Endoscopic atrioventricular valve surgery in adults with difficult-to-access uncorrected congenital chest wall deformities

Endoscopic Mitral Surgery in Noonan Syndrome-Case Report and Considerations

Background: Totally endoscopic techniques have become increasingly popular in cardiac surgery, with minimally invasive mitral valve repair emerging as an effective alternative to median sternotomy. This approach could be particularly advantageous for patients with Noonan syndrome, who often present with structural thoracic anomalies and other comorbidities like bleeding disorders. Endoscopic mitral valve surgery is rapidly establishing itself as the new standard of care for mitral valve operations, demonstrating both safety and efficacy. Noonan syndrome is an autosomal-dominant multisystem disorder with variable expression and is the second most common syndromic cause of congenital heart disease, surpassed only by Down syndrome. A wide spectrum of cardiovascular phenotypes is associated with Noonan syndrome, including pulmonary valve stenosis (often with dysplastic valves), hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, secundum atrial septal defect and mitral valve abnormalities. Methods: Given the limited data in the literature regarding the experience of other centers with endoscopic mitral surgery in patients with this condition, we aim to present the case of a 46-year-old male with a known diagnosis of Noonan syndrome who presented to a cardiologist with a 6-month history of dyspnea and fatigue. Transthoracic echocardiography revealed severe mitral regurgitation. Following multidisciplinary discussions within the Heart Team and after obtaining informed consent from the patient and his family, the decision was made to proceed with totally endoscopic mitral valve repair. Results: The patient experienced an uneventful postoperative course and was discharged 8 days after the procedure. In this case, endoscopic surgery was essential for successfully repairing the mitral valve. Structural abnormalities, such as chest wall deformities causing heart malrotation and atypical positioning, significantly impaired visualization. Conclusions: The endoscopic approach provided superior access to the mitral valve, enabling precise and effective repair. Additionally, it offered benefits such as improved esthetic outcomes, faster recovery, and a reduced risk of exacerbating thoracic deformities due to improper sternal bone healing.

Robotic repair of atrial septal defect: Pre-groove vertical right atriotomy approach

Objective

Minimally invasive repair using robotic systems has been accepted as an attractive alternative in the surgical repair of atrial septal defects (ASDs). Clear exposure of the entire rim of the ASD is often hindered during a robotic approach. Here, we describe an approach using vertical right atriotomy along the interatrial groove that may enhance the exposure of the ASD.

Methods

Patients who underwent ASD closure using the da Vinci Si surgical ystem (Intuitive Surgical) from 2007 to 2021 were included. During ASD closure procedures, right atriotomy was performed either conventionally in an oblique manner or parallel to the interatrial groove. A comparative analysis was performed in terms of all-cause mortality, complications, and durations of cardiopulmonary bypass, aortic crossclamp, intensive care unit stay, and hospital stay. The inverse probability of treatment weighting was utilized to balance baseline characteristics across different surgical approaches.

Results

A total of 114 consecutive patients (mean age, 38.7 ± 12.8 years) constituted the study cohort. There were no cases of mortality or surgical complications in either group. After adjusting for potential covariates, the cardiopulmonary bypass (92.8 ± 31.5 minutes vs 143.1 ± 40.7 minutes) and aortic crossclamp (30.7 ± 21.3 minutes vs 60.8 ± 23.5 minutes) times were significantly shorter in the group using vertical right atriotomy than in the group using conventional approach (P < .001 for both).

Conclusions

Performing vertical right atriotomy adjacent to the interatrial groove optimized ASD exposure compared with the conventional approach during robotic ASD repair, leading to reduced cardiopulmonary bypass and aortic crossclamp times.

Effect of Narrow Chest on Minimally Invasive Mitral Valve Surgery via Right Minithoracotomy

BACKGROUND

The effect of a narrow chest on minimally invasive mitral valve surgery (MIMVS) is unclear.

