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Biomedical subjects

R L McGrath

Publications and source records attributed to R L McGrath.

7 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1979

Immediate operation for ectopia cordis.

Forty-one infants with thoracoabdominal ectopia cordis have been reported to date; 9 of them survived. Among the patients with an omphalocele as the abdominal wall defect, however, only 2 survived. Death in this group of patients occurred almost exclusively as a consequence of either attempted coverage of the heart or secondary to the associated intracardiac lesion. We report here the case of a patient recently treated in whom coverage with a temporary Silastic prosthesis protected the exposed heart from infection and rupture of the sac, thus permitting full cardiac investigation before operation.

Abdominal Muscles↗
PubMed1978

The silent ductus arteriosus.

Preterm infants at risk of developing a patent ductus arteriosus were followed sequentially by physical examination, echocardiographic determinations of the LA/AO ratio, and chest roentgenograms. The results show that a significant number of infants who have no clinical signs or symptoms of a PDA have large left-to-right shunts. The presence of this shunt was suggested by acute increase in left atrial size by ECHO determination and confirmed by retrograde single-film aortography. Clinical signs and symptoms often developed several days after documentation of the left-to-right shunt.

Aortography↗
PubMed1978

Chylothorax and chylopericardial tamponade following Blalock-Taussig anastomosis.

A case of chylothorax following a right-sided Blalock-Taussig shunt is presented. Chylopericardial tamponade eventually developed, because the mediastinal leakage of chyle was sealed off from the pleural cavity and diverted into the pericardium. Chylopericardium is a rare cause of an enlarged cardiac silhouette on a postoperative chest roentgenogram, but the importance of differentiating it from congestive heart failure is illustrated. When chylopericardial tamponade occurs, treatment consists of (1) aspiration for immediate relief and, if there is recurrence, (2) surgical evacuation of the pericardium with tube drainage or pericardiectomy and (3) ligation of the source of chylous drainage.

Cardiac Tamponade↗