Abstract： Objective To evaluate the surgical effect of ring annuloplasty using prosthetic vascular graft for the treatment of tricuspid regurgitation. Methods From July 2000 to July 2010, ring annuloplasty using prosthetic vascular graft was performed to a total of 56 patients with tricuspid regurgitation in Changhai Hospital of Second Military Medical University. There were 24 male patients and 32 female patients. Their mean age was（45.7±21.8）years (ranging from 14 to 73 years). All the patients were diagnosed as moderate to severe tricuspid regurgitation by color Doppler echocardiography examination, including 47 patients with rheumatic heart valve diseases, and 9 patients with congenital heart disease (Ebstein’s anomaly). All the 56 patients underwent ring annuloplasty using prosthetic vascular graft instead of Carpentier annuloplasty ring for the treatment of tricuspid regurgitation. Results There was no in-hospital death. Postoperatively, one patient had acute respiratory failure, one patient had acute kidney failure, and one patient had re-exploration for bleeding. All patients had none or mild tricuspid regurgitation by echocardiography examination one month after surgery. Forty eight patients were followed up from 1.0 to 9.5 years with a median follow-up time of 3.8 years. During follow-up, there was no late death, but one patient had brain embolism as an anticoagulation complication. Sixteen patients were in New York Heart Association (NYHA) functional classⅠ, 26 patients in NYHA classⅡ, and 6 patients in NYHA class Ⅲ. Thirty six patients had no tricuspid regurgitation, 10 patients had mild tricuspid regurgitation, and 2 patients had moderate tricuspid regurgitation by echocardiography examination during follow-up. Conclusion The early and mid-term follow-up results of ring annuloplasty using prosthetic vascular graft instead of Carpentier annuloplasty ring for the treatment of tricuspid regurgitation are satisfactory. It is a good choice for the surgical treatment of tricuspid regurgitation.
Objective To study the clinical characteristics, therapy strategies and the outcomes of female patients with acute aortic dissection during late pregnancy and puerperal period. Methods We retrospectively analyzed the clinical data of 7 patients with acute aortic dissection during late pregnancy and puerperal period in Shanghai Changhai Hospital between August 2012 and June 2017. Five of the 7 patients were late stage pregnancy, 2 were puerperal period (1 at the postpartum night, 1 in 18 days after delivery). There were 6 patients of Stanford type A aortic dissection (85.7%), and 1 patient of type B aortic dissection (14.3%). The age of the patients ranged from 26 to 34 (30.8±3.1) years. Cardiac ultrasonography of patients with type A showed that the maximum diameter of the ascending aortas was 4.2–5.7 (4.7±0.6) cm, of which 2 patients were aneurysm of aortic sinus, 3 patients were with Marfan syndrome. Bentall procedure was conducted in 1 patient, Bentall+Sun’s surgery in 2 patients, ascending aorta replacement+Sun’s+coronary artery bypass grafting surgery in 1 patient, aortic root remodeling+ascending aorta replacement+Sun’s surgery in 2 patients. One patient with Stanford type B acute aortic dissection was performed with thoracic endovascular aortic repair (TEVAR) after cesarean section. Results Aortic blocking time ranged from 51 to 129 (85.5±22.9) min. Cardiopulmonary bypass time was 75–196 (159.0±44.0) min. Moderate hypothermic circulation arrest with selective cerebral perfusion time was 20–30 (23.8±3.5) min. All maternal and fetuses survived. The infant whose mother received aortic repair in early stage and then received cesarean section was diagnosed with cerebral palsy. Maternal and fetuses were followed up for 9 months to 4 years. During the follow up period, all the fetuses grew well except the cerebral palsy one, and all maternal recovered well. The patient who received aortic repair in the early stage, had a sigmoid rupture during cesarean section and was treated with sigmoid colostomy. Another patient with Stanford type A dissection was diagnosed as left renal vein entrapment syndrome after 2 years. Conclusion Type A aortic dissection is more common in late pregnancy and puerperal patients. And Marfan syndrome is a high-risk factor for acute aortic dissection in pregnancy women. Early and appropriate surgical treatment strategy based on the type of aortic dissection and gestational age are the key points to achieve good outcomes both for maternal and fetus.