Annals of Thoracic Surgery最新文献

Background: Ascending-to-descending aortic bypass is a repair option for patients with complex aortic coarctation. This technique is reported to have minimal early morbidity and mortality, however, the long-term results of the procedure are unknown.

Methods: We analyzed the late outcomes of 81 consecutive patients with aortic coarctation who underwent ascending-to-descending aortic bypass through a median sternotomy from January 1985 to December 2012. The study was limited to this interval to allow for a minimum of 10-year follow-up. Fifty-two patients had recurrent coarctation after previous repair, and 44 patients had concomitant cardiac procedures at the time of ascending-to-descending bypass.

Results: There was no perioperative mortality, and overall survival at 5, 10, and 20 years was 94%, 90%, and 85%, similar to an age and sex-matched population. There were no interventions for the ascending-to-descending bypass during follow-up, and no deaths were known to be related to the bypass graft. Subsequent cardiac operations were performed through a median sternotomy in 7 patients (9%), and late imaging in 48 patients (59%) demonstrated no hemodynamically significant stenoses or pseudoaneurysms. At late follow-up, median systolic blood pressure was 124 mmHg, and half of the patients were on no or only one antihypertensive.

Conclusions: Ascending-to-descending aortic bypass is a safe operation with excellent long-term outcomes for adult patients with complex aortic coarctation. The procedure is durable and appears to improve systemic hypertension. Importantly, ascending-to-descending bypass does not hinder the safe performance of subsequent operations performed through a median sternotomy.

Background: Data on optimal therapy for patients with primary mediastinal germ cell tumors consist overwhelmingly of single-institution studies with small sample sizes. The objective of this study is to assess the association of survival outcomes with surgery vs non-operative management for patients with early-stage primary mediastinal germ cell tumors.

Methods: Overall survival of all patients with seminomas and non-seminomatous primary germ cell tumors in the mediastinum who received 1) chemotherapy, or 2) surgery with or without chemotherapy (referred to as 'surgery' for simplicity) for early-stage disease from 2004-2015 in the National Cancer Database was assessed using Kaplan-Meier analysis, propensity score-matched analysis, and multivariable Cox proportional hazards analysis.

Results: Among patients with seminomas, chemotherapy alone was used in 120 (80.5%) patients and surgery was used in 29 (19.5%) patients. There was no significant difference in 5-year survival between surgery and chemotherapy in unadjusted and propensity score-matched analysis. Among patients with non-seminomatous tumors, chemotherapy alone was used in 91 (46.7%) patients and surgery was used in 104 (53.3%) patients. Surgery was associated with improved 5-year survival when compared to chemotherapy in unadjusted, and multivariable-adjusted, and propensity score-matched analysis.

Conclusions: In this national analysis, multimodality treatment involving surgery was associated with improved survival when compared to chemotherapy alone for early-stage primary mediastinal non-seminomatous germ cell tumors. For seminomas of the mediastinum, chemotherapy was associated with similar long-term outcomes when compared to multimodality treatment involving surgery.

Background: Although financial toxicity, defined as the harmful financial burden experienced by patients undergoing cancer treatment, has been of growing interest, data in thoracic oncology are lacking. We aimed to examine the risk of financial toxicity among patients undergoing surgical resection of thoracic malignancies.

Methods: Adults undergoing lobectomy, pneumonectomy, or esophagectomy for cancer were identified in the 2012-2021 National Inpatient Sample (NIS). Risk of financial toxicity was defined as health expenditure (total hospitalization costs for the uninsured and maximum out-of-pocket costs for the insured) exceeding 40% of post-subsistence income. Multivariable logistic regressions were used to identify factors associated with financial toxicity risk.

Results: Of 384,340 patients, 69.5% had government-funded insurance, 27.2% private insurance, and 1.0% were uninsured. Compared to those with insurance, uninsured patients were more commonly Black and Hispanic and less commonly electively admitted. Mortality, complications, LOS, and costs were comparable regardless of insurance status. Approximately 68.9% of uninsured and 17.3% of insured patients were at risk of financial toxicity, and incidence of financial toxicity remained stable over time. After risk adjustment, complications were associated with over 2-fold increased risk of financial toxicity among uninsured (AOR 2.21, 95% CI 1.38-3.55). Among the insured, Black, Hispanic, and publicly insured patients demonstrated greater risk of financial toxicity, while minimally invasive operations and metropolitan hospitals exhibited lower risk of financial toxicity.

Conclusions: Concordant with prior work examining financial toxicity in abdominal oncologic surgery, thoracic surgery demonstrates a comparable burden of financial toxicity. Referral policies and care subsidization may be considered in patients undergoing thoracic malignancy resections at risk for financial toxicity.

Background: Current evidence supports equipoise between surgical aortic valve replacement (AVR) and transcatheter AVR (TAVR) for the management of symptomatic severe aortic stenosis (AS). The optimal interventional management for lower-risk patients is controversial. Minimally invasive robotic AVR (RAVR) was developed as a potential option.

Methods: A total of 605 consecutive patients (2017-2023) managed by the identical structural heart team, 174 RAVR and 431 TAVR, were propensity matched and evaluated for in-hospital and 1-year outcomes.

Results: There were 288 low- to intermediate-risk (The Society of Thoracic Surgeons predicted risk of mortality <8%) patients matched in 2 well-balanced groups (144 RAVR vs 144 TAVR). In-hospital and 30-day mortality were similar. There were 2 conversions to sternotomy in the TAVR group (cardiac arrest and coronary occlusion) and none in the RAVR group. Eight RAVR patients (5.6%) required reoperation for hemothorax evacuation. TAVR was associated with higher new pacemaker (11 vs 3, P = .028) and major vascular complications (13 vs 0, P < .0001), and a higher postprocedural stroke trend (6 vs 1, P = .056). There was no difference in 30-day transfusions, atrial fibrillation, or 1-year mean valve gradients. However, 1-year mortality (12.5% vs 1.4%, P < .0001) and paravalvular leak greater than mild (32.6% vs 2.3%, P < 0.0001) were significantly higher in TAVR.

Conclusions: These data highlight lower pacemaker and vascular complications, as well as less 1-year paravalvular leak and mortality with RAVR compared with TAVR. RAVR may provide a safe and effective minimally invasive alternative to TAVR for low- and intermediate-risk patients presenting with severe symptomatic AS.