This study demonstrates that, despite guidelines published by several professional societies, medical practice for the prevention of thrombotic events early after bioprosthetic AVR varies widely among cardiac surgical centers.

No abstract

Surgical treatment of aortic regurgitation due to Behçet's disease is difficult. A 57-year-old male with Behçet's disease underwent aortic valve replacement with a mechanical valve for aortic regurgitation in 1995. Due to prosthetic valve detachment, 5 months thereafter he underwent a Bentall type operation with a composite graft. Due to complication of the left ventricle to pulmonary arterial fistula, 6 months later a third operation was performed for closure of the fistula. He is doing well at present 5 years after the third operation. Left ventricle to pulmonary arterial fistula is an exceedingly rare complication and has not been reported in the literature.

We present a silicon sheet for temporary wound covering and gradual wound closure after open fasciotomy. Fasciotomy was performed in a total of 70 limbs with compartment syndrome (CS). The main etiology of CS was predominantly vascular. All patients were treated with a silicon sheet to cover the soft tissue defect and gradually reapproximate the skin margins. In 53% of the patients, a delayed final wound closure was achieved after a mean of 11.9 days. This method allows final closure of fasciotomy wounds without scar contractures, marginal necrosis, infection, or significant pain.