Objective:To investigate the risk factors of spinal cord injury after FET for ATAAD.Methods:We analyzed perioperative data of 111 patients with ATAAD who underwent FET in the First Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing Medical University from January 2020 to October 2021.Results:Eleven(9.9%)of 111 patients had postoperative spinal cord injury, which showed varying degrees of paralysis or paraplegia. There was no significant difference in age, sex, medical history, cardiopulmonary bypass time, aortic cross-clamping time, circulatory arrest time and FET length between spinal cord injury group and non-spinal cord injury group( P>0.05). Univariate analysis showed that aortic true lumen away from the spinal side( P<0.001) and the number of segmental arteries originating from the true lumen<3 in T9-L3( P<0.001), left subclavian artery involvement( P<0.05) and stent coverage at T8 or beyond( P<0.05) was associated with postoperative spinal cord injury. Multivariate Logistic analysis showed that aortic true lumen away from the spinal side( P<0.001) and the number of segmental arteries originating from the true lumen<3( P<0.001) in T9-L3 and left subclavian artery involvement( P<0.05) were independent risk factors for postoperative spinal cord injury. Conclusion:The pathogenesis of spinal cord injury is complicated. This study suggests that the occurrence of spinal cord injury is significantly related to aortic true lumen away from the spinal side and the number of segmental arteries originating from the true lumen<3 in T9-L3 and left subclavian artery involvement. It is of great clinical significance to identify the high risk factors of postoperative spinal cord injury as early as possible.

Objective:To discuss the perioperative management strategy of the HeartCon left ventricular assist device in the treatment of adult patients with end-stage heart failure and evaluate the effectiveness of blood pump.Methods:Ten consecutive patients with end-stage heart failure treated with the LVAD HeartCon at the Department of Cardiovascular Surgery, Jiangsu Province Hospital from July 2021 to July 2023 were enrolled in this study. The clinical data and follow-up results were retrospectively analyzed. Blood pump parameter, cardiac function classification, liver and kidney function, coagulation, myocardial markers, N-terminal pro-B-type natriuretic peptide, von Willebrand factor antigen, echocardiography, cardiothoracic ratio, and 6-minute walking distance test (6MWT) were evaluated before and after implantation of LVAD in 30, 60, 90, 180, 360, 540, and 720 days. EQ-5D-5L questionnaire was used to evaluate the quality of life.Results:There were 9 males and 1 female with a mean age of (53.7±9.7) years. All patients survived. Renal insufficiency occurred in 1 patient and recurrent aseptic granuloma occurred in 1 patient. There were no significant differences in aspartate aminotransferase (AST), alanine aminotransferase (ALT), lactate dehydrogenase (LDH), serum creatinine (Scr), blood urea nitrogen (BUN), right ventricular fractional area change (FAC) and tricuspid annular plane systolic excursion (TAPSE) between pre-operation and 30, 60 and 90 days post-operation( P>0.05). The levels of N-terminal pro-B-type natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP), von Willbrand factor (vWF) antigen, left ventricular end-diastolic diameter (LVDd) and cardiothoracic ratio decreased significantly on the 30th, 60th and 90th day after operation ( P<0.05). The left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF), 6MWT and EQ-5D-5L scores were significantly increased at 30, 60 and 90 days after operation compared with those before operation ( P<0.05). Conclusion:With the left ventricular assist device HeartCon, the cardiac function and quality of life of patients were significantly improved within 3 months after operation, and no serious complications were observed, proving that the device is safe and effective.