PubMed HealthSearch

Biomedical subjects

E A Grossi

Publications and source records attributed to E A Grossi.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

Multiple valve operation for advanced valvular heart disease: results and risk factors in 513 patients.

To assess the results and incremental risk factors affecting outcome after multiple-valve operation in the early blood cardioplegia era of cardiac surgery, follow-up data (mean +/- SD 3.1 +/- 2 years) were obtained on 97% of 513 patients (mean age +/- SD 58.8 +/- 10.5 years) who underwent a multiple-valve procedure between June 1976 and August 1985. Preoperatively 41% of patients were in New York Heart Association functional class III and 54% in class IV. Three groups accounted for 98.6% of the patients: 57.7% had an aortic and mitral valve procedure, 29% had a mitral and tricuspid valve procedure and 11.9% had a triple-valve procedure. The overall hospital mortality rate was 12.5% and overall 5-year survival rate was 67.1%. Hazard function analysis for all deaths revealed systolic pulmonary artery pressure (p less than 0.0001), age (p = 0.005), triple valve procedure (p less than 0.005), concomitant coronary bypass operation (p less than 0.005) and prior cardiac surgery (p less than 0.002) as the significant incremental risk factors predicting decreased survival in the early hazard phase; diabetes (p less than 0.005) predicted decreased survival in the late hazard phase. Postoperatively the condition of 80% of the patients improved to functional class I or II; only 0.6% remained in functional class IV. The 5-year rate of freedom from late combined valve-related morbidity was 81.7% and that of freedom from late combined valve-related morbidity and mortality was 71.7%. These results demonstrate excellent clinical improvement and late survival after multiple valve operation in patients with advanced valvular heart disease, justifying aggressive surgical therapy in these patients.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Bioprosthesis

Surgical implications of transesophageal echocardiography to grade the atheromatous aortic arch.

Stroke is an especially serious complication of cardiopulmonary bypass with an incidence of 2% to 5%. This prospective study used transesophageal echocardiography (TEE) in 97 patients more than 65 years of age (mean age, 73 years) to identify those at high risk for aortic atheroemboli. The atheromatous disease of the aorta was graded by TEE: grade I = minimal intimal thickening (n = 29); II = extensive intimal thickening (n = 33); III = sessile atheroma (n = 15); IV = protruding atheroma (n = 10); V = mobile atheroma (n = 10). Clinical evaluation was also performed by intraoperative aortic palpation. Four patients who were graded as having normal aortas by palpation had intraoperative strokes. In contrast, 3 of these 4 patients were in grade V on TEE. The relationship of TEE to incidence of stroke was statistically significant (p less than 0.006), whereas there was no significant correlation between clinical grade and stroke incidence. Four of 10 TEE grade V patients were treated with hypothermic circulatory arrest and aortic arch debridement, and none suffered strokes. The other 6 patients were treated with standard techniques, and 3 had strokes. These results suggest that patients with mobile atheromatous disease are at high risk for embolic strokes that are not predicted by routine clinical evaluation. Selective use of circulatory arrest in the presence of TEE-detected mobile arch atheromas may reduce the risk of intraoperative stroke.

Aged

Silent myocardial ischemia monitoring predicts late as well as perioperative cardiac events in patients undergoing vascular surgery.

In a previous study we have shown that perioperative monitoring for silent myocardial ischemia can noninvasively identify those patients undergoing peripheral vascular surgery who are at significantly increased risk for perioperative myocardial infarction. In the present study a group of 385 patients undergoing peripheral vascular surgery was studied long-term as well as short-term to determine whether perioperative monitoring for silent ischemia can identify those patients who are at significantly increased risk of late cardiac death or late cardiac complications as well as those patients at increased risk of perioperative myocardial infarction. All patients were monitored before, during, and after operation and were divided into two groups on the basis of results of monitoring: patients whose total duration of silent ischemia as a percentage of the total duration of perioperative monitoring was 1% or greater (group I, n = 120) and those for whom this value was less than 1% (group II, n = 265). Among patients in group I 13.3% (16 of 120) suffered a perioperative myocardial infarction in contrast to only 1.1% (3 of 265) patients in group II (p less than 0.001). Multivariate logistic regression analysis of preoperative and perioperative characteristics showed that the presence of a total perioperative percent time ischemic 1% or greater and age were the only significant predictors of perioperative myocardial infarction.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Aged

The effects of different techniques of internal mammary artery harvesting on sternal blood flow.