METHODS AND RESULTS

We enrolled 206 MIMVS patients and measured anteroposterior diameter (APD) between the sternum and vertebra, transverse thoracic diameter (TD), right and left APD of the hemithorax (RD and LD, respectively), and the Haller index (HI; TD/APD ratio) on computed tomography. Preoperative characteristics and operative outcomes were compared between patients with a narrow chest (Group N; HI >2.5; n=53) and those with a normal chest (control [C]; HI ≤2.5; n=153), and the correlations of these measurements with operation time were evaluated in 133 patients undergoing an isolated mitral procedure. Groups N and C differed significantly in APD (89.4 vs. 114.3 mm, respectively; P<0.001), TD (251.5 vs. 240.3 mm, respectively; P=0.002), RD (152.5 vs. 172.5 mm, respectively; P<0.001), LD (155.0 vs. 172.4 mm, respectively; P<0.001), and HI (2.84 vs. 2.12, respectively; P<0.001). Procedural characteristics were comparable, except for a longer aortic cross-clamp time (ACCT) in Group N (118.7 vs. 105.8 min; P=0.047). Rates of surgical death, re-exploration, cerebral infarction, and prolonged ventilation were comparable between the 2 groups. TD was significantly correlated with ACCT (R2=0.037, P=0.028) in patients undergoing an isolated mitral procedure.

CONCLUSIONS

Early MIMVS outcomes in patients with narrow chests are satisfactory. TD prolongs ACCT during MIMVS.

Minimally Invasive Pectus Excavatum Correction and Endoscopic Port Access Mitral Valve Surgery

This case study describes the successful short-term outcome of staged minimally invasive pectus excavatum correction and endoscopic mitral valve repair in a patient with severe mitral valve regurgitation and pectus excavatum.

Modified Nuss operation using introducer-bar complex for pectus excavatum in adults: a retrospective study

Background

Shortcoming of traditional Nuss operation on adults is gradually found in the clinical practice. A new kind of introducer-bar complex was introduced. However, there is limited evidence regarding its safety and efficacy. Therefore, a single center, retrospective study was conducted to address this issue.

Methods

Patients with pectus excavatum who underwent surgery between January 2015 and June 2017 were consecutively enrolled in this study. In all, 52 patients underwent the modified procedure using the introducer-bar complex (new procedure group), whereas 48 underwent the traditional anti-Nuss procedure (traditional procedure group). Outcomes analysis of balanced baseline was performed to compare the intraoperative and postoperative short-term outcomes.

Results

All patients in the new procedure group had shorter operation duration (51.54 ± 20.32 vs. 79.45 ± 13.88 min, p = 0.017), postoperative hospitalizations (4.77 ± 1.62 vs. 6.86 ± 2.18 days, p = 0.028), plate removal surgery durations (39.30 ± 8.97 vs. 60.30 ± 10.49 min, p < 0.001), and less blood loss during operation (6.25 ± 4.88 vs. 10.90 ± 5.75 ml, p = 0.003) than patients in the traditional procedure group. There was no significant difference in the length of incision, postoperative Haller index, cost, number of steel bars, postoperative surgical outcome and incidence of complications between the two groups.

Conclusion

Through the main clinical outcome were similar, our results shown that modified procedure may have the shorter operation time, postoperative hospital stay, and operation time for plate removal and less blood loss, which may bring potential clinical benefits to patients.

Supplementary Information

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s13019-021-01624-6.

Comparison of Outcomes Between Anti-Nuss Operation and Modified Anti-Nuss Operation Using a Flexible Plate for Correcting Pectus Carinatum: A Retrospective Study

Introduction: The anti-Nuss procedure has gradually been found to have several shortcomings in clinical practice. Accordingly, our department previously designed and introduced a new steel plate. However, there is limited evidence regarding its safety and efficacy. Thus, we aim to compare the efficacy and safety of the conventional anti-Nuss operation with those of a modified anti-Nuss operation using a flexible plate.

Methods: Patients with pectus carinatum who underwent surgery between January 2014 and August 2019 were consecutively enrolled in this single-center, retrospective study. In all, 53 patients underwent the modified procedure using the new steel plate (new procedure group), whereas 43 underwent the conventional anti-Nuss procedure (traditional procedure group). Outcome analysis was performed using SPSS to compare the intraoperative and postoperative short-term outcomes.

