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Nimesh D Desai

Publications and source records attributed to Nimesh D Desai.

10 recordsLinked to original sources

A randomized comparison of intraoperative indocyanine green angiography and transit-time flow measurement to detect technical errors in coronary bypass grafts.

BACKGROUND: Early coronary bypass graft failures may be preventable if identified intraoperatively. The purpose of this investigation was to compare the diagnostic accuracy of two intraoperative graft assessment techniques, transit-time ultrasound flow measurement and indocyanine green fluorescent-dye graft angiography. METHODS: Patents undergoing isolated coronary artery bypass grafting with no contraindications for postoperative angiography were enrolled in the study. Patients were randomly assigned to be evaluated with either indocyanine green angiography (Novadaq Spy angiography system; Novadaq Technologies Inc, Concord, Ontario, Canada) and then transit-time ultrasonic flow measurement (Medtronic Medi-Stim Butterfly Flowmeter TTF measurement system; Medtronic Inc, Minneapolis, Minn) or transit-time flow then indocyanine green angiography. Patients underwent x-ray angiography on postoperative day 4. The primary end point of the trial was to determine the sensitivity and specificity of the two techniques versus reference standard x-ray angiography to detect graft occlusion or greater than 50% stenosis in the graft or perianastomotic area. RESULTS: Between February 2004 and March 2005, 106 patients were enrolled and x-ray angiography was performed in 46 patients. In total, 139 grafts were reviewed with all three techniques and 12 grafts (8.2%) were demonstrated to have greater than 50% stenosis or occlusion by the reference standard. The sensitivity and specificity of indocyanine green angiography to detect greater than 50% stenosis or occlusion was 83.3% and 100%, respectively. The sensitivity and specificity of transit-time ultrasonic flow measurement to detect greater than 50% stenosis or occlusion was 25% and 98.4%, respectively. The P value for the overall comparison of sensitivity and specificity between indocyanine green angiography and transit-time flow ultrasonography was .011. The difference between sensitivity for indocyanine green angiography and transit-time flow measurement was 58% with a 95% confidence interval of 30% to 86%, P = .023. CONCLUSION: Indocyanine green angiography provides better diagnostic accuracy for detecting clinically significant graft errors than does transit-time ultrasound flow measurement.

Aged↗

Improving the quality of coronary bypass surgery with intraoperative angiography: validation of a new technique.

OBJECTIVES: We report a comprehensive assessment and validation of a new intraoperative angiography technique. BACKGROUND: Technical problems at the site of the distal anastomosis compromise an underappreciated proportion of coronary bypass grafts. The absence of a systematic, validated technique to verify graft patency in the operating room represents a significant breach in quality assurance. METHODS: Fluorescent indocyanine green (ICG) dye is excited with dispersed laser light to create an angiographic depiction of the graft, native vessel, and anastomosis. One-hundred twenty patients underwent ICG angiography. Angiograms were reviewed for reliability and validity studies. RESULTS: A total of 348 coronary bypass grafts were studied. Each ICG angiogram took 2.2 +/- 1.1 min to perform. The ICG angiography found 4.2% of patients had significant graft problems requiring major revision. Quality of visualization was rated according to a seven-point Likert scale (1 = worst, 7 = best). Among conduits, saphenous veins were best visualized (mean score +/- standard deviation), 6.4 +/- 1.5 versus 5.5 +/- 1.9 for internal mammary arteries and 4.4 +/- 2.3 for radial arteries (p = 0.02). Location of distal anastomosis did not influence quality of visualization. There was high inter-rater reliability for graft revision (kappa = 1.0) and graft patency (kappa = 0.97) between surgeons. Sensitivity and specificity of the ICG angiograms for graft stenosis >50% was 100% among 22 grafts also studied with X-ray angiography. CONCLUSIONS: Information from ICG angiograms led to graft revisions for technical problems in 4.2% of patients that would have otherwise gone unrecognized. Intraoperative angiography is an emerging tool for improving the quality of coronary bypass surgery.

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Invited commentary.

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Aortic Valve Insufficiency↗

A randomized comparison of radial-artery and saphenous-vein coronary bypass grafts.

BACKGROUND: In the past decade, the radial artery has frequently been used for coronary bypass surgery despite concern regarding the possibility of graft spasm. Graft patency is a key predictor of long-term survival. We therefore sought to determine the relative patency rate of radial-artery and saphenous-vein grafts in a randomized trial in which we controlled for bias in the selection of patients and vessels. METHODS: We enrolled 561 patients at 13 centers. The left internal thoracic artery was used to bypass the anterior circulation. The radial-artery graft was randomly assigned to bypass the major vessel in either the inferior (right coronary) territory or the lateral (circumflex) territory, with the saphenous-vein graft used for the opposing territory (control). The primary end point was graft occlusion, determined by angiography 8 to 12 months postoperatively. RESULTS: Angiography was performed at one year in 440 patients: 8.2 percent of radial-artery grafts and 13.6 percent of saphenous-vein grafts were completely occluded (P=0.009). Diffuse narrowing of the graft (the angiographic "string sign") was present in 7.0 percent of radial-artery grafts and only 0.9 percent of saphenous-vein grafts (P=0.001). The absence of severe native-vessel stenosis was associated with an increased risk of occlusion of the radial-artery graft and diffuse narrowing of the graft. Harvesting of the radial artery was well tolerated. CONCLUSIONS: Radial-artery grafts are associated with a lower rate of graft occlusion at one year than are saphenous-vein grafts. Because the patency of radial-artery grafts depends on the severity of native-vessel stenosis, such grafts should preferentially be used for target vessels with high-grade lesions.

