Tetralogy of Fallot (TOF) is the most common cyanotic congenital heart disease. It is characterized by an interventricular communication with an overriding aorta, subpulmonary obstruction, and consequent right ventricular hypertrophy. The potential for late complications is an important concern for growing number of survivors after surgical repair, although long-term survival rates are excellent. Progressive pulmonary valve regurgitation leading to right heart failure and arrhythmias are common late complications and major reasons of mortality. In this review, we focus on research progress of pathogenesis and treatment of late complications after TOF repair, and the importance of long-term follow-up is emphasized.
Hybrid cardiovascular surgical procedure is an emerging concept that combines the skills and techniques of minimally invasive surgery and interventional catheterization. It allows surgeons to use interventional equipment and techniques during operations, which are traditionally used by physicians, in order to reduce the magnitude of therapeutic interventions and to increase therapeutic effectiveness. This review provides a snapshot of the main application and progress of current hybrid procedures in the field of cardiovascular surgery, including the hybrid therapy of coronary artery disease, congenital heart disease and thoracic aortic aneurysm, also discusses the precondition with which the hybrid procedure should ideally be performed.
Objective To observe whether Cyclo-RGDfK (Arg-Gly-Asp-D-Phe-Lys) could enhance the adhesion of myofibroblast to decellularized scaffolds and upregulate the expression of Integrin αVβ3 gene. Methods Myofibroblast from the rat thoracic aorta was acquired by primary cell culture. The expression of Vimentin and α-smooth muscle actin(α-SMA) has been detected by immunoflurescent labeling. Decellularized valves have been randomly divided into three groups (each n=7). Group A (blank control): valves do not receive any pretreatment; Group B: valves reacted with linking agent NEthylN(3dimethylaminopropyl)carbodiimide hydrochloride (EDC) for 36 hours before being seeded; Experimental group: Cyclo-RGD peptide has been covalently immobilized onto the surface of scaffolds by linking agent EDC. The fifth generation of myofibroblast has been planted on the scaffolds of each group. The adhesion of myofibroblast to the scaffolds was evaluated by HE staining and electron scanning microscope. The expression of Integrin αVβ3 was quantified by halfquantitative reverse transcriptionpolymerase china reaction (RT-PCR). Results We can see that myofibroblast has exhibited b positive staining for Vimentin and α-SMA. Besides, it has been shown that the expression of Integrin αVβ3 was much higher in the experimental group than that of the group A and group B(Plt;0.05). There was no statistically difference in group A and group B (P=0.900). Conclusion RGD pretreatment does enhance the adhesive efficiency of seeding cells to the scaffolds and this effect may be related to the upregulation of Integrin αVβ3.
With the development of social economy and medicine, degenerative heart valve disease has become the major part in heart valve disease. Calcific aortic valve disease (CAVD) is one of the most representative manifestations of degenerative valvular disease. Aortic valve calcification (AVC) has been found to be a strong predictor of major cardiovascular events, which makes it necessary to identify an effective way to evaluate the degree of AVC. Numerous methods of quantitative assessment of AVC have been reported. Here, we discuss these methods from the aspects of pathology and imageology.
In recent years, the number of interventions for valvular heart disease has been increasing day by day, and it has become a hot topic in the field of cardiovascular surgery. Given the aging global population and trends in the prevalence of valvular disease and the broadening of indications for transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR), a breakthrough of 130000 TAVR procedures is expected by 2026. In the new technology development period, the development potential and technical advantages of heart valve interventional therapy should be faced squarely. This paper focuses on key issues such as comparison of outcomes after TAVR versus surgical aortic valve replacement (SAVR), prosthetic valve endocarditis after TAVR, and broadening of indications for TAVR, as well as recommendations on how surgeons face the era of TAVR. We hope that this article will help and attract the attention of cardiac surgeons.