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Journal and News Scan
September 24, 2021
Submitted by: Christopher Anderson
With the prevalence of obesity and its known link with esophageal cancer, there is increasing need to understand how obesity affects treatment. We retrospectively evaluated all patients who underwent esophagectomy with gastric conduit reconstruction between 2012 and 2016 using The Society of Thoracic Surgeons General Thoracic Surgery Database.
September 22, 2021
Submitted by: Emily Farkas
Pakistan has a prevalence of approximately 60,000 births with Congenital Heart Diseases (CHD) each year. With a population of 200 million and only 17 paediatric cardiac surgeons in Pakistan, the current ratio is 0.08 surgeons/milllion. This review outlines the current status and defines the need for significantly more investment in human resources and infrastructure of paediatric cardiac surgery to meet the needs ofpopulation.
September 22, 2021
Submitted by: Emily Farkas
There is a lack of reliable data to measure the impact of cardiovascular surgical activities in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) and to compare with those of the other sub-regions. The Pan African Society of Cardiothoracic Surgery (PASCaTS) proposes development of an African cardiothoracic surgery database with pooled datasets similar to the practice in other continents. This would ideally serve as a working instrument to evaluate the burden of disease and to develop strategies for prevention and treatment of cardiovascular diseases and associated morbidities in these regions, ultimately with improved clincial outcomes.
September 14, 2021
Submitted by: Wei-Guo Ma
Based on data of 4203 patients with acute type A dissection in the UK National Adult Cardiac Surgical Audit, Benedetto and associates have identified the following risk factors for operative mortality: age (odds ratio, OR, 1.02), malperfusion (OR 1.79), left ventricular ejection fraction (moderate: OR 1.40; poor: OR 2.83), prior cardiac surgery (OR 2.29), preoperative mechanical ventilation (OR 2.76), preoperative resuscitation (OR 3.36), and concomitant coronary artery bypass grafting (OR 2.29).
September 13, 2021
Submitted by: Aristotle Protopapas
A brief but dense editorial included in a compedium on cardioplegia.
The last sentence summarises what many colleagues would think on the matter of single-shot plegia for root surgery.
September 12, 2021
Submitted by: Edward Savage
The Yale database of 1162 patients with ascending aortic aneurysms was queried. Analysis suggested root dilatation was more significant in predicting adverse events than mid -ascending aortic dilatation, with short stature as a serious risk factor. Hinge points at 5.0 and 5.25 cm respectively were identified. The authors suggest these paramenters should be considered as intervention criteria.
September 10, 2021
Submitted by: Christopher Anderson
This study aimed to describe the characteristics and outcomes of patients with non-small cell lung cancer undergoing salvage surgery after chemoradiotherapy, conventional external beam, stereotactic body radiotherapy, and ion beam radiotherapy.
September 10, 2021
Submitted by: Christopher Anderson
The authors discuss the first-in-human implant of a custom-made branched frozen elephant trunk graft designed for an anastomosis in aortic arch zone 0. They claim that combining endovascular technology with open surgical techniques allows for simplification of the open procedure with reductions in circulatory arrest time and preparations for surgery.
September 3, 2021
Submitted by: Christopher Anderson
This is a subanalysis of the Randomized On-Off Bypass (ROOBY) trial that examined transit time flow measurement (TTFM) use and its effect on graft patency and long-term clinical outcomes after coronary artery bypass graft surgery.
September 3, 2021
Submitted by: Christopher Anderson
The updated EACTS and ESC valvular heart disease guidelines (superseding those published in 2017) are focused on acquired valvular heart disease and are oriented towards management of the condition.