Aged↗

Why is off-pump coronary surgery uncommon in Canada? Results of a population-based survey of Canadian heart surgeons.

BACKGROUND: Off-pump coronary artery bypass (OPCAB) is proposed to improve clinical outcomes and decrease resource use. However, off-pump surgery is not widely used in Canada. The purpose of this study was to determine the current use of OPCAB in Canada and determine why surgeons have not adopted this technique. METHODS AND RESULTS: The study was a population-based survey of all adult Canadian cardiac surgeons in practice >1 year. Eligible division heads and surgeons were contacted by mail. Of 19 806 isolated coronary bypass surgeries performed by respondents in Canada last year, 3164 (16.0%) were performed off-pump. More than 50% of Canadian surgeons performed OPCAB in <5% of coronary cases, and only 17% of surgeons performed OPCAB in >25% of coronary cases. Only 4 responding centers performed OPCAB in >25% of cases. Respondents were divided into those who performed <5% of cases off-pump (nonadopters), 5% to 25% off-pump (intermediate users), or >25% off-pump (enthusiasts). Mean number of distal anastomoses in off-pump cases were 1.7+/-0.6, 1.6+/-0.6, and 3.3+/-0.5 for nonadopters, intermediate users, and enthusiasts, respectively (P=0.001). Eleven percent of nonadopters, 55% of intermediate users, and 81% of enthusiasts believed OPCAB improved clinical outcomes (P<0.0001). Only 23% of all respondents felt OPCAB use would increase in the next 5 years. CONCLUSIONS: Concerns regarding incomplete revascularization and lack of proven clinical benefit have limited OPCAB to being performed routinely by only a small number of surgeons in Canada.

Attitude of Health Personnel↗

Long-term results of aortic valve replacement with the St. Jude Toronto stentless porcine valve.

BACKGROUND: Long-term survival and freedom from valve-related events of the St. Jude Toronto stentless porcine valve (SPV) are unknown. The aim of this study was to investigate late clinical outcomes after aortic valve replacement with the Toronto SPV. METHODS: Between 1992 and 2000, 200 patients (131 males, 69 females) underwent aortic valve replacement with the Toronto SPV. Mean patient age at implantation was 64.6 +/- 10.9 years (range 33 to 82 years). At the time of operation, 32%, 51%, and 17% of patients were in New York Heart Association class I/II, III, and IV, respectively. Aortic stenosis, aortic insufficiency, and combined lesions were present in 64%, 13.5%, and 22.5% of patients preoperatively. Concomitant coronary artery bypass grafting was performed in 34.5% of patients. RESULTS: Perioperative mortality occurred in 2.5% (5/200) of patients. There were 31 late deaths. Actuarial survival at 5 and 10 years was 89.2% and 68.0%, respectively. There was no significant difference in overall actuarial survival between isolated valve patients and valve plus coronary artery bypass grafting patients, 71% versus 62% respectively, p = 0.85. Actuarial freedom from valve reoperation at 5 and 10 years was 97.6% and 79.9%, respectively. Actuarial freedom from structural valve deterioration was 98.8% at 5 years and declined to 77.9% at 10 years. Freedom from structural valve deterioration was poorer in patients with preoperative aortic insufficiency or bicuspid disease. Actuarial freedom from embolic events and endocarditis at 10 years were 94.6% and 95.9%, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: Although early clinical results were excellent, a significant increase in hazard for structural valve deterioration occurred in late follow-up.

Actuarial Analysis↗

Pathologic analysis of 19 heart valves with silver-coated sewing rings.

OBJECTIVE: The St. Jude Medical Silzone (Silzone) mechanical heart valve was voluntarily recalled (January 2000) due to an unusually high incidence of paravalvular leaks. We present the first series of human morphological data on the failure of these valves. METHODS: Nineteen Silzone valves were evaluated from the 176 Silzone valves implanted in 147 patients at our institution between 1997 and 1999. Explanted prostheses were fixed in 10% formalin, photographed, and X-rayed. Histological sections were collected from the sewing cuff, accompanying tissues, and thrombus. For comparison, six age-matched SJM-standard valves were similarly analyzed. RESULTS: Nineteen Silzone valves from 16 patients (10 male, six female, 52.0 +/- 15.2 years) were examined. Significantly more mitral (15/95) prostheses were removed than aortic (4/81) despite the nearly equal number implanted (p = 0.027). Fifteen of the Silzone valves (13/16 patients) were explanted in the early postoperative period (within six months of implantation), although collection continued for eight years after our institution stopped implanting them. The common indications for surgical explantation were paravalvular leak (8/12) and clinically suspected infective endocarditis (IE) (four patients, five valves). IE was not confirmed by histology or culture in any valve. The sewing cuffs of many Silzone valves showed large regions of pannus, granulation tissue, and purulent exudate. Polymorphonuclear leukocytes were more common in the sewing cuff of Silzone valves; however, the cellular infiltrate was superficial when compared to SJM-standard valves. CONCLUSION: This is the largest morphologically analyzed series of Silzone explants. It demonstrates a consistent pattern of atypical tissue incorporation into the silver-coated sewing ring particularly in the mitral position. Clinical and morphologic features of IE (sterile) are seen in the early postimplant period. Prosthesis-related problems were almost wholly seen at the mitral site, in our group. Our current data indicate that although early failure due to dehiscence and paravalvular leak is a problem, Silzone valves that "survive" past six months will likely function as well as the SJM-standard prosthesis.

Adult↗