AW: [HSF] Deairing the heart

Michael Firstenberg msfirst at gmail.com
Sun Mar 4 16:22:05 EST 2007


Wait a minute - we are not the only ones to blame for CVA's.

Though I have no claim to actual data - but how many times have you  
guys admitted a patient after a cath - and as a little bonus gotten a  
CVA/TIA or even a good ol' fashion dissection?  Unfortunately,  
sometimes these "problems" are not often obvious for a couple of days  
after the procedures.......


-michael



On Mar 4, 2007, at 4:10 PM, Ben Bidstrup wrote:

> To get a handle on some of these devices and techniques, we must  
> look more widely.
>
>
> We cannot even guess at the incidence of neuropsych damage after  
> valve surgery. All but a few of the papers have been on CABG  
> patients. So we do like many other groups, extrapolate from the  
> many CABG studies done on this. How representative are these  
> patients of the real world?  Look at the paper mentioned recently  
> from van Dijk in JAMA.
> Does this include use or avoidance of cardiotomy suction? How is  
> venting handled? Suck like h..l to keep the heart empty and get  
> lots of air/blood interface or
> gently when there is blood pooled.
> What has happened to the incidence of stroke over time, perhaps the  
> crudest marker we can use? Whose data do we use?  That is a  
> question a brief search was not easily answered. A report from the  
> New York database on CABG reported a 1.4% incidence. In a review  
> from Johns Hopkins on AVR CABG patients (233) there was an  
> incidence of approx 14% across the groups with grafts. However no  
> longitudinal information. (Kobayashi Ann Thorac Surg  
> 2007;83:969-978) .
>
> So how do we tell the difference that CO2 displacement, TEE or  
> other maneuvers make? Does Embolex make a difference? TEA has  
> commented that we do all sorts of things for all sorts of reasons.
>
> Shann and a team reviewed the evidence for reduction of  
> neurological injury recent;y (Shann J Thorac Cardiovasc Surg  
> 2006;132:283-290). If we believe in evidence based medicine than  
> there are a few recommendations to be looked at. However, TEE for  
> assessment of de-airing was not included. Nor was CO2. Many of the  
> studies used applied only to CABG patients.
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>> But Roberto how are you certain it is TEE that made this  
>> difference? I have seen a similar argument made by protagonists of  
>> blood cardioplegia (that better preservation has all but  
>> eliminated post op VF). There have been numerous changes in  
>> cardiac surgery in the last decade so it would be difficult to  
>> ascribe an effect to any one change except if there is indirect or  
>> direct supporting evidence.
>>
>> Don't get me wrong though - I would not envisage surgery without  
>> TEE and use it myself to deair everyday, but like the axiom goes  
>> half of what we do at anytime is of no benefit and some even  
>> harmful - I do not know where TEE deairing lies and certainly  
>> evidence of its benefit is at best circumstantial. However on an  
>> individual level I take yours and Hal's perspective that we should  
>> strive to get all the air out by whatever means. As Hall said it  
>> is possible to conduct an operation in a way that you do not have  
>> air in the heart at the end and that is regardless of TEE. TEE is  
>> one factor but maybe there are many others.
>>
>> Ani
>>   ----- Original Message -----
>>   From: Dr. Roberto Battellini<mailto:battr at medizin.uni-leipzig.de>
>>   To: OpenHeart-L at lists.hsforum.com<mailto:OpenHeart- 
>> L at lists.hsforum.com>
>>   Sent: Saturday, March 03, 2007 7:32 AM
>>   Subject: AW: AW: [HSF] Deairing the heart
>>
>>
>>   Ani,
>>   I disagree.There is difference before and after TEE.
>>   Since we make all our valves under TEE, we have reduced  
>> significantly the
>>   number of patients we had to defibrillate soon after surgery. We  
>> let run the
>>   needle vent until there are no more bubbles. Of course, it is very
