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Biomedical subjects

Carlo Savini

Publications and source records attributed to Carlo Savini.

6 recordsLinked to original sources

Comparison between coronary angioplasty and coronary artery bypass surgery for the treatment of unprotected left main coronary artery stenosis (the Bologna Registry).

Although great interest exists in the relative efficacy of coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) versus percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) for the treatment of unprotected left main coronary artery stenosis, data comparing the 2 strategies are scant. Furthermore, no comparison has ever been performed between CABG and drug-eluting stents in this setting. From January 2002 to June 2005, 154 patients with unprotected left main coronary artery stenosis underwent CABG and 157 underwent PCI. Ninety-four patients received a drug-eluting stent in the left main artery. After a median follow-up of 430 days, the rate of mortality, acute myocardial infarction, and target lesion revascularization was 12.3%, 4.5%, and 2.6%, respectively, in the CABG group and 13.4%, 8.3%, and 25.5%, respectively, in the PCI group (death and myocardial infarction p = NS, target lesion revascularization p = 0.0001). Although patients treated with drug-eluting stents had a 25% relative risk reduction in the rate of death, myocardial infarction, and target lesion revascularization compared with patients treated with bare stents, event-free survival was still better for patients treated with CABG. In the multivariate analysis, age >or=70 years, New York Heart Association classes III and IV, acute coronary syndromes, and peripheral vascular disease were the only independent predictors of mortality. In conclusion, our results have indicated that at long-term follow-up no difference exists in the rate of mortality and myocardial infarction between PCI and CABG for the treatment of unprotected left main coronary artery stenosis. However, the rate of target lesion revascularization was higher in the PCI group.

Aged↗

Aortic valve-sparing operations: early and midterm results.

BACKGROUND: Aortic valve-sparing operations have provided very good clinical outcomes. However, there is still a debate about valve durability because of the absence of the Valsalva sinuses, and various techniques have been proposed to reproduce the native anatomy of the aortic root. We reviewed our total experience with aortic valve-sparing operations to determine early and midterm outcomes. METHODS: Between July 2001 and August 2004, 85 patients underwent valve-sparing operations. There were 67 (78.8%) male and 18 (21.2%) female patients with a mean age of 58.8 +/- 14.6 years. Sixty-five patients with an aortic root aneurysm underwent the David I reimplantation technique, and a Gel-weave Valsalva graft was used in 57 patients. Twenty patients with an ascending aortic aneurysm underwent replacement of the ascending aorta with sinotubular junction reduction. RESULTS: There were 3 in-hospital deaths (3.5%) and 2 late deaths. Two of 4 patients with acute aortic dissection died. The 3-year survival for patients with an aortic root aneurysm was 95.4% +/- 2.6%, and for patients with an ascending aortic aneurysm it was 89.2% +/- 7.3 (P = .464). Seven patients developed 3 to 4+ aortic insufficiency, and 5 of them required aortic valve replacement. The 3-year freedom rate from grade 3 to 4 aortic insufficiency was 88.9% +/- 5.2% for patients with an aortic root aneurysm and 88.2% +/- 7.8% for those with an ascending aortic aneurysm. At 3 years, the freedom rates from late aortic valve replacement were 92.2% +/- 4.9% in the aortic root aneurysm group and 88.2% +/- 7.8% in the ascending aortic aneurysm group. CONCLUSIONS: Aortic valve-sparing operations showed excellent results in patients electively operated on for aortic root ectasia, and the results in acute aortic dissection were very disappointing. The Gelweave Valsalva prosthesis demonstrated ease of implantability and good reproduction of the pseuodosinuses. Long-term follow-up is necessary to determine if this graft will enhance the function and increase the durability of the aortic valve.

Adult↗

A method to avoid annular downsizing during knot tying.

Pericardial annuloplasty has been used as an alternative to prosthetic annuloplasty. One drawback of pericardial annuloplasty is the risk of cinching of tissues during knot tying, possibly leading to uncontrolled downsizing and to complications such as mitral stenosis and systolic anterior motion of the anterior leaflet. A simple modification of the sequence of knot tying is described to avoid this complication.

Aged↗

Cavoatrial tumor thrombus: single-stage surgical approach with profound hypothermia and circulatory arrest, including a review of the literature.

BACKGROUND: In recent years, heart surgery has been used more frequently to treat diseases that are not primarily of cardiac origin. This is the case for intracardiac extension of infradiaphragmatic tumors, such as renal cell carcinoma, Wilms tumor, uterine tumors, and adrenal tumors, which require radical surgery associated with cavoatrial thrombectomy. METHODS: From April 1987 to April 2001, 13 patients with an infradiaphragmatic tumor with thrombosis of the vena cava, the right atrium, or both underwent surgical resection with cardiopulmonary bypass, arrested circulation, and profound hypothermia. RESULTS: The in-hospital mortality was 0%. The postoperative complications were respiratory failure (1 patient) and a redo operation for bleeding (1 patient). After a mean follow-up time of 33.9 months, 8 (61.5%) patients were alive. CONCLUSIONS: The use of extracorporeal circulation and deep circulatory arrest provide an optimal technique for removing the tumor thrombus in a bloodless field, even in the presence of metastatic disease, and has good early and long-term results.

Adolescent↗