Objective To compare right anterolateral minithoracotomy and traditional median sternotomy in the treatment of left atrial myxoma. Methods Forty-one patients with left atrial myxoma treated in our hospital from January 2009 to January 2018 were divided into two groups according to the operation method: a right anterolateral minithoracotomy group including 15 patients, with 7 males and 8 females, aged 45.1±15.4 years; a median sternotomy group including 26 patients, with 10 males and 16 females, aged 49.4±11.9 years. The clinical data of the two groups were compared. Results There was no significant difference in preoperative clinical data between the two groups. All patients completed the operation without perioperative death. There was no significant difference in the operation time, cardiopulmonary bypass time, aortic clamp time or the incidence of postoperative complications between the two groups. However, compared with the median sternotomy group, the right anterolateral minithoracotomy group had shorter duration of mechanical ventilation, ICU stay and postoperative hospital stay, and less volume of drainage and blood transfusion 24 hours after surgery (all P<0.05). After 3–106 months follow-up, no recurrence was observed in both groups. Conclusion Compared with traditional median sternotomy for left atrial myxoma resection, right anterolateral minithoracotomy is safe, effective and less traumatic. It can be used as a routine treatment for left atrial myxoma.

Objective    To analyze the near-term clinical efficacy of two different surgical procedures (Sun's procedure and Debranching combined endovascular stent-graft procedure) to cure Stanford type A aortic dissection, and summarize the clinical experience to help better master the indications of the two surgical procedures. Methods     We retrospectively analyzed the clinical data of 46 patients with Stanford A aortic dissection in our hospital between September 2014 and September 2017. There were 39 males and 7 females at age of 20–74 (48.67±11.80) years. According to different surgical methods, the patients were divided into a Sun's procedure group (26 patients) and a debranching combined endovascular stent-graft procedure group (20 patients). The clinical effect of the two groups was compared. Results     The debranching combined endovascular stent-graft procedure group was significantly superior to the Sun's group in cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB) time, aortic cross clamp(ACC) time, intraoperative urine output, postoperative mechanical ventilation time, postoperative 24 h volumes of drain, CICU time, renal function recovery of postoperative 72 h and total hospital stay(P<0.05). The incidence of transient neurological damage after operation in the debranching combined endovascular stent-graft procedure group was significantly lower than that of the Sun's procedure group(P<0.05). The follow-up time ranged from 3 to 36 months. And the follow-up rate was 90.5%. One patient in the Sun's procedure group died of serious pulmonary infection postoperative 30 days. One patient in the debranching combined endovascular stent-graft group was found to have internal leakage in the early postoperative examination and   disappeared after 6 months. Sun's procedure group did not find endoleak. All patients during the follow-up time did not appear brain, coagulation disorders, stroke, paraplegia, upper limb ischemia and other complications. Conclusion     For Stanford type A aortic dissection, debranching combined surgery may have the risk of postoperative endoleak, but the overall effect is superior to Sun's operation. Therefore, debranching combined surgery should be preferred for the treatment of this type of dissection.

Objective    To analyze the effect of loop-in-loop technique and annuloplasty ring for the treatment of mitral valve prolapse (MVP) under total thoracoscopy. Methods    Between May 2012 and May 2017, 21 patients with MVP underwent mitral valve repair in our hospital. There were 12 males and 9 females with a mean age of 50.90±9.66 years and the mean weight of 64.81±11.56 kg. Loop-in-loop artificial chordae tendonae reconstruction and mitral annuloplasty were performed through the right atrial-atrial septal incision under total thoracoscopy. The water test and transesophageal echocardiography were performed during the operation to evaluate the effect of mitral annuloplasty. Data of echocardiography and chest radiography were collected postoperatively one week, before discharge and after discharge. Results    All the operations were successful without re-valvupoplasty or valve replacement, conversion to median thoracotomy, malignant arrhythmia, perioperative death or wound infection. Among them, 10 patients underwent tricuspid valvuloplasty, 1 patient underwent tricuspid valvuloplasty plus radiofrequency ablation simultaneously. The mean cardiopulmonary bypass time was 255.57±37.24 minutes, aortic occlusion time was 162.24±19.61 minutes, the number of loop was 2–5 (3.29±0.78), the size of ring was 28–34 (31.11±1.88) mm, ventilator assistance time was 19.43±14.68 hours, ICU time was 58.45±24.60 hours and postoperative hospital stay was 12.28±3.61 days. Transthoracic echocardiography was re-examined postoperatively. Mild-mitral regurgitation was found in 3 patients. Warfarin anticoagulant therapy was given orally for 6 months postoperatively. The patients were followed up regularly for 2–51 months at 1, 3, 6 and 12 months postoperatively. Left ventricular end-diastolic diameter (LVEDD) was 45.06±2.96 mm, left ventricular end-diastolic volume 108.11±17.09 mL, left atrial diameter (LAD) 35.56±6.93 mm and cardiothoracic ratio 0.53±0.13 at discharge which were significantly smaller than those at admission (P<0.05). Pulmonary artery pressure was 19.22±6.38 mm Hg which was significantly lower than that at admission (P<0.05), but left ventricular ejection fraction (62.33%±4.00%) had no significant change (P>0.05). The LAD and LVEDD were significantly smaller than those before operation, and the cardiac function improved to some extent during the follow-up. No new mitral valve prolapse, increased regurgitation, infective endocarditis, thromboembolism or anticoagulation-related complications were found during the follow-up. Conclusion    Loop-in-loop artificial chordae tendon implantation combined with mitral annuloplasty is a safe and effective method for MVP under total thoracoscopy with minimal trauma, satisfactory cosmetic effect, and good early- and medium-term results. It is worth of popularizing. However, the operation time needs to be further shortened, and its long-term clinical effect needs further follow-up and other researches to confirm.