ObjectiveTo report our clinical experience and outcomes of thoracic endovascular aortic repair (TEVAR) for acute Stanford type A dissection using ascending aorta replacement combined with implantation of a fenestrated stent-graft of the entire aortic arch through a minimally invasive technique. MethodsFrom 2016 to 2020 in our hospital, 24 patients (17 males and 7 females, aged 45-72 years) with complicated Stanford type A aortic dissection, underwent replacement of the proximal ascending aorta with TEVAR. None of the patients with dissection involved the three branches of the superior arch, and all patients were replaced with artificial blood vessels of the ascending aorta under non-hypothermic cardiopulmonary bypass, preserving the arch and the three branches above the arch, and individualized stent graft fenestration. ResultsSurgical technical success rate was 100.0%. There was no intraoperative complication or evidence of endo-leak in 1 month postoperatively. Hospital stay was 10±5 d. During postoperative follow-up, the stent was unobstructed without displacement, the preserved branch of the aortic arch was unobstructed, and the true lumen of the descending aorta was enlarged. Conclusion This hybrid technique by using TEVAR with fenestrated treatment is a minimally invasive and effective method to treat high-risk patients with acute Stanford type A aortic dissection.
Objective To analyze the etiologies, surgical treatment and outcomes of retrograde type A aortic dissection (RTAD) after thoracic endovascular aortic repair (TEVAR) for Stanford type B aortic dissection. Methods The clinical data of patients with RTAD after TEVAR for Stanford type B aortic dissection receiving operations in Changhai Hospital from March 2014 to August 2018 were analyzed. All patients were followed-up by clinic interview or telephone. Results A total of 16 patients were enrolled, including 13 males and 3 females with a mean age of 49.1±12.2 years. The main symptoms of RTAD were chest pain in 12 patients, headache in 1 patient, conscious disturbance in 1 patient, and asymptomatic in 2 patients. All the 16 patients received total arch replacement with the frozen elephant trunk technique. Bentall procedure was used in 2 patients, aortic root plasticity in 10 patients and aortic valve replacement in 1 patient. The primary tear in 10 patients was located in the area which were anchored by bare mental stent, and in the other 6 patients it was located in the anterior part of ascending aorta. The mean cardiopulmonary bypass time was 152.2±29.4 min, aortic cross-clamping time was 93.6±27.8 min and selective cerebral perfusion time was 29.8±8.3 min. There was no death in hospital or within postoperative 30 days. The follow-up period was 32-85 (57.4±18.3) months. No death occurred during the follow-up period. One patient underwent TEVAR again 3 years after this operation and had an uneventful survival. Conclusion Total arch replacement with the frozen elephant trunk technique is a suitable strategy for the management of RTAD after TEVAR for Stanford type B aortic dissection.
Calnexin is a lectin-like molecular chaperone protein on the endoplasmic reticulum, mediating unfolded protein responses, the endoplasmic reticulum Ca2+ homeostasis, and Ca2+ signals conduction. In recent years, studies have found that calnexin plays a key role in the heart diseases. This study aims to explore the role of calnexin in the activation of cardiac fibroblasts. A transverse aortic constriction (TAC) mouse model was established to observe the activation of cardiac fibroblasts in vivo, and the in vitro cardiac fibroblasts activation model was established by transforming growth factor β1 (TGFβ1) stimulation. The adenovirus was respectively used to gene overexpression and silencing calnexin in cardiac fibroblasts to elucidate the relationship between calnexin and cardiac fibroblasts activation, as well as the possible underlying mechanism. We confirmed the establishment of TAC model by echocardiography, hematoxylin-eosin, Masson, and Sirius red staining, and detecting the expression of cardiac fibrosis markers in cardiac tissues. After TGFβ1 stimulation, markers of the activation of cardiac fibroblast, and proliferation and migration of cardiac fibroblast were detected by quantitative PCR, Western blot, EdU assay, and wound healing assay respectively. The results showed that the calnexin expression was reduced in both the TAC mice model and the activated cardiac fibroblasts. The overexpression of calnexin relieved cardiac fibroblasts activation, in contrast, the silencing of calnexin promoted cardiac fibroblasts activation. Furthermore, we found that the endoplasmic reticulum stress was activated during cardiac fibroblasts activation, and endoplasmic reticulum stress was relieved after overexpression of calnexin. Conversely, after the silencing of calnexin, endoplasmic reticulum stress was further aggravated, accompanying with the activation of cardiac fibroblasts. Our data suggest that the overexpression of calnexin may prevent cardiac fibroblasts against activation by alleviating endoplasmic reticulum stress.
ObjectiveTo analyze the clinical characteristics and surgical treatment of bicuspid aortic valve combined with thoracic aortic dilation. MethodsWe retrospectively analyzed the clinical data of 68 patients of bicuspid aortic valve combined with thoracic aortic dilation underwent surgical treatment in our hospital between January 2010 and June 2014. There were 47 males and 21 females at age of 26-77(44.5±16.3) years. Different surgical treatments including Wheat procedure(n=22), aortic valve replacement+ascending aortoplasty(n=10), Bentall procedure(n=13), aortic valve replacement+ascending aortic replacement+right hemi aortic arch replacement(n=13), Bentall procedure+ascending aortic replacement+right hemi aortic arch replacement(n=8), Bentall procedure+ascending aortic replacement+total arch replacement+stented elephant trunk(n=2) were carried out according to the type. ResultsAll 68 patients underwent surgical treatment. The mortality in hospital is at 4.4%(3/68). The postoperative complications were neurological and mental complications(n=3), pneumonia(n=2), and exploratory thoracotomy(n=2). We followed up 63 patients for 6 months to 4 years. A total of 62 patients were well without reoperation except one death at the end of following-up 2 years. ConclusionBicuspid aortic valve combined with thoracic aortic dilation has diversiform clinical characteristics. The surgical treatment should be chosen according to the aortic valve and thoracic aortic lesion characteristics.