>>   sensitive.
>>   Roberto
>>
>>   -----Ursprüngliche Nachricht-----
>>   Von: openheart-l-bounces at lists.hsforum.com<mailto:openheart-l- 
>> bounces at lists.hsforum.com>
>>   [mailto:openheart-l-bounces at lists.hsforum.com] Im Auftrag von  
>> Ani Anyanwu
>>   Gesendet: Freitag, 2. März 2007 14:10
>>   An: OpenHeart-L at lists.hsforum.com<mailto:OpenHeart- 
>> L at lists.hsforum.com>
>>   Betreff: Re: AW: [HSF] Deairing the heart
>>
>>   But Hal I would question the relevance of subtle neurological  
>> changes that
>>   require a battery of sophisticated tests to demonstrate. A lot  
>> of these
>>   changes IMHO are integral to having artificial extracorporeal  
>> circulation
>>   and indeed MRI studies show changes in many patients with no  
>> neurological
>>   complications. Air and embolism are an integral part of CBP and  
>> in most
>>   cases are likely of no or of minimal consequence. Obviously  
>> though we must
>>   exclude gross air bubbles and our deairing approach, including  
>> CO2 and TEE
>>   is very similar to yours.
>>
>>   However, I think to a great degree air is an invention of TEE  
>> and most of
>>   what we see on TEE or strive to achieve with TEE is of little  
>> relevance
>>   above that which can be determined clinically as in Novick's  
>> practice or in
>>   the practice of the 1980s. Like you I vent the root up to 15  
>> mins after
>>   coming of bypass and I suspect in most patients this will be  
>> sufficient to
>>   deal with any rogue bubbles that failed deairing - regardless of  
>> the
>>   presence of TEE.
>>
>>   I am not sure there is any direct evidence that the incidence of
>>   neurological complication or neuropsychometric deficit has  
>> changed with the
>>   advent of TEE or that the incidence is different in centers that  
>> routinely
>>   use TEE and centers that don't. Those surgeons in life courses  
>> who don't
>>   seem to deair properly may not necessarily be harming their  
>> patients. In my
>>   previous center (Harefield with Yacoub) we generally ignored the  
>> snowstorms
>>   seen on TEE and apparently (I know I know) to no consequence.
>>
>>   Ani
>>
>>
>>   ----- Original Message -----
>>     From:  
>> Hgrmd at aol.com<mailto:Hgrmd at aol.com<mailto:Hgrmd at aol.com<mailto:Hgrmd@ 
>> aol.com>>
>>     To: OpenHeart-L at lists.hsforum.com<mailto:OpenHeart- 
>> L at lists.hsforum.com<mailto:OpenHeart- 
>> L at lists.hsforum.com<mailto:OpenHeart-L at lists.hsforum.com>>
>>     Sent: Friday, March 02, 2007 7:33 AM
>>     Subject: Re: AW: [HSF] Deairing the heart
>>
>>
>>     Bill,
>>       I'm somewhat surprised that you don't use CO2, because it  
>> definitely
>>   does
>>     reduce or eliminate air emboli.  Your stroke rate is  
>> laudible.   However,
>>   I
>>     assume you are talking about fixed deficits only.  Air emboli   
>> often
>>   present as
>>     a diffuse encephalopathy with no focal deficits. Unless you  
>> are  having a
>>     battery of neurologic exams done on your postop patients, I  
>> wouldn't
>>   place too
>>     much credence in the amount of brain damage you currently  
>> think is  being
>>     inflicted on your patients. As we all know in adult cardiac  
>> surgery,
>>   subtle
>>     permanent personality changes may be the only manifestation of
>>   perioperative
>>     neurologic injury. Those usually aren't factored into the  
>> postop  stroke
>>   rate.
>>     Perhaps your kids would do better in the 1st grade if you   
>> considered
>>   adding this to
>>     your technique.  I know that you can't really  monitor its  
>> effect since I
>>     presume you don't have a TEE scope small enough to  acommodate  
>> an infant.
>>   For
>>     your larger patients, I would definitely  consider using a  
>> pediatric
>>   scope.
>>     Hal
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>
> --
> Ben Bidstrup FRACS FRCSEd FEBCTS
> Consultant Cardiothoracic Surgeon
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