Volume 18 - Número 4

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BACKGROUND: The technique of harvesting the saphenous vein (SV) for coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) influences the fate of vein grafts. A new "no touch" (NT) technique of SV preparation was developed where the vein is harvested with a pedicle of surrounding tissue, which protects the vein from spasms therefore obviating the need for distension. METHOD: A prospective randomized study in 156 patients who underwent CABG was performed comparing three SV harvesting techniques. The techniques were conventional (c) (adventitial stripping of the vein, manual distention and storing in saline solution); Intermediate (I) (after adventitial stripping, the vein was left in situ, covered with a papaverine-soaked compress, and stored in heparinized blood); and "no touch" (SV dissected with its surrounding tissue was left in situ, covered with a saline-soaked compress and stored in heparinized blood). A morphological study of the endothelium was preformed using scanning electronic microscopy and an angiographic assessment of the vein graft patency was performed at 18 months mean follow-up time. Also an immunohistochemistry assessment was performed to identify the enzyme, nitric oxide synthase (NOS) in the vein wall. RESULTS: The preservation of the endothelial cell integrity was greater with the "no touch" technique than with the other procedures. At angiographic follow up, the patency for NT was 95.4%, 88.9% for grafts in group C and 86.2% for grafts in group I. The immunohistochemistry assessment revealed NOS in all three layers of the vein wall that was prepared by the "no touch" technique. However, a great reduction of this enzyme in veins treated by the conventional technique was observed. CONCLUSION: The endothelial integrity and NOS activity were better preserved when using the "no touch" technique for vein graft harvesting. The vasorelaxation and thrombo-resistant activities of nitric oxide (NO) may be responsible for the reduced of vasospasms and improved patency rate. Furthermore, the mechanical properties provided by the cushion of surrounding tissue in graft harvested by NT technique may contribute to the observed high patency rate. Keywords: Saphenous vein; Endothelium, vascular; Myocardial revascularization, methods

OBJECTIVE: For a cohort of patients with congenital mitral stenosis (CMS), to determine: patient outcomes, predictors of valve repairability and predictors of durability of valve repair. METHODS: From 1989 and 2002, 23 patients underwent surgical treatment of CMS, excluding those with common atrioventricular canal, and univentricular forms. The median age at operation was 15.5 months (range 2-204), and the median body weight was 11 Kg (range 4.5-51.6). Seventeen patients (73.9%) had associated anomalies, including Shone's complex in nine (39.1%) and pulmonary hypertension in 14 (60.9%). Mitral stenosis was severe in 14 patients (60.9%) and moderate in the remaining (median trans-mitral gradient of 16 mmHg, range 8.5-32). Mitral valve repair was performed in 18 patients (78.3%), and valve replacement in five (21.7%). Repair techniques included papillary muscle splitting (n=10), excision of supravalvular ring (n=9) and commissurotomy (n=8). Twelve patients (52.2%) required associated procedures. RESULTS: There were no early and late deaths at a mean follow-up of 58.5 ± 46.7 months (range 1-156). Mean hospital stay was 12.7 ± 8.2 days. There were no significant factors associated with unsuccessful valve repair. Actuarial freedom from reoperation at five years was 67.1% (CI 95%: 56.8% to 77.4%). The mitral valve repair group required reoperation in eight patients (44.4%) (two early and six late), as opposed to one (20%) in the replacement group. The presence of preoperative pulmonary hypertension was significantly related (p<0.005) to higher reoperation rates. All but two the followed patients are presently in functional class I and the echocardiography has shown less than 2+ mitral stenosis and/or regurgitation. CONCLUSION: Reoperations were the most important cause of morbidity at the medium-term follow-up of CMS. Preoperative pulmonary hypertension may predict the need for reoperation after mitral valve repair, which is the procedure of choice in CMS. Keywords: Mitral valve stenosis, congenital; Mitral valve stenosis, surgery; Mitral valve, abnormalities; Heart defects, congenital, surgery