ObjectiveTo summarize the surgical treatment plan and experience of patients with Marfan syndrome complicated with Stanford type B aortic dissection, and to explore the treatment strategy selection.MethodsA retrospective analysis was conducted on 27 patients with Marfan syndrome complicated with thoracoabdominal aortic diseases who were treated in the department of cardiovascular surgery of our hospital from January 2013 to June 2019, including 13 males and 14 females, with an average age of 32.2±8.6 years. According to the patients' conditions, 19 of them received single pump-assisted blood transfusion combined with total thoracoabdominal aortic replacement (TAAAR), and 8 received thoracic endovascular aortic repair (TEVAR) in critically ill and pregnant patients. The patients were followed up in the outpatient clinic, and the thoracoabdominal aortic CT angiography was reexamined at 3 months, 6 months, 12 months and annually. The outcome of surgery, the incidence of intermediate cardiovascular adverse events, defined as the reoperation due to aortic or cardiac diseases, and intermediate survival rate were studied.ResultsAll 27 patients successfully completed the operation, the operation time was 60-852 (395.10±222.60) min, the spinal cord ischemia time was 14-26 (19.33±3.44) min, and the abdominal viscera ischemia time was 16-23 (19.83±1.94) min. Eight patients of TEVAR were all operated in acute phase and 19 patients of TAAAR in chronic phase. Two early postoperative deaths occurred in TEVAR patients. One died of puerperal infection and multiple organ dysfunction after cesarean section at the same time. After TEVAR, type A dissection re-ocurred in one patient. The family member gave up the treatment, and the patient died of the dissection ruptured after cesarean section. During the average follow-up of 47.6±36.7 months, 1 patient died of cerebrovascular accident and 9 patients were reoperated for adverse cardiovascular events, including 4 in TEVAR and 5 in TAAAR.ConclusionTAAAR is the first choice for the treatment of Marfan syndrome combined with thoracoabdominal aortic diseases. TEVAR is easy to operate, with a low incidence of early mortality and complications, but has the risk of internal leakage and avulsion, and a high reoperation rate in the middle stage, so it can be used for high-risk elderly patients not suitable for open surgery, or as a bridge therapy for emergency patients before open surgery.
ObjectiveTo report a simple and safe method for in situ fenestration of left subclavian artery in thoracic endovascular aortic repair (TEVAR).MethodsTwenty-eight patients received in situ fenestration of left subclavian artery in TEVAR from June 2018 to May 2019 in our center, including 23 males and 5 females at an average age of 57.7±9.6 years. Among them, 12 patients used adjustable sheath or guiding catheter (a group A) and 16 patients used "J. D"technique (a group B). The clinical efficacy of the two groups was compared.ResultsIn the group A, 1 patient failed to receive fenestration and was transferred to the chimney technique. In the group B, 1 patient due to the traction system shift during operation, was completed by traditional adjustable sheath puncture. The group B had shorter alignment-perforation time and trigger time and less complications. There was no significant difference in endoleak during short-term follow-up between the two groups.ConclusionThe "J. D" technique is simple, safe and easy to obtain materials. It effectively reduces the risk caused by difficult sheath alignment during the in situ fenestration of the left subclavian artery. Although the results of recent follow-up are not significantly different from traditional methods, it still needs to accumulate the cases to observe the possible risks and difficulties.
ObjectiveTo investigate the effect of PDCA circulation management on pain, psychology and prognosis of patients with thoracic aortic aneurysm in the perioperative period.Methods The clinical data of seventy-six patients with thoracic aortic aneurysm who received perioperative nursing based on PDCA circulation management from April 2016 to March 2017 were retrospective analyzed and these patients were selected as the study group, including 44 males, 32 females, aged 23–65 (47.27±5.87) years. At the same time, 72 patients with thoracic aortic aneurysm who received routine perioperative nursing from April 2015 to March 2016 were selected as the control group, including 41 males, 31 females, aged 24–67 (48.30±5.26) years. The nursing effects of the two groups were compared and analyzed.ResultsThe operation time (t=11.342, P<0.05) and hospitalization time (t=5.986, P<0.05) of the study group were significantly shorter than those of the control group. The visual analogue scale (VAS) scores of the two groups had no significant difference before nursing (t=0.914, P=0.361), but the VAS scores in the study group after nursing were obviously lower than those in the control group (t=5.475, P<0.05). The self-rating depression scale (SDS, t=1.026, P=0.307) and self-rating anxiety scale (SAS) scores (t=7.866, P<0.05) of the two groups had no significant difference before nursing, while the SDS (t=7.657, P<0.05) and SAS (t=7.866, P<0.05) scores in the study group after nursing were obviously lower than those in the control group. The incidence of adverse reactions in the study group was significantly lower than that in the control group (χ2=4.292, P=0.038).ConclusionPDCA circulation management used in patients with thoracic aortic aneurysm in the perioperative period can effectively relieve patients' pain, depression and anxiety, reduce the incidence of adverse reactions, and the prognosis is good.