4. 30μmo l/g ?dw ) and in the control group (40. 23±3. 75μmol/g ?dw )were less than those in group III (43125±5116μmol/g?dw ) and groupIV (45. 78±3. 26μmol/g?dw , P lt; 0. 05, 0. 01) respect ively. Conclusion The hypothermic preservation time for isolated dono r’s hearts p re-treated with St. Thomas II cardioplegic solution containing U 50 488H should the kep tunder 8h. The myocardial protection effects of both UW solution and U50 488H- containing St. Thomas II cardioplegic solution on isolated dono r’s hearts appear to be the same at 6 hours.
Abstract： Objective To construct an Anticoagulation Therapy Database of Chinese Patients after Heart Valve Replacement in accordance with blood coagulation characteristics of Chinese patients， fill the gap of Chinese clinical research in valvular heart diseases， and provide a scientific and objective basic data and information exchange platform. Methods A national multicentre，prospective and cohort clinical research method was applied to establish an anticoagulation therapy database of Chinese patients after heart valve replacement， using the Internet as a platform. A case report form （CRF）， which was in line with the actual situation of Chinese anticoagulation patients after heart valve surgery， was formulated through the discussion of experts from 36 cardiovascular surgery centers in China in the starting meeting of National Science amp; Technology Support Program during the Twelfth Five-year Plan Period.We planned to prospectively include patients receiving warfarin anticoagulation therapy and formal anticoagulation monitoring after heart valve replacement from January 1, 2011 to December 31, 2014. Database was constructed using warehousing technology， which allowed not only data monitoring， query and statistics， but also regular data backup and system updates. Results A network database entitled Anticoagulant Therapy Database of Chinese Patients after Heart Valve Replacement was constructed and linked with the homepage of Chinese Journal of Clinical Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery （http：//www. zgxxwkzz. com）， which constituted a national Internet information platform. From 1 January 2011 to 1 December 2012， 8 452 anticoagulation patients after heart valve replacement from 34 level-3A hospitals in China had been registered in the database. Further follow-up of these patients was being carried out in respective hospitals. Conclusion A large multi-center and open database and network information platform has been constructed. The database variables are in line with clinical characteristics of Chinese anticoagulation patients after heart valve replacement， which provide scientific and objective basic data and support for future clinical research and systemic analysis.
Abstract： Objective To summarize surgical results of secondary subaortic stenosis （SSS） after congenital heart disease （CHD） operations，and analyze the pathogenesis of SSS. Methods We retrospectively analyzed clinical data of 19 patients who underwent surgical repair for SSS in Guangdong General Hospital from 1st June 2008 to 31st December 2012. There were 10 males and 9 females. CHD types included double outlet right ventricle，ventricular septal defect and partial atrioventricular septal defect，et al. The median age of the patients when they received their first CHD operations was 4 months （15 days to 5 year and 11 months）. The median age of the patients when they received SSS repair was 5 years and 3 months （1 year to 15 years and 3 months）. The median time interval from CHD operation to SSS repair was 4 years and 10 months （8 months to 13 years and 11 months）. Results All the patients successfully received their SSS repair. There was no surgical death in this study. Median cardiopulmonary bypass time was 79 （39 to 172） minutes，and median aortic cross-clamp time was 42 （22 to 124） minutes. Median postoperative hospital stay was 7 （5 to 9） days. Postoperatively， 1 patient required permanent pacemaker implantation. All the patients were followed up after discharge for a median durationof 1 year and 10 months （5 months to 4 years and 4 months） . During follow-up， none of the patients had any clinical symptom，their heart function was normal，and there was no late death. One patient received another subaortic stenosis repair for gradually aggravating left ventricular outflow tract stenosis. Conclusions SSS is very rare after CHD operations. The pathogenesis of SSS is perhaps related to abnormal blood flows in the left ventricular outflow tract after CHD operations. The pathogenesis time of SSS and types of CHD leading to SSS cannot be predicted. Subaortic stenosis repair is a simple and safe procedure for SSS，but postoperatively left ventricular outflow tract stenosis may appear and aggravate again.
