With the discovery of cardiac stem cell, the conception of the heart considered to be a terminally differentiated organ was changed. Cardiac stem cells possess the common characteristics of self-renew, clone formation and differentiating into cardiomyocyte, smooth muscle cell, and endothelial cell. Because of the properties of tissue specificity and lineage commitment, cardiac stem cells are considered to have great advantages over other stem cells in the treatment of cardiovascular disease. However, the low rate of engraftment still remains a problem to be solved. In recent years, people attempted to combine stem cell therapy with other ways, such as tissue engineering, gene therapy, exosome therapy, to cure cardiovascular diseases, aiming at finding better ways to treat the cardiovascular disease. This article is mainly for the reviewing of the mechanisms underlying the stem cell therapy and the combinatory use of new technology emerged these years.
Objective To compare the postoperative outcomes of modified single-patch technique and one-and-a-half-patch technique for complete atrioventricular septal defect (CAVSD) with a large ventricular component (>1 cm). Methods We retrospectively reviewed clinical data of 79 CAVSD patients with a large ventricular component (>1 cm) in Shanghai Children's Medical Center from January 2005 through January 2016. There were 37 males, 42 females with a median age of 8 months (range, 1.5 months to 10.2 years). Among the patients, 45 patients (20 males, 25 females) with a median age of 6 months(range, 1.5 months to 10.2 years) received modified single patch technique and 34 patients (17 males, 17 females) with a median age of 5.3 months (range, 2.5 months to 8.3 years) underwent one-and-a-half-patch (1.5-patch) technique. All the patients complicated with complex malformation such as double outlet of right ventricular, single ventricle, and transposition of great arteries were excluded. Results The mortality and reoperation rate in modified single-patch group were higher than those of the one-and-a-half-patch group. There were 2 postoperative early deaths in the modified single-patch group (4.4%). Among them, one patient died of postoperative valvular regurgitation and heart pump failure. The other one died of respiratory failure caused by severe pneumonia. There were 3 reoperations. Two patients performed valve plastic surgery because of valve regurgitation and one patient because of residual ventricular septal defect. There was no death and reoperation in the one-and-a-half-patch technique group. No left ventricular outflow tract obstruction and atrioventricular block in both groups were developed. Conclusion The 1.5-patch technique is an attractive clinical option in CAVSD patients with a large ventricular component.
Objective To evaluate the outcome of surgical repair of interrupted aortic arch (IAA) combined with anomalies. Methods We retrospectively analyzed the clinical data of 48 patients with IAA combined with anomalies undergoing one-stage biventricular repair in Shanghai Children's Medical Center from November 2006 to April 2016. There were 25 males and 23 females with a median age of 29 d (range, 8 to 91 d) and a mean weight of 3.80±0.67 kg. All patients underwent end-to-end anastomosis with patch augmentation, and relief of left ventricular outflow tract obstruction (LVOTO) was performed in 11 patients. Results In IAA children with anomalies, 39 (81.3%) suffered noncomplex lesions and 9 (18.8%) complex lesions. Mean follow-up was 72.1±19.7 months for 38 patients. There were 6 in-hospital deaths and 3 patients died during follow-up. The early survival rate was 87.5%, 5-year rate 83.3% and 10-year rate 81.3%. Reintervention was required in 10 patients, including 8 with subsequent LVOTO and 2 with anastomotic stenosis. Conclusion End-to-end anastomosis with patch augmentation is effective for IAA.