Objective Background and objective The Cox maze Ⅲ procedure has been considered the gold standard for the surgical treatment of atrial fibrillation (AF) and the modified Cox maze use bipolar radiofrequency ablation instead of the cut-and-sew technique,while also reducing the connecting lines in left atrium.This study was to understand whether completely isolation the posterior left atrium by increasing left atrium ablation lines can enhance the survival after modified Cox maze procedure.Methods From Jan 2009 to Dec 2009,all the patients underwent the Cox maze procedure,following the same examination,were divided into two groups (case-control): box lesion group (n =60),which is means the right and lefi pulmonary vein lesions were connected inferiorly by adding ablation lines,thereby completely isolating the posterior left atrium and the non-box lesion group (n =60).Similar interventions were given during the perioperative periods.Comparing the risk factors before surgeries,then follow-up was 100％ complete,and the mean follow-up was 9 ± 8.4 months.Results Except the box lesion had long time of extracorporeal circulation,the characteristics of the 2 groups were similar because there were no differences in age,AF duration,left atrial diameter,left ventricular ejection fraction or homochronous operation between the groups and there was no operative death.No patient was lost to follow-up.In the mean follow-up duration,a patient was died of intracerebral hemorrhage at 2 months postoperationly in the box lesion group and a patient suffered from stroke at 12 months postoperationly in the non-box lesion.The overall freedom from AF recurrence was higher in the box lesion group at 1 (70％ vs 51.2％,P =0.039) and 3 (78.3％ vs 60％,P =0.030) months.While it was 80％ vs 71.7％ (P =0.286) at 6 months.Eight patients wrere readmitted because of the recurrence of AF,4 and 2 patients underwent catheter ablation in box and non-box group respectively,one patient in each group underwent electrical conversion.After treatment,all of the patients were recovered to sinus rhythm and continued to take cordarone.Conclusion Compared to the single connecting between right and left pulmonary vein,isolating the entire posterior left atrium by creating a box lesion showed higher freedom from AF in the earlier months (1-3months).However,half a year after the surgery,there were no significant differences between the two groups.

Objective To explore the effect of quality control circle ( QCC) on reducing the incidence of pressure ulcer during operation. Methods The quality control circle was organized by who aimed to reduce the incidence of pressure ulcer for patients undergoing operations. A total of 260 cases of operating patients were selected as control group from May 2013 to July 2013 ( Before the QCC group) and investigated the conditions of the pressure ulcer form during operation. By a series of QCC activity, we set target, found out the cause of pressure ulcer during operation, and took countermeasures to improve quality continually. A total of 282 operating patients had been accounted for the incidence of pressure ulcer from October 2013 to December 2013 (after the QCC group). We compared the skin damage related operation, the knowledge control of pressure ulcer among theatre nurses, standard rate of operation posture, et al. Results After the QCC activities, the rate of pressure ulcer was reduced from 9. 3% to 1. 4%, nursing knowledge control of the pressure ulcer among theatre nurses and standard rate of operation posture were improved obviously compared these of group before QCC (P<0. 05). Conclusions The QCC activities can minimize the incidence rate of pressure ulcer, but promote knowledge control of pressure ulcer among theatre and the standard rate of operation posture.

Red blood cell (RBC) transfusions are frequently used in cardiac surgery. A minority of patients assume most of the blood products transfusion during and after cardiac operations. Observational analysis of transfusion in patients undergoing cardiac surgery has uniformly demonstrated that RBC transfusion is associated with a significantly increasing risk of all-cause mortality and other serious adverse outcomes. In addition, it is an established fact that such patients can tolerate relatively low hemoglubin (Hb) levels. Consequently, it becomes widely accepted that appropriate limitation of transfusions could confer a substantial benefit to patients and decrease the use of limited resource. As a result, a restrictive threshold for blood transfusion is likely to be favored under most circumstances. However, an increasing amount of data differing from the observational analysis shows that clinical outcomes in patients who received transfusions with restrictive thresholds for Hb level are not superior to those with liberal thresholds. It has created a new uncertainty regarding the use of a restrictive threshold for transfusion during the perioperative period of cardiac surgery.