OBJECTIVE: To verify if there is advantage in myocardial revascularization the elderly without cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB) in relation to the use of the same, being considered the viability of complete myocardial revascularization (MR) and the hospital morbidity and mortality. METHOD: We prospectively studied a hundred consecutive, no randomized patients, with age >= 70 years, submitted to the primary and isolated myocardial revascularization between January and December of 2000. The patients were divided in two groups, G1 - 50 patients operated with CPB and G2 - 50 patients operated without CPB. Univariate testing of variables was performed with chi-squared analysis in the SPSS 10.0 Program and a p value less than 0.005 was considered significant. RESULTS: There was no renal failure or myocardial infarction (MI) in both groups; the incidence of respiratory failure was identical in the two groups (4%); two patient of G1 they had Strokes, and 12 presented low output syndrome, occurrences not registered in G2. The need of ventilatory support > 24 hs was not significant between groups. Medium time of hospital stay was 21.8 and 11.7 days respectively (NS) and the survival after 30 days were similar in the two groups. The patients' of G1 eighty percent had more than two approached arteries, against only 48% of G2 (p < 0.0001). CONCLUSION: Because the largest number of grafts in the patients of G1, we can affirm that the use of CPB can provide a larger probability of complete RM. Keywords: Myocardial revascularization, aged; Coronary disease, surgery, aged; Extracorporeal circulation, aged

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the late follow-up of pulmonary root translocation, a technique that aims to avoid complications and the need of reoperations related to the Rastelli procedure, in the repair of ventriculo-arterial connection anomalies associated to pulmonary stenosis and ventricular septal defect. METHODS: Five patients, ranging from two months to three years of age, were submitted to anterior pulmonary root translocation, from April 1994 to July 1999. The surgical technique consisted of pulmonary root removal from the left ventricle and its connection to the right ventricle, after patch diversion of the blood flow from the left ventricle to the aorta, through the ventricular septal defect. The construction of the right ventricle outflow tract was completed with autologous pericardium. RESULTS: There were neither early nor late deaths. There was no need for re-intervention. The late clinical and echocardiographic follow-ups showed some growth of the pulmonary root, with no clinically significant transpulmonary valve gradient (zero to 41 mmHg) and all patients were asymptomatic. CONCLUSION: Pulmonary root translocation showed to be efficient in the repair of ventriculo-arterial connection anomalies, with ventricular septal defect and pulmonary stenosis, and it was employed even in small children, with good early and long-term results, without the need for late reoperations in this small group of patients. Keywords: Transposition of Great Arteries; Pulmonary translocation

OBJECTIVE: To report on our initial clinical experience of the utilization of a mechanical anastomotic device (MAD) to perform saphenous vein graft to aorta anastomosis. METHOD: Between June 2002 and May 2003, 17 patients, including 13 male, with a mean age of 64.4 ± 9.4 years, were selected for coronary artery bypass grafting using MAD. A total of 49 anastomoses, 19 arterial and 30 vein grafts, were performed with a mean of 2.9 ± 0.5 anastomoses per patient. Eleven (36.7%) vein-graft anastomoses were performed with conventional sutures and 19 (63.3%) using MAD. The clinical evolution, enzymatic and electrocardiographic alterations as well as an angiographic study were analyzed in the postoperative period. RESULTS: Of the 17 patients, the mechanical device was used on 16 (94.1%). Six (37.5%) patients were operated on under cardiopulmonary bypass with a mean time of 102.9 ± 16.9 minutes. The postoperative evolution was satisfactory in all patients. No patient presented with enzymatic, myocardial infarction or other ischemic electrocardiographic alterations in the immediate postoperative period. Early postoperative angiography was performed in 9 (52.9%) patients. The anastomoses of the left internal thoracic artery to left anterior descending artery were patent in all cases. Of the 15 saphenous vein grafts studied, 11 (73.3%) were performed using MAD, 9 (81.8%) of which were patent. All the 4 conventionally sutured vein anastomoses were patent. No hospital deaths occurred. In the late follow-up, 88.2% of the patients were free of cardiac-related events. CONCLUSIONS: MAD for vein graft-to-aorta anastomosis proved to be feasible, but a wider analysis of the benefits of its utilization regarding operative time, aggression to the patient, patency of the grafts and final cost are necessary. Keywords: Cardiovascular diseases, surgery; Myocardial revascularization, methods; Coronary disease, surgery