Objective To investigate the prognosis and risk factors of cardiac surgical patients with preoperative renal dysfunction，and evaluate the accuracy of estimated glomerular filtration rate （eGFR） as a predictor of adverse outcomes. Methods A total of 2 151 adult patients undergoing cardiac surgery in Renji Hospital，School of Medicine of Shanghai Jiaotong University from January 2005 to December 2009 were included in this study. There were 1 267 male patientsand 884 female patients with their average age of 58.7 （18-99）years. Clinical characteristics of patients with preoperative renal dysfunction，severity of postoperative acute kidney injury （AKI）and patients’ outcomes were analyzed. Multivariate logistic regression was performed to analyze perioperative risk factors of postoperative AKI. Receiver operating characteristic（ROC） curve was used to evaluate the accuracy of eGFR to predict patients undergoing postoperative renal replacement therapy （RRT） and in-hospital death. Results A total of 221 patients （10.27%） had preoperative renal dysfunction，among whom 124 patients （56.11%） developed postoperative AKI. Patients with preoperative renal dysfunction were older，had more comorbidities including hypertension and diabetes mellitus，were more likely to receive postoperative RRT，and had worse outcomes. Patients with decreased preoperative eGFR had significantly higher in-hospital mortality. Patients with preoperative renal dysfunction who developed postoperative AKI had the worst prognosis. Multivariate logistic regression showed that hypertension （OR=4.497，P=0.003），postoperative central venous pressure （CVP） ＜6 cm H2O （OR=16.410，P=0.000） and postoperative CVP＞14 cm H2O （OR= 5.178，P=0.013） were independent predictors of postoperative AKI for patients with preoperative renal dysfunction. The areas under the ROC curves of eGFR to predict in-hospital mortality and postoperative RRT were 0.691 and 0.704 respectively （95% CI 0.630-0.752，P=0.000；95% CI 0.614-0.795，P=0.001）. Conclusion Patients with preoperative renal dysfunction are older，have more comorbidities，higher likelihood to develop postoperative AKI and worse prognosis. Hypertension，postoperative CVP＜6 cm H2O and postoperative CVP＞14 cm H2O are independent predictors of postoperative AKI for patients with preoperative renal dysfunction. We believe eGFR can accurately predict the risk of adverse kidney outcomes and in-hospital death of patients undergoing cardiac surgery.
Objective To study palliative surgical strategies for patients with complex congenital heart diseases， and improve their clinical outcomes and survival rate.?Methods We retrospectively analyzed clinical data of 95 patients with complex congenital heart diseases who underwent palliative surgical repair in Union Hospital of Tongji Medical College，Huazhong University of Science and Technology from January 2004 to May 2011. There were 68 male patients and 27female patients with their age ranging from 1 month to 37 years. Modified Blalock-Taussig shunt （B-T shunt） was performed in 12 patients， modified Brock’s procedure in 23 patients， bidirectional Glenn procedure in 55 patients and pulmonary artery banding in 5 patients. Surgical strategies and influential factors of treatment outcomes were analyzed.?Results There were 10 in-hospital death with the overall mortality of 10.5% （10/95）. All the surviving patients were discharged successfully. Main postoperative complications included low cardiac output syndrome， hypoxemia and pneumonia. All the surviving patients were followed up for 5 months to 6 years， and in New York Heart Association （NYHA） functional class ⅠorⅡduring follow-up. During follow-up， nine patients after modified Brock’s procedure received radical repair， and 6 patients after bidirectional Glenn procedure received total cavopulmonary connection.?Conclusion A considerable numberof patients with complex congenital heart diseases may miss their best timing for surgical repair， which significantlyinfluences their surgical outcomes. We need to choose best palliative surgical strategy for these patients according to their pulmonary artery development condition， heart malformation characteristics and final treatment goal.
Objective To summarize our experience of cardiovascular surgery for patients dependent on dialysis, and evaluate its safety and efficacy.?Methods?Clinical data of 10 consecutive patients dependent on maintenance dialysis underwent cardiovascular operations between Dec. 2004 and April 2011 in Peking Union Medical College Hospital were analyzed retrospectively. There were 6 male and 4 female patients, aged between 23 to 71 （57.6±13.2） years. They were put on dialysis 3-98 （25.2±30.6） months prior to operation due to diabetic nephropathy in 6 patients, chronic glomerulitis in 3 patients and systemic lupus erythemus in 1 patient, and 8 were dependent on hemodialysis and 2 on peritoneal dialysis. Five patients underwent coronary artery bypass grafting, one underwent Bentall procedure，two underwent aortic valve replacement, one underwent mitral valve replacement, and one underwent superior vena cava thrombectomy and patch repair. Patients underwent dialysis on the day before elective operation, followed by continuous ultra-filtration during cardiopulmonary bypass, and then bedside heparin-free continuous veno-venous hyperfiltration-dialysis started 5-32 hours after the operation. Conventional peritoneal dialysis or hemodialysis was resumed 4-7 days after operation.?Results?All operations were successfully completed. Cardiopulmonary bypass time was （125.8±33.5）minutes, aortic clamp time was（77.2±25.5） minutes. One in-hospital death occurred due to septic shock after deep chest wound infection. One patient underwent re-exploration due to pericardial temponade to achieve hemostasis. Three patients experienced atrial fibrillation and were all converted to sinus rhythm by amiodarone. Nine patients recovered to discharge and were followed-up for 8-76 months. Two late deaths occurred due to intracranial hemorrhage and liver carcinoma respectively. Seven survived patients were all in New York Heart Association grade II functional class, and none of them experience major advertent cardiac events related to grafts or prosthetic valve. One patient switched to hemodialysis 14 months after discharge due to peritonitis.Conclusion?Cardiovascular surgery can be practiced in patients dependent on maintenance hemodialysis or peritoneal dialysis with appropriate peri-operative management, so that symptoms can be relieved and quality of life improved.