Published in The Annals of Thoracic Surgery
Background. Allograft aortic valve replacement has gained widespread acceptance. However, there is little information about in vivo allograft valve function at rest and during exercise. Methods. Cardiac catheterization was performed to measure hemodynamic variables at rest and during supine bicycle exercise in 44 patients who had had aortic valve r...
Published in The Annals of Thoracic Surgery
Background. There is the potential for left ventricular outflow obstruction when small aortic valve bioprostheses are employed in normal-sized or large adults. It has been hoped that bovine pericardial valves would improve hemodynamic performance in the smaller tissue valve sizes. Methods. To determine in vivo hemodynamic performance of heterograft...
Published in The Annals of Thoracic Surgery
Aortic valve replacement was performed through a left anterolateral thoracotomy using cardiopulmonary bypass in a 59-year-old man who had previously received esophageal resection with substernal reconstruction by gastric tube. Through this approach, injury of the reconstructed tube was avoided and the valve replacement operation was safely performe...
Published in The Annals of Thoracic Surgery
We report a case of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus-induced prosthetic valve endocarditis, which was successfully treated with aortic valve replacement using the Freestyle stentless bioprosthesis. The total root and stentless design of this bioprosthesis allows for more radical removal of infected tissue and easier treatment for annular...
Published in The Annals of Thoracic Surgery
Background. Minimally invasive surgical approaches have been applied recently in the management of valvular heart disease. In this report, we reviewed our preliminary experience of minimally invasive aortic valve replacement. Methods. Eighteen patients were operated on by means of an “I” ministernotomy, and 16 patients were operated on by means of ...
Published in The Annals of Thoracic Surgery
Background The valve substitute of choice in active infective aortic valve endocarditis complicated by annulus abscess in our institution is the cryopreserved homograft. To avoid implantation of any prosthetic material, the Shelhigh No-React stentless valves and conduits may be considered an alternative when no suitable homograft is available. Meth...
Published in Clinical Chemistry and Laboratory Medicine (CCLM)
Troponins are of outstanding importance for the diagnosis of myocardial infarction. Cardiac troponin T (cTnT) and the various cardiac troponin I (cTnI) assays differ with respect to method comparison, diagnostic sensitivity and diagnostic specificity. To understand the differences in the diagnostic behavior of troponin assays, AccuTnI and Elecsys T...
Published in The Annals of Thoracic Surgery
Background From October 1977 to October 2002, 4,480 patients (age range, 17 to 94 years; average, 64 ± 13 years) underwent single valve replacement with the St. Jude Medical heart valve. Of 2,982 aortic (AVR) and 1,498 mitral valve replacements (MVR), concomitant coronary artery bypass grafting was performed on 42% and 33%, respectively. Methods Ca...
