This retrospective study compared the immediate post-operative (first month) and mid-term (up to 5 years post-operation) results of 22 patients with isolated ventricular septal defects who underwent surgical correction with bovine pericardium with 57 similar patients who received a polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) patch. There were no cases of early (in the first month) mortality in either group and the 3-month post-operative echocardiographical studies showed no evidence of calcification or aneurysm formation around the patch. Recurrent ventricular septal defects due to dehiscence of the patch occurred in the early follow-up period in four patients who had the PTFE patch but this was not statistically significant. Annual echocardiographical examination revealed some calcification in both groups. We conclude that although there are no significant differences between the two materials in outcome after ventricular septal defects closure, we prefer bovine pericardium because of its handling characteristics, elasticity and the lower risk of endocarditis.

In this paper, we assessed the anesthesia management of a male, a 34-week gestation age newborn, weighing 1500 g, who has esophageal atresia and tracheoesophageal fistula localized just above the carina. Endotracheal intubation and intermittent positive pressure ventilation caused air leakage through the fistula into the stomach, causing abdominal distention. One-lung ventilation by left main bronchus intubation eliminated this problem.

The necessity of total skeletonization of the RA should not be the only option when the aim is to reduce the spasm. While subfascial dissection (sympathectomy) of the pediculed RA alone provides a satisfactory increase in the blood flow index, it also reduces the manipulation time as well as the risk of injury to the graft.

We studied the local and systemic concentrations of pro-inflammatory cytokines produced during acute lower extremity ischaemia and following reperfusion in 19 patients undergoing thromboembolectomy of the femoral artery. Blood samples were taken from the femoral vein (local response) and radial artery (systemic response) in the ischaemic (baseline) phase, and 2, 12 and 24 h post-reperfusion. Associated lung injury was measured by the alveolar-arterial (A-a) oxygen gradient and post-reperfusion femoral vein plasma concentrations of creatinine kinase and lactic dehydrogenase were also measured. Local and systemic concentrations of interleukin (IL)-2 receptor and IL-6 (but not IL-1 beta) increased significantly after reperfusion. IL-8 concentration increased significantly in the radial artery. The high and progressively increasing concentration of IL-6 in the femoral vein suggests local production. The parallel increase in creatinine kinase concentration and A-a oxygen gradient indicates that IL-6 plays an important role in acute arterial occlusion and reperfusion injury.

Results of this retrospective study support the fact that LLT provides a higher graft patency for CABG patients.