OBJECTIVE: To identify useful predictive data on chance mechanisms of postoperative outcome, the impact on symptoms of terminal heart failure - after partial left ventriculectomies (PLV) - was critically evaluated through the analysis of results, on accumulated descriptive data on reports, between 1995 and 1998. METHOD: Available routine clinical data on surgical aspects and clinical outcomes were gathered and, when possible, validated for comparative analysis. RESULTS: PLV can provide a significant short to medium term amelioration in the quality-of-life in event-free survivors, but it was also watched out that in important proportion of them - as an evolutive sequence - PLV was incapable of changing the myocardial fibers leading tendency to conservatism of the preoperative vicious geometric dynamic pattern in late evolution. Importantly, the LV end-diastolic echocardiographic diameter of 7.5 cm (± 1.4 cm) was the steadiest quantitative significant numerical appeal to heart reduction surgery, in a setting of 465 patients, aged two to 74 years. And in a succession of individual reports of PLV results, whose mortality varied from 0 a 60%, survival after PLV showed a significant relationship with morphologic evolution of cardiomyocytes, in postoperative, and augmented in absolute values in patients with progressive ventricular dysfunction, treated with the insertion of LVAD (Left Ventricular Assist Devices). CONCLUSION: The material impossibility of identifying useful qualified predictors on chance mechanisms of postoperative outcome emerged as the crucial limitation for current usage of surgical reversal of left ventricular structural chamber dilation - to treat dilated cardiomyopathies - despite accumulated numerical values and clinical experiences. Keywords: Heart ventricle, surgery; Heart failure, surgery; Cardiomyopathy, congestive, surgery; Cardiac surgical procedures

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Extracorporeal lung assist (ECLA) has been proposed as an invasive alternative to conventional treatment when oxygenation is not possible by rigorous mechanical ventilation alone. Usually, ECLA is carried out by establishing a venovenous or venoarterial shunt consisting of a roller or centrifugal pump, a membrane oxygenator, and a heat exchanger. However, the extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) with circulatory support lead hemolysis, coagulation disorders, inflammatory response, and specific technical complications inherent to a procedure of high risk and cost. To reduce the drawbacks of mechanical blood trauma during prolonged ECLA, the patient´s arteriovenous pressure gradient as the driving force for the blood flow through for the extracorporeal circuit can be used. In this article are analysed the main contributions of pumpless ECMO, used experimentally and in children and adults with respiratory failure, with perspective of clinical application in newborn. Keywords: Extracorporeal membrane oxygenation; Membrane oxygenators; Oxygenators; Infant, newborn

OBJECTIVE: Lacking an ideal valve substitute and motivated by the good results of mitral valve repair since 1990, we faced with determination aortic valve reconstruction surgery. The objective of this paper is to show our experience with this procedure. METHOD: Between January of 1990 and December of 2001; 136 aortic valve repair surgeries were performed. Seventy-five (55.1%) of the patients were female and the ages ranged from 4 to 70 years (mean 23.3 ± 1.2 years). Every patient had rheumatic valve disease and insufficiency was the most prevalent type (108 patients - 79.4%), followed by double aortic lesion in 16 (11.7%) patients and stenosis in 12 (8.8%). The surgical techniques used were: subcommissural annuloplasty in 74 (54.4%) patients, commissurotomy in 38 (27.9%), cusp extension with pericardium in 17 (12.5%), substitution of one cusp in 2 (1.4%), cusp suspension by annuloplasty in 37 (27.2%) and Valsalva sinus remodeling in 27 (19.8%). The surgery exclusively involved the aortic valve in 57 (41.9%) patients and was associated in 79 (mitral valve replacement in 12, mitral repair in 65, coronary artery bypass grafting in 1 and pulmonary commissurotomy in 1). RESULTS: Hospital mortality was 2.2% and 22 (16.2%) patients underwent a new surgery during the follow-up period (57.7 ± 3.5 months). CONCLUSIONS: Aortic valve repair is a safe surgical procedure that can be used in an increasing number of patients with promising results. Keywords: Aortic valve, surgery; Aortic valve insufficiency, surgery; Aortic valve stenosis, surgery

A 14-year-old girl, presenting with heart failure and a continuous murmur, similar to that of a patent arterial duct, was investigated using echocardiogram and cardiac catheterization revealing a left to right shunt throught a coronary artery fistulae between the first septal branch and the right ventricular outflow tract. The patient was submitted to surgery, occluding the anomalous branch by the suturing of its orifice in the right ventricular outflow tract, under cardiopulmonary bypass. After the operation, cardiac catheterization revealed complete occlusion of the fistula without any residual shunt or compromise to the coronary circulation. In seven years of follow-up the patient is completely free of symptoms. Keywords: Fistula, heart; Fistula, coronary circulation; Coronary vessels anomalies, surgery

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