Volume 62, Issue 1, July 2022

As a registry of the European Association for Cardio-Thoracic Surgery, the European Registry for Patients with Mechanical Circulatory Support (EUROMACS) offers a robust repository of clinical data on long-term mechanical circulatory support (MCS) from a large international community.

Although the cardiac surgeon does not specifically operate on the atrial appendages themselves, it is a well-recognized fact, that hearts in which the appendages are isomeric rather than lateralized harbour some of the most complex combinations of lesions to be found in the setting of congenital cardiac disease.

The HeartWare HVAD System (Medtronic) is a durable left ventricular assist device (LVAD) approved for bridge to transplant indication in 2012 and destination therapy indication in 2019, based on data from the ADVANCE + Continued Access Protocol, ENDURANCE, and ENDURANCE Supplemental clinical studies [1–5].

It ought to be remembered that there is nothing more difficult to take in hand, more perilous to conduct, or more uncertain in its success, than to take the lead in the introduction of a new order of things. .

For locally advanced oesophageal cancer, neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy (NACR) followed by oesophagectomy is strongly recommended according to National Comprehensive Cancer guidelines [1].

Lung cancer is the leading cause of death from cancer worldwide, and the number of patients is increasing [1].

Anterior mediastinal tumours mostly arise from the thymus, and the standard treatment is complete thymectomy with en bloc resection of the involved adjacent organs.

There is controversy whether visceral pleural invasion (VPI) confers a worse prognosis but it is recognized as an adverse prognostic factor in the tumour node metastasis (TNM) staging system [1–11].

The indications for anatomical segmentectomy have expanded recently because it reportedly spares respiratory function and yields relatively good clinical outcomes.

A rare kind of tetralogy of Fallot (TOF) is characterized by unbalanced pulmonary artery (PA) branches: One PA branch is hypoplastic and the other is normal or hypoplastic, and the size of the hypoplastic PA (HPA) is no more than 1/2 that of the contralateral PA (CPA), especially when the HPA is only 2–3 mm (Fig. 1).

Postoperative conduction disorders in ventricular septal defect (VSD) closure are well-recognized complications of both isolated VSD and tetralogy of Fallot (ToF) repair.

Common arterial trunk (CAT) accounts for 0.7–3% of all congenital cardiac defects [1, 2] and is associated with interrupted aortic arch (IAA) in 15% [3].

The Fontan procedure provides a palliative solution for single-ventricle patients, by connecting both the superior vena cava (SVC) and inferior vena cava (IVC) directly to the pulmonary arteries [i.e.

Congenital malformations and low birthweight are leading causes of infant mortality [1].

The standard technique for aortic arch reconstruction of interrupted aortic arch (IAA) remains controversial.

Norwood operation is the most utilized surgical stage 1 palliation strategy for patients with hypoplastic left heart syndrome (HLHS).

The common pathway of treatment for children with a single ventricle is the staged establishment of a series circuit according to the principle of Fontan [1, 2].

Aortic dissection is a disease characterized by tearing of the aortic intimal layer, increasing the risk of aortic rupture and malperfusion to the heart, brain, viscera and lower extremities.

Lung transplantation (LTx) is a therapeutic option for patients with end-stage pulmonary diseases.

The clinical success of left ventricular assist devices (LVADs) has grown enormously.

As survival continues to improve and the incidence of adverse events is slowly ameliorating, left ventricular assist device (LVAD) therapy is increasingly being embraced for the treatment of stage D heart failure patients [1].

Heart failure is nowadays considered a global pandemic that currently affects >26 million people worldwide [1].

The established therapy of aneurysms and dissections of the aortic bulb and ascending aorta in patients with a functionally normal aortic valve is the implantation of a straight prosthesis (SP), replacing the pathologically altered aorta while preserving the aortic valve [valve-sparing aortic root replacement (VSARR)] [1].

Indications for surgical repair of a proximal thoracic aortic aneurysm, defined as a repair of the aortic root or ascending aorta, include size, growth rate and the presence of symptoms.

Acute aortic dissection type A (AADA) is defined as a dissection of the thoracic aorta involving the ascending aorta [1].

Surgical repair of acute type A aortic dissection remains a challenging condition associated with high mortality and morbidity.

Thoracic endovascular aortic repair (TEVAR) has been increasingly adopted in the treatment of patients with thoracic aortic diseases as a less-invasive treatment option than open surgical repair.

Fenestrated/branched endografts have been widely used to treat complex aortic aneurysms [1–3].

Haemodynamic impairment in patients after cardiac surgery is a common challenge with a wide differential.

A substantial body of evidence now indicates that the prevalence of coronary artery disease (CAD) is surprisingly increasing in young adults [1, 2].

Delirium is an acute fluctuating disturbance in attention and awareness accompanied by disorganized cognition or perception that is not due to a pre-existing neurocognitive disorder or to coma [1].

Observational studies have reported an association between the use of multiple arterial grafting (MAG) for coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) and improved long-term outcomes compared to the use of a single arterial grafting, although this has not been confirmed in randomized trials [1].

Coronary artery disease (CAD) is one of the leading causes of death worldwide and is associated with more years living with disability [1] and impaired health-related quality of life (HRQoL) [2].

Saphenous vein grafts (SVG) remain the most commonly used conduit in coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG).

According to Alain Carpentier’s classification of mitral regurgitation (MR) [1], secondary mitral regurgitation (SMR) with restricted leaflet motion during systole (type IIIb) is the result of progressive left ventricular (LV) remodelling caused by ischaemic or dilated cardiomyopathy [2].

Surgical aortic valve replacement become more challenging due to the increasing age of the population, especially combined operations with coronary artery bypass grafting.

Although the mitral valve plasty technique has improved over time, mitral valve replacement (MVR) remains an important therapeutic option for patients with mitral valve plasty failure, rheumatic mitral stenosis (MS), infective endocarditis and mitral annular calcification [1].

Mitral regurgitation (MR) for degenerative disease is nowadays routinely treated with valve repair with excellent short- and long-term results in experienced centres [1–3].

Aortic valve (AV) repair and valve sparing root replacement are now recommended in selected patients with aortic insufficiency (AI) or an aortic root aneurysm in the presence of a pliable bicuspid or tricuspid valve [1, 2].

Mechanical valves or bioprosthetic valves may be employed to substitute the native aortic valve in aortic valve replacement (AVR) procedures [1].

Aortic valve disease is the most frequent heart valve disease in western countries [1].

Since its introduction, thoracoscopic ablation has evolved towards a safe and efficacious rhythm control strategy for symptomatic atrial fibrillation (AF) and is currently indicated with a class IIA recommendation for (long-standing) persistent and post-ablation AF [1].

Right heart failure is a feared postoperative complication in cardiac surgery, particularly after left ventricular assist device (LVAD) implantation.

Minimally invasive cardiac therapy has gained interest in recent decades.