We investigated chest wall blood flow in a canine model to determine if the technique used to harvest the mammary artery has a differential effect on residual chest wall blood flow. Eight dogs underwent bilateral internal mammary artery mobilization; one artery was harvested as a pedicle and the other was harvested as a skeletonized vessel. Residual blood flow to the chest wall distribution of each artery was measured with radioactive microspheres. Chest wall blood flow was significantly decreased from preharvest levels after internal mammary artery mobilization regardless of the technique used. Tissue blood flows decreased to 46.9%, 22.1%, and 41.2% of baseline values for the manubrium (p < 0.01), sternum (p < 0.001), and ribs (p < 0.05), respectively. Residual sternal blood flow on the side of the skeletonized vessel was significantly greater than on the side of the pedicle graft (2.60 +/- 0.68 versus 1.27 +/- 0.27 cm3/min/100 gm, p < 0.001). We conclude that minimization of tissue mobilization during internal mammary artery harvesting may reduce sternal devascularization. This finding may have clinical significance with respect to lowering the incidence of sternal wound complications in coronary bypass surgery using the internal mammary artery as a bypass conduit.

Animals

Experience with twenty-eight cases of systolic anterior motion after mitral valve reconstruction by the Carpentier technique.

Systolic anterior motion of the mitral valve with left ventricular outflow tract obstruction after Carpentier-type mitral reconstruction with ring annuloplasty has led some surgeons to abandon an otherwise successful repair or to avoid use of a rigid ring. To assess the long-term significance of such motion, we studied 439 patients undergoing Carpenter mitral reconstruction at our institution between March 1981 and June 1990. The hospital mortality rate was 4.8% (21/439) overall and 3.7% (9/243) for isolated mitral reconstruction. Systolic anterior motion was found in 6.4% (28/438) after the operation, and 2.3% (10/438) had a coexisting left ventricular outflow tract gradient (mean 53 mm Hg). Of the 28 patients with systolic anterior motion, 27 (96.4%) had leaflet prolapse, 17 (60.7%) had undergone more than a 3 cm resection of the posterior leaflet, and two (7.1%) had preexisting idiopathic hypertrophic subaortic stenosis. All patients were treated medically, 14 with negative inotropic agents. Follow-up echocardiograms at a mean of 32 months demonstrated the disappearance of systolic anterior motion in 13 of 28 patients (46.4%) and resolution of the outflow tract gradient in 10 of 10 (100%). At follow-up only one patient was in New York Heart Association class III or IV and required reoperation for rheumatic mitral insufficiency. These data demonstrate that systolic anterior motion after Carpentier mitral reconstruction with ring annuloplasty is not prevalent and should be managed medically in most cases. Associated left ventricular outflow tract obstruction resolves with medical treatment.

Cardiac Surgical Procedures

Aortic valve replacement for aortic stenosis in persons aged 80 years and over.

Seventy-one patients aged greater than or equal to 80 years (mean +/- standard deviation 82 +/- 2) with aortic stenosis or mixed stenosis and regurgitation underwent aortic valve replacement alone (n = 35, group 1) or in combination with a coronary artery bypass procedure without any other valve procedure (n = 36, group 2). Preoperatively, 91% had severe cardiac limitations (New York Heart Association class III or IV). Hospital mortality was 12.7% overall (9 of 71), 5.7% (2 of 35) for group 1 and 19.4% (7 of 36) for group 2. Perioperatively, 1 patient (1.4%) had a stroke. Survival from late cardiac death at 1 and 3 years was 98.2 and 95.5%, respectively, for all patients, 100% for patients who underwent isolated aortic valve replacement, and 96.3 and 91.2%, respectively, for patients who underwent aortic valve replacement plus coronary artery bypass. Eighty-three percent of surviving patients had marked symptomatic improvement. Freedom from all valve-related complications (thromboembolism, anticoagulant, endocarditis, reoperation or prosthetic failure) was 93.3 and 80.4% at 1 and 3 years, respectively. Thus, short- and long-term morbidity and mortality after aortic valve replacement for aortic stenosis in patients aged greater than or equal to 80 years are encouragingly low, although the addition of coronary artery bypass grafting increases short- and long-term mortality.

