Diagnosis and Management of Postoperative Pericardial Effusions and Late Cardiac Tamponade Following Open-Heart Surgery

The clinical and laboratory findings of 28 patients identified as having late pericardial effusions were examined. Eleven of these patients were asymptomatic; 9 patients had moderate symptoms including fatigue, malaise, weight gain, and dyspnea on exertion, and 8 patients with similar symptoms had evidence of cardiac tamponade. Ten patients underwent right heart catheterization in the intensive care unit; normal hemodynamics were confirmed in 4 and cardiac tamponade in 6 patients. Pericardiocentesis was effective in decompressing cardiac tamponade in 7 of 8 patients. One patient required operative subxiphoid drainage after unsuccessful pericardiocentesis. In addition, 5 patients with moderate clinical symptoms and pericardial effusions, who did not have cardiac tamponade, underwent pericardiocentesis because of a need for chronic anticoagulant therapy. The remaining patients were managed successfully by observation, discontinuation of warfarin when possible, fluid restriction, and diuretic therapy. All but 1 patient was symptomatically improved. A diagnostic and therapeutic schema is presented as an aid to early recognition of this troublesome and potentially lethal complication.     

Are preoperative sestamibi scans useful for identifying ectopic parathyroid glands in patients with expected multigland parathyroid disease?

Background

The role of preoperative localization studies in patients with hyperparathyroidism and expected multigland disease remains poorly defined. Our study investigates the usefulness of obtaining preoperative sestamibi scans and ultrasonography of the neck in identifying ectopic glands in this group of patients.

Late false aneurysm following replacement of ascending aorta: the problem of the teflon graft in combination with a silk suture anastomosis

Two patients underwent resection and replacement of the ascending aorta using a low-porosity Teflon graft anastomosed with silk suture. In both patients false aneurysms developed that required operation 13 and 23 years postoperatively. The clinical courses of these patients, along with data from the literature, suggest that the combination of a low-porosity Teflon graft and a silk suture anastomosis presents a major potential hazard for the development of anastomotic false aneurysm.     

Identification and control of noncoronary collateral blood flow

To identify the source of noncoronary collateral myocardial blood flow and to establish methods to control it during induced ischemia, 29 dogs were placed on cardiopulmonary bypass. The right and left ventricles were vented, vent flows were measured volumetrically, and intracavitary left ventricular (LV) pressures were monitored. After induction of ischemia by aortic cross-clamping and infusion of cardioplegic solution, six different microspheres 7 to 10 microns in diameter were injected into the aorta at six different times to measure myocardial blood flow during the following interventions:vent drainage of the right or left ventricle or both, proximal ligation of both coronary arteries, severance of the proximal pulmonary artery or the ascending aorta or both, and ligation of the bronchial arteries. Without effective LV venting, LV intracavitary pressure rose to 7.0 +/- 0.1 mm Hg (mean +/- standard error of the mean) and myocardial blood flow in the anterior left ventricle was 2.3 +/- 1.3 ml/100 gm/min. When the LV vent was opened, vent flow was 35.9 +/- 3.5 ml/min and myocardial blood flow fell to 0.3 +/- 0.2 ml/100 gm/min. Right ventricular (RV) vent flow was absent except when the LV vent was occluded, and this RV vent flow was abolished by ligating the coronary arteries. With bronchial artery ligation, LV vent flow ceased and myocardial blood flow was virtually absent. These studies demonstrate that myocardial blood flow does occur during induced ischemia, but that the source of this blood flow is primarily through systemic-pulmonary channels. True noncoronary collateral myocardial blood flow was virtually nonexistent.     

Low lymphocyte monocyte ratio after neoadjuvant therapy predicts poor survival after pancreatectomy in patients with borderline resectable pancreatic cancer

