Annals of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery

PURPOSE: Reimplanting the radial artery in the left internal thoracic artery as a composite graft allows total arterial revascularization (TAR) without aortic manipulation. The limitation of this strategy is the length of the radial artery required to reach distal right coronary artery (RCA) branches. Our analysis focuses on the feasibility of this strategy. METHODS: A total of 169 patients underwent TAR using the radial artery in a composite grafting configuration...

PURPOSE: We aimed to investigate the effects of initial abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) diameter on aneurysmal sac expansion/shrinkage, endoleaks, and reintervention postelective simple endovascular aneurysm repair (EVAR). METHODS: Overall, 228 patients monitored for >1 year after EVAR were analyzed. Male and female participants with initial AAA diameters <55 mm and <50 mm, respectively, composed the small group (group S), while those with initial AAA diameters ≥55 mm (men) and ≥50 mm (women) composed the large group (group L)...

PURPOSE: The lactate dehydrogenase-to-albumin ratio (LAR) has been reported as a potential prognostic biomarker in various cancers; however, only a few pieces of information have been reported on esophageal cancer. Therefore, this study aimed to evaluate the prognostic significance of preoperative LAR in patients with esophageal cancer. METHODS: This study included 236 patients (193 men and 43 women; mean age of 66 years [range, 41-83 years]) with esophageal cancer who underwent curative surgery between September 2008 and March 2020...

PURPOSE: Coronary anastomosis is the most key factor to accomplish coronary artery bypass grafting, which is one of the largest areas in cardiovascular surgery. Although we have organized on-site simulator training courses of coronary anastomosis using BEAT YOUCAN, it became difficult to continue it because of COVID-19. Therefore, we established a real-time evaluation sheet instead of an Objective Structured Assessment of Technical Skills (OSATS) evaluation sheet. The purposes of this study was to develop the real-time assessment system and to prove the correlation between the score obtained by the OSATS and the score obtained by the real-time evaluation system...

PURPOSE: Functional preserving sublobectomy (FPSL), a novel balancing strategy for segmentectomy and wedge resection, allows rapid and accurate removal of invisible nodules without the use of any preoperative localization markers. This study aimed to share single-center experience of lateral dorsal basal lung resection based on FPSL, so as to provide new surgical options for thoracic surgeons. METHODS: A retrospective analysis was performed on 13 patients who underwent thoracoscopic basal lung resection after FPSL at XX hospital from January 2021 to August 2022...

PURPOSE: The distal suture line during aortic dissection repair can be performed by a closed technique or by an open technique. This study presents a retrospective comparison of both methods regarding their postoperative outcomes. PATIENTS AND METHODS: 120 patients who underwent surgery for acute aortic dissection type A were divided into two groups. In group A (n = 81), open distal anastomosis was performed under hypothermic circulatory arrest and selective cerebral perfusion...

PURPOSE: Continuous annual reporting on coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) surgical practice is key for quality control and improvement of clinical results. In this report, Japanese nationwide features and trends in the extent of coronary artery disease and the characteristics of those undergoing CABG procedures in 2019 are presented. Clinical results of related ischemic heart disease are also presented. METHODS AND RESULTS: The Japanese Cardiovascular Surgery Database (JCVSD) is a nationwide surgical case registry system...

PURPOSE: This study explored the sex differences in the outcomes of degenerative mitral valve repair (MVr). METHODS: From 2010 to 2019, 1069 patients who underwent MVr due to degenerative mitral disease at Beijing Anzhen Hospital were analyzed. The average patient follow-up was 5.1 years (interquartile range: 5-7 years). The primary endpoint was overall survival. Secondary endpoints were freedom from reoperation and recurrent mitral regurgitation. A propensity-matched analysis was used to compare the outcomes of males and females...

PURPOSE: With de novo cancer, esophagectomy after lung transplantation (LTx) can be challenging because of intrathoracic adhesions, delayed wound healing, and postoperative pulmonary complications, which might be lethal. CASE PRESENTATION: A 52-year-old woman with esophageal cancer had undergone bilateral LTx for end-stage diffuse panbronchiolitis at 50 years of age. Thoracoscopic esophagectomy was performed. Bilateral bronchial arteries and subcarinal and bilateral bronchial lymph nodes were preserved to maintain blood supply to the transplanted bronchi...

PURPOSES: Secondary spontaneous pneumothorax (SSP) is occasionally observed in elderly patients suffering from diffuse lung diseases. The purpose of this study was to analyze the outcomes of surgical treatment of SSP patients with chronic lung diseases. METHODS: In total, 242 patients who underwent surgery for spontaneous pneumothorax at Chiba University Hospital from January 2006 to October 2016 were included in this study. The patients' records were reviewed retrospectively for data on their background, surgical treatment, morbidity, mortality, and recurrence...

