Abstract： Objective To summarize our operative experiences of cardiac reoperation after mechanical valve prosthesis replacement and investigate the causes of reoperation and the perioperative techniques and operation methods. Methods From January 2001 to December 2008, we performed reoperation on 105 patients (59 males and 46 females, aged 50.2±10.6 years old) who had undergone mechanical valve prosthesis replacement. Among the patients, there were 31 cases of mitral valvular replacement (+ tricuspid valvular plasticity), 38 cases of aortic valvular replacement (+ tricuspid valvular plasticity), 11 cases of Bentall procedure, 7 cases of mitral and aortic bivalvular replacement (+tricuspid valvular plasticity), 8 cases of tricuspid valvular replacement, 6 cases of repairing of prosthetic leakage, and 4 others cases. The time interval between two operations was 3 months to 18 years (46.3 ±31.9 months). Before reoperation, the cardiac function (NYHA) of the patients was class Ⅱ in 27 patients, class Ⅲ in 53 patients, and class Ⅳ in 25 patients. Results There were 6 hospital deaths with a mortality of 5.71%(6/105). All others recovered to NYHA class ⅠⅡ. The causes of mortality included 1 case of multiple organ failure, 1 case of low cardiac output after operation, 1 case of aortic pseudoaneurysm rupture, 1 case of severe infection due to brain complication and 2 cases of prosthetic valve endocarditis (PVE). The causes for cardiac reoperation after mechanical valve prosthesis replacement were 67 cases of prosthetic leakage (63.80%), 16 cases of PVE (15.23%), 14 cases of prosthetic thrombosis (13.33%) and 8 cases of other valvular anomalies. Followup was done for 11 to 107 months, which showed two cases late deaths of cardiac arrest and cerebral hemorrhage. Conclusion Patients who have received mechanical valve prosthesis replacement may undergo cardiac reoperation due to paravalvular prosthetic leakage, paravalvular endocarditis, and prosthetic thrombosis. The keys to a successful cardiac reoperation include appropriate preoperative preparations, operational timing, and suitable choosing of cardiopulmonary bypass and operational skills.
Abstract: Objective To summarize the experiences of treatment for prosthetic valve endocarditis (PVE), paying special emphasis on some interrelated conceptions of PVE, its microbiology, diagnosis, prevention and treatment. Methods From September 1979 to September 2009, 33 patients diagnosed to have PVE were treated in our department. There were 17 males and 16 females. Their age ranged from 19 to 57 years old with an average age of 34 years. The incidence of PVE was 1.48% （33/2 236）including 1.03%（16/1 551）, 3.00%（7/233）, 2.28%（10/438）, and 0% of PVE in mitral valve replacement (MVR), aortic valve replacement (AVR), double valve replacement (DVR), tricuspid valve replacement (TVR), respectively. Pure medical treatment (Penicillin or Vancomycin with other broadspectrum antibiotics, Fluconazole and Amphotericin) was performed on 22 patients. Combined medical and surgical treatment was performed in 11 patients. The patients underwent operation after adequate antibiotics treatment and general condition improvement. The infective tissue and vegetation were completely debrided after the infective prosthetic valve was removed. Before the new valve was transplanted, paravalvular tissue was cleaned with antibiotics, iodine solution and normal saline. Results Hospital death occurred in 19 patients (86.36%) and only 3 patients (13.64%) recovered in the group with pure medical treatment. The main reasons for death were infective shock and cardiac failure in 9 patients, and cerebral complications including embolism, bleeding and multipleorgan failure in 10 patients. For the group with combined medical and surgical treatment, 10 patients (90.91%) survived and only one patient (9.09%) died of multipleorgan failure. Follow-up was done in 13 patients for 6 months to 15 years averaging 41 months. During the follow-up, only one patient was reoperated because of the paravalvular leak eight year later. There was no PVE recurrence in all the rest patients. Conclusion Compared with pure medical treatment, combined medical and surgical treatment is a better solution for PVE.
