ObjectiveTo assess clinical results of aortic cusps replacement with bovine pericardium for bicuspid aortic valve (BAV) and severe aortic regurgitation (AR). MethodsClinical data of 79 patients with BAV and severe AR who underwent aortic cusps replacement with bovine pericardium in Wuhan Asia Heart Hospital from June 2008 to December 2013 were retrospectively analyzed. There were 60 male and 19 female patients with their age of 38±14 years (ranged 12-78 years). All the patients were in NYHA class Ⅱ. There were 26 patients with ascending aorta and sinotubular expanding. ResultsNo early death or major complication was recorded. Intraoperative transesophageal echocardiography showed successful repair with normal coaptation of the aortic leaflets in all the patients. AR grade was less than mild in all the patients with peak aortic valve pressure gradients of 14.2±2.8 mm Hg. All the patients were discharged from the hospital within 15 postoperative days without any adverse symptom, and were followed up for 50±16 months (ranged 9-64 months). During follow-up, all the patients were in NYHA classⅠ. There were 57 patients without AR, 16 patients with mild AR, 5 patients with moderate AR and 1 patients with severe AR. The peak of aortic valve pressure gradient was 12.4±3.2 mm Hg. The average diameter of ascending aorta was 2.7 cm in the patients with ascending aorta and sinotubular expanding. The shape of sinotubular kept normal. The height of coaptation of aortic valve was 0.58 cm by echocadiography. None of the patients died or required reoperation. The structural valve degeneration was not observed during the follow-up. ConclusionThree aortic cusps replacement with bovine pericardium can produce good hemodynamics and midterm results for patients with BAV and severe AR. The ascending aorta and sinotubular should be reduced and fixed in the patients with ascending aorta and sinotubular expanding.
ObjectiveTo investigate and evaluate the safety and efficacy of Bentall operation in the reoperation of patients with small aortic root or annulus.MethodsBentall procedure was performed in 24 patients with small aortic root or annulus in our hospital from September 2014 to December 2019. There were 18 males and 6 females with a mean age of 31-68 (45.70±15.27) years. All patients had undergone a previous replacement of the aortic valve including 20 patients receiving valve replacement, 2 patients aortic root replacement with a valved conduit and 2 patients bioprothesis replacement.ResultsThere was no early death in hospital and one death during the 30-day postoperative period. Re-thoracotomy due to bleeding was necessary in only 2 patients and no bleeding was related to the proximal anastomosis of the conduit. One patient performed pacemaker implantation for heart block after the procedure. The mean sizes of implanted aortic valve prosthesis were 22.75±1.78 mm. A mean gradient across the aortic valve prostheses in the postoperative echocardiographic examination was 11.17±2.24 mm Hg.ConclusionBentall procedure is safe and allows a larger size of prosthesis implantation in patients with small aortic annulus or root after previous aortic valve or complete root replacement, resulting in good postoperative hemodynamic characteristics and short-term clinical results.
Objective To study the clinical results and operative methods of mitral valvoplasty in patients of congenital heart disease with mitral insufficiency. Methods One hundred and twelve patients of congenital heart disease with mitral insufficiency had been treated with valve repair procedure. The surgery was performed under extracorporeal circulation and moderate hypothermia. Most of the patients were diagnosed atrioventricular septal defects (29 cases), ventricular septal defect (25 cases), patent ductus arteriosus (14 cases), and atrial septal defect (14 cases) before operation. The main pathologic characters of mitral valve were mitral valve annular dilatation (58 cases), leaflet lesions (37cases), anterior and posterior leaflet prolapse (36 cases). The surgery consisted of complex methods to repair mitral valves, including rings annuloplasty (22 cases), closure of the commissure (18 cases), double-orifice method (14 cases), chords reimplantation and so on. Results Seventy two patientshad 0 to I class mitral valve regurgitation and 26 patients had Ⅱ class mitral valve regurgitation during the retrial period by echocardiography, only one case needed re-operation. The patients with left ventricular end diastolic diameter (LVEDD) more than 45mm had a reduction of left atrial diameter (from 45.8±10.7mm to 34.4±8.9mm, t=6.53, 7.89,(Plt;)0.001) and left ventricular diameter (from 58.6±10.9 mm to 44.3±8.5 mm, t=7.89, Plt;0.001) after operation. Conclusions Surgical operation on mitral valve regurgitation of congenital heart defect is a benefit and a compound method and transesophageal echocardiography may help the surgeon in estimating the surgical efficacy during operation.
Objective To explore the impact of ischemic postconditioning on ischemia-reperfusion injury in isolatedelderly rat hearts and their relation with P-Akt. Methods A total of 30 healthy elderly SD rats (21-23 months old， male or female) with their body weight of 450-500 g were divided into 3 groups: control group， ischemia-reperfusion group， and postconditioning group， with 10 rats in each group. Coronary artery blood flow，myocardial infarction size， phosphorylatedAkt （p-Akt） expression， and changes in myocardium and mitochondria were detected. Results Coronary artery blood flow of the postconditioning group was significantly higher than that of the ischemia-reperfusion group （6.4±1.2 ml/min vs.3.1±1.2 ml/min， P＜0. 01）， and myocardial infarction size of the postconditioning group was significantly smaller thanthat of the ischemia-reperfusion group （35.0%±2.0% vs. 55.7%±3.6%， Plt;0. 05）. The expression of P-Akt was significantlyhigher， and myocardial fibers and mitochondria were preserved better in the postconditioning group than the ischemia-reperfusion group. Conclusion Ischemic postconditioning can protect isolated elderly rat hearts against ischemia-reperfusion injury， which may be related to P-Akt activation.