Results: All patients in the new procedure group had shorter operation duration (75.23 ± 11.90 vs. 82.45 ± 9.30 min, p = 0.008), postoperative hospitalizations (3.42 ± 0.95 vs. 4.64 ± 1.53 days, p = 0.039), and plate removal surgery durations (40.60 ± 3.47 vs. 60.30 ± 9.75 min, p = 0.041) than patients in the traditional procedure group. There were no significant differences in the length of incision, postoperative Haller index, cost, postoperative surgical outcome, and incidence of complications between the two groups.

Conclusion: Our data reveal that the main clinical outcomes were similar for after anti-Nuss operation and modified anti-Nuss operation. However, the modified procedure for pectus carinatum had a shorter operation duration, postoperative hospitalization, and plate removal surgery duration.

Feasibility, safety, and short-term outcome of totally thoracoscopic mitral valve procedure

Background

The totally thoracoscopic procedure for mitral valve (MV) disease is a minimally invasive method. We investigated the procedure’s feasibility, safety and effectiveness when it was performed by an experienced operator.

Methods

We retrospectively analysed 53 consecutive patients with MV disease treated between December 2014 and April 2017 by minimally invasive procedures. The procedures were performed on femoral artery-vein bypass through three 2–4 cm incisions, with one additional penetrating point on the right chest wall under totally thoracoscopic visual guidance and surveillance of transoesophageal echocardiography.

Results

Two patients who underwent intraoperative conversion to sternotomy were excluded due to indivisible pleural cavity adhesion. Of the others (38 female patients, average age, 49 ± 14 years, left ventricular ejection fraction, 59 ± 7%), 34 received MV replacement for rheumatic mitral lesions, which was redone for one patient after the discovery of serious paravalvular leakage, 17 received MV repair for mitral regurgitation (with 4 secondary to atrial septum defect, 2 diagnosed with left atrial myxoma, and 2 redone for mitral valve replacement due to repair failure), 28 received additional tricuspid valvuloplasty, and one patient received a Warden procedure. The cardiopulmonary bypass and aortic cross clamp times were 144 ± 39 min and 80 ± 22 min, respectively. Postoperational chest tube drainage in the first 48 h was 346 ± 316 ml. The ventilation time and intensive care unit stay length were 11 ± 11 h and 23 ± 2 h, respectively. One patient died of disseminated intravascular coagulation and prosthesis thrombosis with fear of anticoagulation-related bleeding.

Conclusions

The totally thoracoscopic procedure on mitral valves by an experienced surgeon is technically feasible, safe, effective and worthy of widespread adoption in clinical practice.

Endoscopic Port AccessTM left ventricle outflow tract resection and atrioventricular valve surgery

The continuous evolution in robotic-, endoscopic- and trans-catheter cardiac interventions resulted in innovative techniques that simultaneously address left ventricular outflow tract obstruction (LVOTO) and concomitant atrioventricular valve (AVV) pathology in the context of hypertrophic obstructive cardiomyopathy (HOCM). We present our brief report of 13 consecutive HOCM patients with concomitant AVV disease, who underwent endoscopic left ventricular septal myomectomy (LVSM) and AVV surgery by Endoscopic Port Access^TM Surgery (EPAS) between March 1st 2010 and October 31st 2015. Our EPAS technique in the context of HOCM utilizes peripheral cardiopulmonary bypass, endo-aortic balloon occlusion and a 4-cm right antero-lateral thoracic working port. Access to the LVOTO is obtained by detaching the anterior mitral valve (MV) leaflet from the annulus. Controlled sharp LVSM is then performed from the aortic leaflet base to the papillary muscles. Subsequent routine AVV surgery is performed using long shafted instruments. There were no sternotomy conversions, LVSM complications or 30-day mortalities. The mean length of hospitalization was 17.7±18.1 days. Long-term clinical and echocardiographic analysis of 645.7 patient-months (n=13, 100.0% complete) identified two late mortalities, which were not procedure-, HOCM- or AVV-related. All patients (n=13, 100.0%), including the late mortalities, had significant improvement in their quality of life, a 100% long-term freedom from re-intervention and no residual peak instantaneous LVOTO gradients more than 15 mmHg. This brief report emphasises that simultaneous LVSM and concomitant AVV surgery by EPAS can safely be performed in experienced centres with favourable long-term outcomes.