Aged

Repair of posterior left ventricular aneurysm in a six-year-old boy.

Left ventricular aneurysms and diverticula are rarely encountered in the pediatric age group. This paper reports a case of congestive heart failure and mitral regurgitation in a 6-year-old boy with a large posterolateral left ventricular aneurysm. Complete repair was successfully performed by excision of the aneurysm and Dacron patch reconstruction of the left ventricular free wall. The patch extended onto the posterior annulus of the mitral valve, thus restoring the mitral valve to normal geometry and correcting the mitral insufficiency. The surgical literature on congenital cardiac diverticula and acquired aneurysms in children is reviewed and summarized.

Child

Sternal wound infections and use of internal mammary artery grafts.

Previous studies have provided conflicting evidence as to whether an increased risk of mediastinitis is associated with use of the internal mammary artery as a coronary bypass graft. In this study the effects of internal mammary artery grafts on wound complications were analyzed in a prospective, nonrandomized fashion. At New York University Medical Center from January 1985 through May 1988, 2356 patients underwent isolated coronary revascularization. Among these patients 1394 received one or more internal mammary artery grafts (group I) and 962 had vein grafts only (group II). Group I had a mean age of 59.5 years versus 67.7 years in group II; diabetes was equally present in both groups (22.7% versus 24.7%). Operative mortality rate was 1.3% in group I and 5.6% in group II. Sternal infection was significantly more prevalent in group I (2.2%, 31/1394) than in group II (0.8%, 8/962). Multivariate analysis revealed that aortic crossclamp time, use of a single internal mammary artery graft, use of a double mammary graft, and diabetes were associated with increased risk of sternal infection. The use of bilateral internal mammary artery grafting doubled the odds ratio of the risk compared with use of a single mammary graft, and the combination of diabetes and double internal mammary artery grafts increased the odds ratio 13.9-fold. Patients with an internal mammary artery graft who had sternal infection had a longer period of hospitalization than patients without a mammary artery graft who had sternal infection. We conclude that the risk of sternal infection is increased by the use of an internal mammary artery graft, especially use of double mammary grafts in the presence of diabetes.

Aged

Biventricular distribution of cold blood cardioplegic solution administered by different retrograde techniques.

Although retrograde cardioplegia has been shown to provide adequate overall protection to the myocardium, delivery of cardioplegic solution to the right ventricle and septum is poor. We used an animal model of occlusion of the left anterior descending coronary artery to study the effects of modifying the conditions of retrograde cardioplegia administration on delivery to the right and left ventricles. Adult mongrel dogs (n = 12) were each given five retrograde injections of microsphere-labeled cardioplegic solution at 10-minute intervals. Four injections were made directly into the coronary sinus with ostial balloon occlusion at the following dosages and pressures: (1) 10 ml/kg at 30 mm Hg, (2) 20 ml/kg at 30 mm Hg, (3) 10 ml/kg at 50 mmHg, and (4) 20 ml/kg at 50 mm Hg. A fifth dose (20 ml/kg) was given directly into the right atrium at 50 mm Hg. Delivery of cardioplegic solution to the left and right ventricles was significantly reduced when the right atrial route was compared with the coronary sinus route at the same dosage and pressure (for left ventricle, 6.0% +/- 1.4% versus 22.7% +/- 11.4%/100 gm, p less than 0.001; for right ventricle, 0.7% +/- 0.2% versus 4.1% +/- 0.4%/100 gm, p less than 0.001). Septal delivery was less than that to the anterior and posterior left ventricle (10.4% +/- 1.3% versus 30.3% +/- 3.9% and 27.9% +/- 3.1%/100 gm, p less than 0.0001) for all injections. Delivery to the body of the right ventricle was less than that to the inflow and outflow tracts (1.8% +/- 0.2% versus 4.5% +/- 0.7% and 8.4% +/- 1.5%/100 gm, p less than 0.0001). These results indicate that, in this model, (1) the right atrial route provides less overall cardioplegic solution to both ventricles than direct retrograde coronary sinus cardioplegia and (2) regional abnormalities in distribution with direct retrograde coronary sinus cardioplegia are not affected by changes in the dosage or pressure of injection.

