Objective Whether oral health care during the perioperative period can lead to a better outcome after heart valve surgery has not been adequately elucidated. We examined the effects of perioperative oral care on postoperative inflammation response in patients who underwent heart valve surgery. Materials and Methods In this retrospective cohort study, 223 patients scheduled for single valve heart surgery were divided into the oral care, who underwent professional teeth cleaning or scaling within 3 days prior to surgery, and also following surgery at least twice a week (n = 111), and non‐oral care (n = 112) groups. After propensity score matching, records of both groups (80:80) were examined after surgery to evaluate inflammation markers (white blood cell count [WBC], neutrophil/white blood cell ratio [NWR], C‐reactive protein [CRP] level, body temperature [BT]). Results WBC, NWR, CRP level, and BT were increased in both groups the day following surgery. Thereafter, CRP level, WBC, NWR, and BT on various days after surgery in the oral care group showed greater decreases as compared to the non‐oral care group. Conclusions Perioperative oral health care can decrease postoperative inflammation in patients undergoing heart valve surgery and may be important to ensure a better outcome in those patients.

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A 40-year-old man with a family history of Marfan syndrome was admitted to our hospital because of acute Stanford type A aortic dissection. He underwent a Bentall operation with an artificial vascular graft. Postoperative computed tomography revealed a low-density area around the graft in the ascending aorta and at the left subclavian artery cannulation site. He showed no symptoms and was discharged uneventfully. Five months after the operation, a pulsatile subdermal tumor appeared in the center of the median sternotomy. Computed tomography showed low-and high density fluid accumulation surrounding the ascending aortic graft, and this was connected with a subdermal tumor. We suspected collapse of the anastomotic site and performed an emergency operation. The fluid around the aortic graft was clear and diagnosed as perigraft seroma. To prevent recurrence, we filled the space around the aortic graft with an omental pedicle graft. After the operation, perigraft seroma did not recurr. In addition, with the disappearance of the seroma in the mediastinum, fluid accumulation at the left subclavian artery cannulation site also disappeared. Jpn. J. Cardiovasc. Surg. 47 : 248 251 2018

Distal perfusion during open distal anastomosis reduced kidney and liver injury after thoracic aortic surgery despite an increased body temperature of up to 28°C. This strategy may be useful to prevent AKI, liver dysfunction, the need for hemodialysis and multiple organ failure and could improve mid-term results.

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