Category: General

Front Cardiovasc Med. 2023 Aug 7;10:1180050. doi: 10.3389/fcvm.2023.1180050. eCollection 2023.

ABSTRACT

OBJECTIVE: To report the strategies and short-term results of different treatment methods for abdominal aortic stent graft infection.

METHODS: Six consecutive patients (5 males and 1 female; mean age: 64 years; age range: 49-79 years) received surgical treatment for stent graft infection from November 2021 to December 2022. All patients underwent endovascular aortic repair (EVAR) for abdominal aortic and iliac artery disease, subsequently developed graft infection and then received corresponding surgical treatment with different materials (artificial blood vessel, bovine pericardium, autologous great saphenous vein) in our department. The outcomes were analysed.

RESULTS: Immediate technical success was achieved intraoperatively in all six patients. The 30-day mortality rate was 0%. During a mean follow-up of 4 months (range, 3-13 months), one patient underwent a second operation due to vascular anastomotic haemorrhage and underwent bilateral limb amputations due to ischaemia. All patients survived.

CONCLUSIONS: In the short term, the different materils and methods used to treat aortic stent graft infection achieved satisfactory results.

PMID:37608816 | PMC:PMC10441108 | DOI:10.3389/fcvm.2023.1180050

Front Cardiovasc Med. 2023 Aug 2;10:1213398. doi: 10.3389/fcvm.2023.1213398. eCollection 2023.

ABSTRACT

OBJECTIVE: Bovine pericardium is common biological material for bioprosthetic heart valve. There remains a significant need, however, to improve bioprosthetic valves for longer-term outcomes. This study aims to evaluate the chronic performance of bovine pulmonary visceral pleura (PVP) as bioprosthetic valve cusps.

METHODS: The PVP was extracted from the bovine lung and fixed in 0.625% glutaraldehyde overnight at room temperature. The PVP valve cusps for the bioprosthetic valve were tailored using a laser cutter. Three leaflets were sewn onto a nitinol stent. Six PVP bioprosthetic valves were loaded into the test chamber of the heart valve tester to complete 100 million cycles. Six other PVP bioprosthetic valves were transcardially implanted to replace pulmonary artery valve of six pigs. Fluoroscopy and intracardiac echocardiography were used for in vivo assessments. Thrombosis, calcification, inflammation, and fibrosis were evaluated in the terminal study. Histologic analyses were used for evaluations of any degradation or calcification.

RESULTS: All PVP bioprosthetic valves completed 100 million cycles without significant damage or tears. In vivo assessments showed bioprosthetic valve cusps open and coaptation at four months post-implant. No calcification and thrombotic deposits, inflammation, and fibrosis were observed in the heart or pulmonary artery. The histologic analyses showed complete and compact elastin and collagen fibers in the PVP valve cusps. Calcification-specific stains showed no calcific deposit in the PVP valve cusps.

CONCLUSIONS: The accelerated wear test demonstrates suitable mechanical strength of PVP cusps for heart valve. The swine model demonstrates that the PVP valve cusps are promising for valve replacement.

PMID:37600031 | PMC:PMC10433919 | DOI:10.3389/fcvm.2023.1213398