Objective    To investigate the effectiveness and safety of totally endoscopic transmitral myectomy (TETM) for hypertrophic obstructive cardiomyopathy (HOCM), comparing with traditional sternotomy modified Morrow procedure (SMMP). Methods    Thirty-eight patients with HOCM who needed surgical intervention were selected from our hospital in 2019, including 14 males and 24 females, with an average age of 56 (44-68) years. According to the operation method, they were divided into a TETM group (n=18) and a SMMP group (n=20). Appropriate patients  were screened by propensity matching scores. Finally, the clinical data of two matched groups were compared and

Objective    To evaluate the outcomes and summarize the clinical experience of totally endoscopic mitral valve repair with artificial chordae implantation. Methods    From May 2013 to June 2016, 71 patients with mitral valve insufficiency were admitted to our hospital who underwent totally endoscopic mitral valve repair with artificial chordae implantation. There were 47 males and 24 females with the age of 46.0±14.4 years ranging from 13-78 years. The pathogenesis included degenerative valvular diseases in 63 patients, congenital valvular diseases in 4, infectious endocarditis in 2, rheumatic disease in 1 and cardiomyopathy in 1. Prolapse of anterior, posterior, or both leaflets was present in 26 (36.6%), 19 (26.8%), and 25 (35.2%) patients, respectively; one patient (1.4%) presented valve annulus enlargement and thirteen were associated with commissure lesion. The mitral regurgitation area ranged from 4.2 to 26.3 cm2 (mean, 12.2±5.6 cm2). All the procedures were performed by total endoscopy under cardiac arrest. 5-0 Gore-tex sutures were used as the material of artificial chordae which was implanted one by one. Results    There was no in-hospital death. One patient was transferred to mitral valve replacement, and one median sternotomy due to bleeding. The mean cardiopulmonary bypass time was 156.0±31.6 min and aortic cross-clamp time 110.0±20.1 min. We finally had 39 isolated mitral valve repair, 28 mitral valve repair combined tricuspid valve repair, 3 mitral valve repair combined atrial septal  defect closure, and 1 mitral valve repair combined correction of partial anomalous pulmonary vein connection. Each patient was implanted artificial chordae of 2.5±1.7 (ranging from 1 to 7), and 65 patients received mitral annulus (full ring). The intraoperative transoesophageal echocardiography found no mitral regurgitation in 44 patients, the area of mitral regurgitation was 0-2 cm2 in 24, and 3 patients with mitral regurgitation>2 cm2 experienced serious systolic anterior motion. Of the 3 patients with systolic anterior motion (SAM), one transferred to mitral valve replacement, one underwent mitral re-repair, and one took conservative treatment. The mean follow-up was 12.7±10.5 months (range: 1 to 36 months), while 2 patients were lost to follow up with the follow-up rate of 97.2%. Recurrent severe regurgitation occured in 3 patients, moderate in 5, mild or trivial in 27 and no regurgitation in 36. During the follow-up, 1 patient died of myocardiopathy-induced heart failure post discharge, 1 suffered from cerebral infarction, and no patient underwent reoperation. Conclusion    The totally endoscopic surgical treatment of mitral valvuloplasty with artificial chordae is reliable for patients with mitral valve prolapse, which provides favorable clinical efficacy and outcomes. The difficulty lies in how to determine the appropriate length of the chordae and keep the stability of length.

Objective    To determine the clinical efficacy of transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) for severe aortic regurgitation (AR) combined with severe mitral regurgitation (MR). Methods    The clinical data of 13 patients who underwent TAVR due to severe AR combined with severe MR from March 2018 to September 2021 in our hospital were retrospectively analyzed, including 10 males and 3 females with a mean age of 72.54±2.35 years. The echocardiographic findings of all patients were compared preoperatively and postoperatively. Results    Surgeries were performed successfully in all patients without intraoperative death or conversion to sternotomy. The operation time was 118.15±11.42 min, intraoperative blood loss was 100.00 (75.00, 250.00) mL, and the length of hospital stay after surgery was 9.00 (4.50, 11.00) d. The mean follow-up duration was 10.00 (6.50, 38.50) months, during which there were 2 patients with mild to moderate AR, 6 with mild AR, and 5 with no AR; meanwhile, severe MR decreased significantly (P=0.001) even without active intervention, including 4 mild to moderate MR and 9 mild MR patients. Compared to preoperative indexes, the left atrial diameter [46.00 (41.00, 52.50) mm vs. 35.00 (34.00, 41.00) mm, P<0.001], left ventricular end-systolic diameter [45.00 (36.00, 56.00) mm vs. 35.00 (28.00, 39.00) mm, P=0.002] and left ventricular end-diastolic diameter (62.62±2.40 mm vs. 51.08±2.49 mm, P<0.001) showed a decreasing trend during the follow-up. Conclusion    In selected patients with severe AR combined with severe MR, TAVR alone improves AR and combined MR at the same time.