This study on chronic lung comorbidity in CABG patients shows that this association can be of deleterious prognostic value but this effect is directly related to the degree of functional severity. Preoperative FEV1<60% must be considered as a primary prognostic factor in patients undergoing CABG procedures.

In patients with severe ventricular hypertrophy it may be important to elude patient-prosthesis mismatch to avoid a significant increase in mortality and improve ventricular mass regression. Mismatch may be tolerable in those patients with lesser degree of hypertrophy.

Increased left ventricular mass index is associated with an in-hospital adverse outcome and a significantly higher in-hospital mortality in patients undergoing aortic valve replacement. Outcomes in asymptomatic patients could be improved before a clinically significant increase in left ventricular mass index. Further studies should be performed to determine the usefulness of this index in selecting patients for earlier aortic valve replacement.

Clinical, haemodynamic and mortality outcomes after surgery were excellent, especially in those patients with mild or few symptoms. However, in our location, surgery is still undertaken at an advanced stage of the natural history of the disease, which may adversely affect prognosis.

The Sano modification of Norwood's operation has the potential to generate an excess volume load on the single right ventricle as a consequence of diastolic reversal of flow through the conduit. This article describes the use of a new, small, biological conduit with a porcine valve inside. This new conduit has been used in modified Norwood procedures. It is interposed between the right ventricle and the confluence of the pulmonary arteries. The use of a valved conduit should prevent the retrograde diastolic blood flow observed with use of nonvalved conduits and may improve postoperative hemodynamics. The use of a new stentless valved conduit in 3 recent Norwood procedures is reported herein.