Abstract: Prosthetic valve endocarditis(PVE) is a catastrophic complication of cardiac valve replacement, associated with high mortality rates. In the past nearly five decades, the microbiology, pathophysiology, clinical features, and therapeutic options in PVE have changed a lot, and there are new insight into the pathogenesis of PVE. The current comprehensive review will address various issues involved in the diagnosis and management of this complication.
Abstract:Objective To investigate the reoperation indication,surgical timing and the key point of surgical treatment of prosthetic valve endocarditis （PVE） after valve replacement. Methods From February 2000 to July 2005,18 patients with PVE underwent surgery ,their clinical manifestation ,process of treatment and their prognosis outcome were analyzed. Results There were 3 patients （16.7 %） of early-death, 1 patient died of septic shock, and 2 patients died of multiple organ failure. Since 2003,there was no operative death for all 11 patients. There were 6 patients with respiratory insufficiency, 2 patients with renal insufficiency,which were recovered after treatment. The 15 survivors were followed up from 1 month to 5years. There was recurrence of infection in 1 patient who died after ineffective medical treatment. The other 14 patients recovered well. Conclusion It has high risk and high mortality for reoperation for PVE. Accurate reoperative indication,optimal surgical timing,radical debridment of infected tissue and correct perioperative use of antibiotics are the key factors to improve the reoperative result for PVE.
ObjectiveTo investigate long-term outcomes of patients without warfarin anticoagulation after isolated prosthetic aortic valve replacement (AVR) and evaluate the feasibility of short-term instead of lifelong anticoagulation therapy for low-risk AVR patients. MethodsSeven patients who underwent prosthetic AVR in Guangdong General Hospital between 1996 and 1999 but discontinued warfarin anticoagulation 3 years after surgery were regularly followed up. There were 6 male and 1 female patients with their age of 25-75 (40.0±11.4) years. These patients received warfarin anticoagulation during the first 3 years after surgery but discontinued oral anticoagulant 3 years after surgery (discontinued anticoagulation group). Fifteen patients who underwent prosthetic AVR during the same period and continued warfarin anticoagulation were enrolled as the control group (continuing anticoagulation group). International normalized ratio (INR) was set between 1.8 and 2.5 during warfarin anticoagulation period in both groups. Survival rate and the incidence of severe adverse events were compared between the 2 groups. ResultsIn the discontinued anticoagulation group,1 patient was lost during follow-up. No thromboembolic event,death or prosthetic valve thrombosis was observed. All the patients were in NYHA class Ⅰ. In the continuing anticoagulation group,3 patients were lost during follow-up. Eleven patients were in NYHA class Ⅰ and 2 patients were in NYHA class Ⅱ. Severe anticoagulation-related bleeding events occurred in 3 patients with gastrointestinal bleeding. One patient died of massive outbreak of vomiting blood,and another patient had sudden death. Ten-year survival rate was 100.0% and 86.7% in the discontinued anticoagulation group and continuing anticoagulation group, respectively. ConclusionFor low-risk patients after isolated prosthetic AVR,short-term warfarin anticoagulation may be acceptable, which means warfarin is administered only in the first 3 years after surgery and discontinued 3 years after surgery.
Severe symptomatic native aortic regurgitation (AR) is associated with poor prognosis. Surgical aortic valve replacement is presently the main choice of treatment according to current guidelines. The data of safety and efficacy of transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) for patients with pure native AR were limited. In this paper, a case of AR patient with heart failure was reported. After preoperative CT evaluation and operation plan, the postoperative symptoms improved significantly. Bundle branch block and retroperitoneal hematoma appeared during hospitalization. After the treatment, the patient’s condition improved. Before the discharge, cardiac ultrasound indicated that the reflux was significantly improved, no perivalvular leakage was observed, and cardiac function was improved. AR remains a challenging pathology for TAVR. TAVR is a feasible and reasonable option for carefully selected patients with pure AR.