PURPOSE We evaluated medium-term results of the left-sided maze procedure using cryoablation in patients with valvular heart disease. METHODS We retrospectively evaluated 111 patients with valvular heart disease who underwent the cryosurgical left-sided maze procedure. The mean follow-up period was 36.8 ± 24.9 months, and the mean duration of atrial fibrillation was 5.6 ± 6.0 years. The prima...

BACKGROUND There are advantages to using homografts and autografts as aortic valve replacements, particularly in patients with infective endocarditis. To better define these advantages, we reviewed our 13-year experience with the surgical management of infective endocarditis involving the aortic valve and root. METHODS From 1986 through 1998, 81 adults with aortic valve endocarditis underwent...

Aortic valve rupture, secondary to aortic valve endocarditis, was diagnosed echocardiographically and closely followed preoperatively. The ruptured left coronary cusp of the aortic valve was seen as dense irregular echoes, located anteriorly during ventricular diastole, and protruding into the left ventricular outflow tract in an otherwise normally appearing aortic valve. These echocardiographi...

Aortoventricular disruption after aortic valve replacement is extremely rare. A case of aortoventricular disruption following aortic valve replacement is described in detail, and related case reports are reviewed. A 76-year-old male underwent aortic valve replacement with a tissue valve using everting mattress sutures, repair of the ascending aortic aneurysm, and mitral valve repair. After card...

We describe a patient with a femoral neck fracture undergoing an aortic valve replacement. The study design was a case report. An 82-year-old female with an untreated right femoral neck fracture, and a severe aortic valve stenosis was admitted to a cardiac surgery department for surgical treatment of the valve disease. She underwent aortic valve replacement with a sutureless biological valve pr...

Heart valve replacement is fast becoming a routine surgery worldwide and heart valve prostheses are today considered among the most widely used cardiovascular devices. Mechanical and bioprostheses have been the traditional choices to the replacement surgeries. However, such valves continue to exposed patients to risks, including thrombosis, infection and limited valve durability. In recent year...

OBJECTIVES To identify risk factors associated with cardiac valve calcification that is easily detectable through routine blood tests in patients who received valve replacement therapy. METHODS Four hundred patients with valvular heart disease who underwent valve replacement surgery between December 2009 and January 2013 were enrolled in this study. Of these, 77 had valve calcification; the o...

Valve prostheses have played an important part in the past two decades in the management of patients with valvular heart disease. However, many of the devices used in valve replacement have introduced new clinical problems. This paper deals with some of the problems associated with valve replacement, including one not previously emphasized--valve prosthesis-patient mismatch, which may cause obs...

A 28-year-old man underwent aortic valve replacement and excision of abscess cavity for staphylococcus aureus endocarditis. A large pseudoaneurysm was found on CTangiogram 4 years later (Figs. 1 and 2). This was successfully treated with a redo aortic valve replacement, patch false aneurysm and replacement ascending aorta. www.elsevier.com/locate/ejcts European Journal of Cardio-thoracic Surger...