Animals

Successful treatment of postpartum shock caused by amniotic fluid embolism with cardiopulmonary bypass and pulmonary artery thromboembolectomy.

We report the successful treatment of a moribund patient as a result of amniotic fluid embolism with cardiopulmonary bypass and open pulmonary artery thromboembolectomy. Review of the literature indicates that this is the first reported case of treatment of amniotic fluid embolism with cardiopulmonary bypass and pulmonary thromboembolectomy.

Adult

Ten-year experience with aortic valve replacement in 482 patients 70 years of age or older: operative risk and long-term results.

A retrospective analysis of an institutional experience with aortic valve replacement (AVR) in patients 70 years of age or older during 1976 to 1987 was performed. The study was prompted in part by the current interest in palliative aortic valvoplasty, an interest based to a certain extent on the impression that AVR in the elderly has a high mortality. The mean age of the patients was 75.0 +/- 4.0 years (+/- the standard deviation) (range, 70 to 89 years). Eighty-three percent of patients received porcine valves and 17%, mechanical valves. Preoperatively 32% were in New York Heart Association class III, and 59% were in class IV. Operative mortality was 5.6% for elective isolated AVR for aortic stenosis (19% of all patients), 8.2% for all isolated AVR (38%), and 12.4% overall. Concomitant operative procedures were done in 62.0%; AVR with coronary artery bypass grafting (42%) had an operative mortality of 14.3%. Multivariate analysis showed significant predictors of operative mortality to be emergency operation (p less than 0.01), isolated aortic regurgitation (p = 0.01), and previous cardiac operation (p = 0.02). Follow-up (34 +/- 27 months) was 94% complete. Five-year survival from late cardiac-related death was 81.0%. The constant yearly hazard rate for late death for patients 70 years of age or older who underwent AVR was 5.42% per year, which is similar to the 5.77% per year rate calculated for age-matched and sex-matched controls. Five-year freedom from reoperation was 99%; from late thromboembolic complications, 91%; and from late anticoagulant-related complications, 94%. Freedom from all valve-related morbidity and mortality was 61% at 5 years.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Age Factors

Beta blockade to decrease silent myocardial ischemia during peripheral vascular surgery.

The incidence and duration of intraoperative silent myocardial ischemia have been shown to be significantly correlated with the incidence of perioperative myocardial infarction in patients undergoing peripheral vascular surgery. To assess the effectiveness of intraoperative beta blockade in limiting such silent myocardial ischemia, a group of 48 patients was treated with oral metoprolol immediately prior to peripheral vascular surgery. The total duration of intraoperative silent myocardial ischemia, the percentage of intraoperative time silent myocardial ischemia was present, the number of intraoperative episodes of silent myocardial ischemia, and the intraoperative heart rate in the treated patients were compared with those in 152 similar but untreated peripheral vascular surgery patients. The patients treated with oral metoprolol had significantly less intraoperative silent ischemia with respect to relative duration and frequency of episodes, a significantly lower intraoperative heart rate, and less intraoperative silent myocardial ischemia in terms of total absolute duration. These results suggest that beta-adrenergic activation may play a major role in the pathogenesis of silent myocardial ischemia during peripheral vascular surgery.

Adrenergic beta-Antagonists

A comparison of mitral valve reconstruction with mitral valve replacement: intermediate-term results.

