Mechanical support devices such as venoarterial extracorporeal membrane oxygenation specifically offer a reliable therapeutic approach. Recognizing the relatively high number of deaths in-hospital, patients who have cardiac recovery and a successful hospital discharge can expect a favourable late outcome.

BACKGROUND: In patients following aortic valve replacement (AVR) for aortic regurgitation, a transient reduction in ejection fraction (TREF) sometimes occurs in the postoperative period without a clear remediable cause, which leads to a spontaneous improvement without the need for a specifi c treatment. OBJECTIVE: To study the incidence and risk factors of TREF following AVR for aortic regurgitation. METHODS: We designed a single-centre retrospective observational study. A total of 164 patients were enrolled in the study: 82 in the regurgitation group and 82 in the stenosis group. Data were obtained from international registries and patient documentation. RESULTS: There were statistically signifi cant differences in TREF between the regurgitation and stenosis groups (9.76 % and 0 %, respectively, p = 0.004). There was zero hospital mortality in both regurgitation and stenosis groups. The presence of TREF had no impact on long-term survival. CONCLUSION: Our results show that transient reduction in ejection fraction is a relatively common phenomenon following aortic valve replacement for aortic regurgitation and that in our study population it had no effect on short-and long-term survival (Tab. 2, Fig. 1, Ref. 15).

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We report the cases of two patients who developed a massive spasm of the native coronary system in the immediate postoperative period, following a coronary artery bypass grafting operation with different outcomes. The first patient was hemodynamic stable and it was manifested as ischemic electrocardiographic changes in different leads (ST elevation or depression). He was treated with intracoronary and intravenous administration of nitroglycerin and calcium channel blocker and had a favorable outcome. The second patient died due to multiorgan failure and hemorrhagic shock, after the implantation of a central venoarterial extracorporeal membrane oxygenation.