BackgroundThe impact of systemic immune inflammatory markers to predict survival in patients receiving neoadjuvant therapy for borderline resectable pancreatic cancer has not been sufficiently investigated. This study aims to evaluate whether systemic immune inflammatory markers after neoadjuvant therapy followed by pancreatectomy become preoperative prognostic factors to predict survival in patients with borderline resectable pancreatic cancer.MethodsWe retrospectively reviewed 67 borderline resectable pancreatic cancer patients receiving neoadjuvant therapy and 58 borderline resectable pancreatic cancer patients undergoing upfront surgery between 2010 and 2016. The association between survival and systemic immune inflammatory markers was evaluated by univariate and multivariate analysis. The neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio, platelet-to-lymphocyte ratio, lymphocyte-to-monocyte ratio, and prognostic nutrition index were assessed as systemic immune inflammatory markers.ResultsIn univariate analysis, the postneoadjuvant neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio, lymphocyte-to-monocyte ratio, and prognostic nutrition index are significantly associated with survival as systemic immune inflammatory markers. The optimal cutoff value of the postneoadjuvant neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio, lymphocyte-to-monocyte ratio, and prognostic nutrition index were 2.5, 3.0, and 45, respectively. Patients with a lymphocyte-to-monocyte ratio <3.0 had significantly poor survival compared with those who had a lymphocyte-to-monocyte ratio ≥3.0 (14.9 months vs 31.7 months, P = .006). The multivariate analysis identified the following as predictors of poor prognosis: postneoadjuvant lymphocyte-to-monocyte ratio <3.0 (HR 2.59; 95% CI 1.02–6.58; P = .045), T4 (HR 1.82; 95% CI 1.11–3.01; P = .029), lymph node status (HR 2.62; 95% CI 1.24–5.51; P = .012), and no completion of adjuvant therapy (HR 7.09; 95% CI 3.08–16.4; P < .001).ConclusionA low lymphocyte-to-monocyte ratio after neoadjuvant therapy is useful prognostic information for patients with borderline resectable pancreatic cancer. This result might indicate a potential role of lymphocyte-to-monocyte ratios in stratification of treatment strategy in borderline resectable pancreatic cancer patients.     

Endovascular aneurysm repair patients who are lost to follow-up have worse outcomes

Background

Society for Vascular Surgery practice guidelines recommend 1- and 12-month follow-up with computed tomography imaging for the year after endovascular aneurysm repair (EVAR). We describe the incidence, risk factors, and outcomes of EVAR patients who are lost to follow-up (LTF).

Outcomes of persistent lymph node involvement after neoadjuvant therapy for stage III rectal cancer

Introduction

Lymph node involvement is a well-known predictor of recurrent rectal cancer in patient who did not undergo neoadjuvant therapy patients. The role of persistent lymph node disease after neoadjuvant treatment, however, is debatable. This study compares outcomes of patients with clinical, stage III rectal cancer who had nodal disease on surgical pathology after neoadjuvant treatment to patients with negative nodes.

The Heparin-coated Vascular Shunt for Thoracic Aortic and Great Vessel Procedures: A Ten-Year Experience

From 1966 to 1976 a flexible, heparin-coated shunt was used for operative procedures on the thoracic aorta and great vessels in 25 patients aged 15 to 78 years. Twenty patients had resection of aneurysms of the descending thoracic aorta. There was 1 death in 15 patients undergoing elective resection and 2 deaths (both from rupturing aneurysms) in 5 patients having emergency resection. The shunt was used in 5 patients who had procedures involving the great vessels.There have been no complications attributable to the shunt in either group. The advantages of this shunt include elimination of the need for systemic heparin, avoidance of hypertension during cross-clamping, and adequate perfusion of the distal circulation without an interposed pump. Because of the ease of handling, low risk, and versatility, we consider the use of this shunt the preferred method for support in elective procedures of the thoracic aorta and great vessels.     

Locally advanced pancreas cancer: Staging and goals of therapy

Background

Patients with locally advanced pancreatic cancer have historically been considered inoperable. The purpose of this report was to determine resectability rates for patients with locally advanced pancreatic cancer based on our recently described definitions of type A and type B locally advanced pancreatic cancer.

Surgical management of lung bud anomalies: lobar emphysema, bronchogenic cyst, cystic adenomatoid malformation, and intralobar pulmonary sequestration.

Recently we saw 9 infants with life-threatening respiratory distress. Four patients had bronchogenic cyst, 2 had cystic adenomatoid malformation, and 9 had congenital lobar emphysema. Another group of 14 older children had recurrent infection and hemodynamic abnormalities, which responded to operative intervention. Each child required an appropriate resection following definitive diagnosis. These lesions represent a spectrum of closely related anomalies that arise during an early stage of embryonic lung bud maturation. Bronchoscopy is rarely useful, but special roentgenographic studies, including perfusion scans and arteriography, are usually diagnostic. Our operative experience is used to emphasize the urgency of precise diagnosis and surgical management of this poorly recognized clinical syndrome.