The continued good results after mitral valve reconstruction prompted this retrospective study to compare operative and late results from our institutional experience since 1976 with 975 porcine mitral valve replacements (MVRs) (1976 to December 1987), 169 mechanical MVRs (1976 to December 1987), and 280 Carpentier-type mitral valve reconstructions (CVRs) (1980 to mid-1988). The operative mortality was 2.0% for isolated CVR, 6.6% for isolated mechanical MVR, and 8.5% for isolated porcine MVR. The overall operative mortality was 5.0% for CVR, 16.6% for mechanical MVR, and 10.6% for porcine MVR. The overall 5-year survival including hospital deaths was 76% for CVR, 72% for mechanical MVR, and 69% for porcine MVR. By multivariate analysis, the predictors of increased operative risk and of decreased survival were age, New York Heart Association functional class IV status, previous cardiac operation, and performance of concomitant cardiac surgical procedures. The type of valvular procedure was not predictive of operative risk or overall survival. The 5-year freedom from reoperation was 94.4% for nonrheumatic patients having CVR, 77.4% for rheumatic patients having CVR, 96.4% for mechanical MVR, and 96.6% for porcine MVR (p less than 0.05, rheumatic patients with CVR versus both MVR groups). The 5-year freedom from all valve-related morbidity and mortality was significantly better for valve reconstruction compared with both types of valve replacement. Thus, the operative risk and late survival obtained after mitral valve reconstruction were at least equivalent to those obtained after MVR. In addition, patients receiving mitral valve reconstruction had less valve-related combined morbidity than patients receiving valve replacement, thus making mitral valve reconstruction preferable in some patients with mitral insufficiency.

Adolescent

The value of silent myocardial ischemia monitoring in the prediction of perioperative myocardial infarction in patients undergoing peripheral vascular surgery.

Real-time electrocardiographic monitoring for silent myocardial ischemia was performed on 200 patients undergoing peripheral vascular surgery to try to better define those at high risk of perioperative myocardial infarction. The patients were divided into those undergoing abdominal aortic aneurysm or lower extremity revascularization procedures (group I, n = 120) and those undergoing carotid artery endarterectomy (group II, n = 80). Silent ischemia was detected during the preoperative, intraoperative, or post-operative periods in 60.8% of group I and 67.5% of group II patients. Six group I and three group II patients suffered an acute perioperative myocardial infarction with two cardiac deaths. In both groups I and II a variety of parameters based on monitoring of silent myocardial ischemia were compared between the subgroups of patients who had myocardial infarction and those who did not. The results show that in both groups there was a significantly (p less than or equal to 0.05) greater total duration of perioperative ischemic time, total number of perioperative ischemic episodes, and total duration of perioperative ischemic time as a percent of total monitoring time in patients who suffered a perioperative myocardial infarction compared to those who did not. Multivariate logistic regression analysis of preoperative characteristics in all 200 patients showed the occurrence of preoperative silent myocardial ischemia and angina at rest to be the only significant predictors of perioperative myocardial infarction. Thus perioperative monitoring for silent myocardial ischemia might noninvasively identify those patients undergoing peripheral vascular surgery who are at increased risk for perioperative myocardial infarction, permitting implementation of timely preventive measures in selected patients.

Aged

Ten-year operative experience with 165 aneurysms of the ascending aorta and aortic arch.

Results of surgery in 165 patients with aneurysms of the ascending aorta and aortic arch during 1978-1988 were analyzed retrospectively. Etiology included 29% dissection, 22% atherosclerosis, 22% cystic-medial necrosis, and 27% other causes. Concomitant procedures on the aortic valve were performed in 65% of patients (valvular replacement in 37%, valve-conduit in 23%, and valvular resuspension in 5%), and 13% underwent concomitant coronary artery bypass surgery. Major changes in our operative technique for such aneurysms have been introduced during the last 5 years, especially use of a continuous suture-graft-inclusion technique in 99% of patients, use of circulatory arrest in 59%, and use of an open hemiarch repair in 32%. Hospital mortality dropped from 17.9% during the first 5 years of the study period to 12.3% in the last 5 years despite increasing complexity of the cases encountered. Operative mortality was 7.6% for ascending aortic aneurysmal repair; 5.3% for valve-conduit procedure; 8.8% for open hemiarch repair; and 30.8% for repair of extensive aneurysms involving the aortic arch and significant portions of the descending aorta. Multivariate analysis showed that, of the variables examined, significant predictors of increased operative risk were age (p less than 0.05) and extension of an ascending aortic aneurysm to the descending aorta or involvement of the aortic arch (p less than 0.001). The incidence of stroke was 2.4%, with only one stroke since 1983 despite more extensive use of circulatory arrest since that time. Follow-up was 94% complete, with a mean (+/- SD) follow-up interval of 28 +/- 24 months.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Adult