Objective To evaluate the feasibil ity of intrauterine abdominal wall defect repair of fetal lamb at late pregnancy. Methods Eight healthy pregnant ewes at 110-115 days of gestation (weighing 14-22 kg) were randomly divided into 2 groups. In group A (n=3), the abdominal wall defect of 5 cm × 1 cm was made in the fetal lambs, then was closed by strengthening suture; in group B (n=5), the abdominal wall defect of 5 cm × 2 cm was made in the fetal lambs, then was repairedby 2 layers of biological patches. After the lambs del ivered naturally, the lambs and their wounds were observed; at 10th day after birth, the scars were harvested for biomechanical and histological observations. Results One ewe of group A and 2 ewes of group B aborted, while the others were successfully del ivered. In group A, the abdominal incisions of 2 lambs healed well with a l ine-l ike scar and mild intra-abdominal adhesion, and the scar thickness was 4-5 mm. In group B, the abdominal incisions of 3 lambs did not heal completely with minor intra-abdominal adhesions, and the scar thickness was 3-4 mm. The wound breaking strength was 16, 20 N in group A and 10, 14, and 18 N in group B, respectively. A sl ight scar was seen in group A; skin ulcer and underlying fibrous connective tissue with inflammatory cell infiltration were seen in group B. Conclusion It was feasible to repair the abdominal wall defect of fetal lamb at late pregnancy in uterine. Small abdominal wall defect can be sutured directly; biological patch can be used to repair larger abdominal wall defect.
Objective To analyze the characteristics of sternal Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb) infection after cardiac surgery. Methods An electronic search was conducted for publicly available cases of sternal Mtb infection after cardiac surgery in PubMed, Web of Science, Wanfang database, and CNKI since their inception up to 18 July 2023, and 2 researchers analyzed the characteristics of the included cases and extracted relevant data. Results A total of 26 patients were included in 15 studies, 16 males and 10 females, aged 5-80 (61.9±15.6) years. Previous surgical history included coronary artery bypass grafting in 14 cases (53.8%), valve surgery in 8 cases (30.8%), congenital heart surgery in 3 cases (11.5%), and aortic surgery in 2 cases (7.7%). The main symptoms and signs were incisional abscesses, poor healing, mostly with pain, with or without erythema, and usually without systemic symptoms such as low-grade fever, night sweats, and weight loss. 13 cases reported a postoperative time to discovery of infection with a mean of 11.8 (0.5-60) months, and 9 cases reported an interval between discovery of infection and diagnosis with a mean of 12.1 (1.5-62) months. Confirmation of the diagnosis was mainly by Mtb culture of cleared bone tissue or pus, pathology and antacid staining. One case died of cardiac arrest before diagnosis. After the diagnosis of 25 cases, 13 cases received only anti-tuberculosis treatment, of which 11 cases received surgical treatment before diagnosis; 12 cases received anti-tuberculosis and surgical treatment, and all 25 cases were successfully cured. The duration of anti-tuberculosis treatment ranged from 6 to 12 months. Conclusion Sternal Mtb infection after cardiac surgery has a long incubation period, early diagnosis is difficult, the rate of missed diagnosis and misdiagnosis is extremely high, and timely diagnosis and treatment can significantly improve the prognosis.
Objective To compare the early outcomes of domestic third-generation magnetically levitated left ventricular assist device (LVAD) with or without concomitant mitral valvuloplasty (MVP). Methods The clinical data of 17 end-stage heart failure patients who underwent LVAD implantation combined with preoperative moderate to severe mitral regurgitation in Fuwai Central China Cardiovascular Hospital from May 2018 to March 2023 were retrospectively analyzed. The patients were divided into a LVAD group and a LVAD+MVP group based on whether MVP was performed simultaneously, and early outcomes were compared between the two groups. Results There were 4 patients in the LVAD group, all males, aged (43.5±5.9) years, and 13 patients in the LVAD+MVP group, including 10 males and 3 females, aged (46.8±16.7) years. All the patients were successful in concomitant MVP without mitral reguragitation occurrence. Compared with the LVAD group, the LVAD+MVP group had a lower pulmonary artery systolic pressure and pulmonary artery mean pressure 72 h after operation, but the difference was not statistically different (P>0.05). Pulmonary artery systolic pressure was significantly lower 1 week after operation, as well as pulmonary artery systolic blood pressure and pulmonary artery mean pressure at 1 month after operation (P<0.01). There was no statistically significant difference in blood loss, operation time, cardiopulmonary bypass time, aortic cross-clamping time, mechanical ventilation time, or ICU stay time between the two groups (P>0.05). The differences in 1-month postoperative mortality, acute kidney injury, reoperation, gastrointestinal bleeding, and thrombosis and other complications between the two groups were not statistically significant (P>0.05). Conclusion Concomitant MVP with implantation of domestic third-generation magnetically levitated LVAD is safe and feasible, and concomitant MVP may improve postoperative hemodynamics without significantly increasing perioperative mortality and complication rates.