PURPOSE: Saphenous vein grafts (SVGs) sometimes occur as vein graft stenosis or failure in coronary artery bypass grafting. The purpose of this study was to detect the factors affecting vein graft atherosclerosis. METHODS: We performed two analysis. In the first analysis, we enrolled 120 grafts using conventionally harvested saphenous vein graft (C-SVG) and followed-up with multiple coronary computed tomography angiography (CCTA). We examined the factors that contribute to the graft atherosclerosis defined by graft failure at subsequent CCTA or substantial progression of graft stenosis (a decrease of ≥0...

The excellent long-term patency of no-touch (NT) saphenous vein grafts (SVGs) makes the grafts very attractive for coronary artery bypass grafting; however, NT-SVG harvesting has a greater incidence of wound complications than conventional methods. Since 2009, we have performed endoscopic vein harvesting (EVH) in our department with very few major wound complications. Because NT-SVG harvesting is expected to provide long-term patency, if performed with EVH, the incidence of wound complications will be reduced...

PURPOSE: Little is known about the outcomes of patients with ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) or non-ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (NSTEMI) who undergo coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) in the current percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) era. METHODS: We analyzed 25120 acute myocardial infarction (AMI) patients hospitalized between January 2011 and December 2016. In-hospital outcomes were compared between patients who underwent CABG during hospitalization and those who did not undergo CABG in the STEMI group (n = 19428) and NSTEMI group (n = 5692)...

PURPOSE: There have been few reports examining changes in physical activity (PA) after revascularization of lower extremities from the perspective of physical function at discharge. The purpose of this study was to clarify the effects of physical function before discharge on the amount of PA after discharge in patients who underwent revascularization. METHODS: The subjects were 34 Fontaine class II patients admitted for elective surgical revascularization or endovascular treatment at two hospitals from September 2017 to October 2019...

PURPOSE: This study aimed to show the outcomes of isolated tricuspid valve replacement (ITVR) after left-sided valve surgery (LSVS). METHODS: Patients who underwent ITVR after LSVS were divided into bioprosthetic tricuspid valve (BTV) and mechanical tricuspid valve (MTV) groups. Clinical data were collected and analyzed between groups. RESULTS: 101 patients were divided into BTV (n = 46) and MTV (n = 55) groups. The mean ages of the BTV and MTV groups were 63...

PURPOSE: We aimed to determine if sleep disorders before cardiac surgery indicate an increased risk of postoperative atrial fibrillation (POAF). METHODS: In this study, 238 patients undergoing coronary artery bypass grafting in our center were included. Patients were separated into the preoperative sleep disorder group and the control group. The primary endpoint was the incidence of POAF, and the secondary endpoints were the incidence of postoperative stroke, duration of invasive ventilation, length of intensive care unit, and hospitalization stay...

PURPOSE: Perceval sutureless valves have gained popularity. Whether this implant performs superior to the traditional sutured prosthesis remains unclear. This meta- analysis compared the Perceval implants versus the sutured conventional valves for aortic valve replacement (AVR). METHODS: This meta-analysis was conducted according to the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses guidelines. The following databases were accessed: PubMed, Google Scholar, Web of Science, Scopus, and EMBASE...

PURPOSE: Pulmonary resection of metastases from gastric cancer is extremely rare because gastric cancer metastasis to the lungs or thoracic cavity occurs as multiple pulmonary metastases, carcinomatous lymphangitis, or carcinomatous pleurisy. Therefore, the significance of surgery for pulmonary metastasis of gastric cancer remains unclear. This study aimed to investigate the surgical outcomes and prognostic factors for survival after the resection of pulmonary metastases from gastric cancer...

PURPOSE: Ventricular septal perforation (VSP) is a critical complication of acute myocardial infarction. Various surgical procedures for it have been developed; however, surgical outcomes remain unsatisfactory. In 2010, we introduced geometrical infarct exclusion (GIE) as a modification of the Komeda-David technique. This retrospective study compared the surgical outcomes of our geometric infarct exclusion technique to those of other surgical procedures. METHODS: This study included 38 patients who underwent surgery for VSP...

PURPOSE: We retrospectively evaluated the postoperative efficacy of an orexin receptor antagonist for patients who underwent off-pump coronary artery bypass grafting (OPCAB). MATERIALS AND METHODS: We invested 108 patients who underwent cardiovascular surgery at our hospital. Patients were categorized as those received orexin receptor antagonist after surgery (S group, n = 64) or without orexin receptor antagonist (N group, n = 44), and the following data were analyzed between both groups...