Aortic graft infections(AGI) are uncommon complications of aortic surgery, although they carry a high mortality. Due to its special anatomical location, the thoracic aorta has less surrounding covered tissue. Once the graft infection occurs, the condition is often more dangerous. Therefore, the treatment of AGI of thoracic aorta is particularly important. This article reviews the surgical treatment of thoracic aorta graft infections.

Rheumatic mitral stenosis is one of the most common cardiac valvulopathies in our country, which is relatively rare in European and American countries. Medical therapy is reserved mainly for the treatment of complications, which can not fundamentally change the valve structure. Only surgical treatments can correct these valve lesions, including closed mitral commissurotomy, percutaneous balloon mitral valvuloplasty, mitral valve repair under direct vision and mitral valve replacement. Numerous studies demonstrate that valve repair provides better long-term results, though it occupies a low proportion clinically. This article reviewed domestic and foreign literature concerning surgical treatments for patients with rheumatic mitral stenosis to provide some reference for the peers.

Aortic dissection is a catastrophic emergency with a high mortality rate, and its full pathogenesis remains unknown to researchers, which brings a heavy burden to the individuals, society and family because of its poor prognosis. Improving the efficiency of its diagnosis and treatment and defining the pathogenic mechanism clearly is a research hotspot. Recently, utilizing bioinformatics to find diagnostic biomarker of aortic dissection has attracted the attention of many researchers. Besides, exploring the relationship between pathogenic mechanism and inflammatory process, extracellular matrix degradation, elastic fiber fracture and the phenotypic transformation of vascular smooth muscle cells is also a hot topic. We summarize recent progress made in the pathogenesis of aortic dissection. We hope to identify key molecules driving aortic dissection and provide reliable reference for the diagnosis, medical treatment and prevention of aortic dissection.

Objective     To provide experience for clinical diagnosis and treatment through exploring the perioperative characteristics and short-term treatment outcomes of adult cardiac surgery in patients with prior coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19). Methods    A retrospective analysis was performed on patients undergoing coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) or valve surgery in the Department of Cardiac Surgery of Beijing Anzhen Hospital from December 26, 2022 to December 31, 2022, and previously diagnosed with COVID-19 before surgery. Results    Finally 108 patients were collected, including 81 males and 27 females, with an average age of 60.73±8.66 years. Two (1.9%) patients received emergency surgery, and the others received elective surgery. The 86.1% of patients had been vaccinated, and the duration of COVID-19 was 5.0 (4.0, 7.0) days. The time from COVID-19 to operation was 15.0 (12.0, 17.8) days. Eighty-nine patients received CABG, of which off-pump CABG was dominant (92.1%). Nineteen patients received valve surgery. The rate of delayed extubation of ventilator was 17.6%. The ICU stay was 21.0 (17.3, 24.0) hours, and the postoperative hospital stay was 7.0 (6.0, 8.0) days. Three (2.8%) patients were treated with intra-aortic balloon  pump (IABP), one (0.9%) patient was treated with extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO), one (0.9%) patient was treated with continuous renal replacement therapy (CRRT) due to acute renal insufficiency, three (2.8%) patients were treated with temporary pacemaker, and one (0.9%) patient underwent rethoracotomy. In terms of postoperative complications, the incidence of cerebrovascular accident, acute renal insufficiency, gastrointestinal bleeding and septicemia was 0.9%, respectively, and the incidence of acute heart failure, lung infection, and liver insufficiency was 1.9%, respectively. All patients recovered and were discharged from hospital, and no in-hospital death occurred. Conclusion     The utilization rate of postoperative IABP, ECMO, CRRT, temporary pacemaker and the incidence of serious complications in patients with prior COVID-19 are not higher than those of normal patients, and the short-term treatment outcome is good.

Objective    To discuss the efficacy of type Ⅱ hybrid aortic arch repair for type A aortic dissection in patients of different age groups. Methods    We retrospectively analyzed the clinical data of 126 patients with type A aortic dissection admitted to the Fuwai Hospital between January 2016 and December 2018, including 78 (61.9%) males and 48 (38.1%) females, with an average age of 61.8±6.9 years. The patients were divided into an elderly group (≥60 years, n=82) and a non-elderly group (<60 years, n=44). The preoperative, intraoperative and postoperative data of patients in the two groups were compared. Results    The age between the elderly and non-elderly group was significantly different (65.9±4.1 years vs. 54.3±4.1 years, P<0.010), and no significant difference was found between the two groups in other preoperative baseline data. There were 6 (4.8%) patients of early death, 3 (2.4%) patients of stroke and 2 (1.6%) patients of paralysis. A total of 194 stents were implanted, and the average dimeter of the stents was 33.6±1.8 mm and the average length was 199.0±6.7 mm. The non-elderly group had shorter mechanical ventilation time (31.9±41.7 h vs. 61.0±89.2 h, P=0.043) and ICU stay time (77.8±51.4 h vs. 143.1±114.4 h, P<0.001) than the elderly group. There was no significant difference in in-hospital mortality rate, reoperation rate or survival rate between the two groups (P>0.05). Follow-up time was 1-43 (22.6±10.8) months, and 3 patients were lost. There were 104 (82.5%) patients of complete thrombus formation of false lumen in stent and endoleak was reported in 11 (9.2%) patients. Conclusion    Type Ⅱ hybrid aortic arch repair offers an alternative approach to acute type A aortic dissection with acceptable early and mid-term clinical effects. The non-elderly patients have a similar early treatment effect to the elderly patients, but have a better mid-term outcome.