Publications
Scientific Papers
Comprehensive Cerebral Protection during Operations involving the Aortic Arch (May 2006) — Gaudiani VA, Castro LC, Vial CM, Shuttleworth P, Fisher A: The Heart Surgery Forum Vol 9, Issue 6, October 2006
Successful aortic arch operations provide comprehensive cerebral protection (CCP) and effective surgical correction. CCP must prevent cerebral embolism (CE) at the onset and conclusion of the pump run and it must minimize intraoperative cerebral ischemia. We hae developed a technique that achieves these ends and simplifies most aortic arch operations. Our approach utilizes 3 concepts: (1) separate arterial cannulation of the cerebral (innominate or carotid) and sytemic (distal arch or femoral) circulation, (2) separate heat exchangers for each circulation, (3) clamp separation of the two circulations.
The Risks and Benefits of Reoperative Aortic Valve Replacement (August 2004) — Gaudiani VA, Grunkemeier GL, Castro LJ, Fisher AL, Wu Y The Heart Surgery Forum Vol 7, Issue 2, 2004
Many patients are advised to have mechanical aortic valve replacement (AVR) because their expected longevity exceeds that of tissue prostheses. This strategy may avoid the risks of reoperation but exposes patients to the risks of long-term anticoagulation therapy. Which risk is greater?
Mitral Valve Operations through Standard and Smaller Incisions (April 2004) — The Heart Surgery Forum, Volume 7, Issue 4, 2004.
The objective of this paper is to evaluate the operative results of mitral valve repair (MVV) and mitral valve replacement (MVR) performed through standard and smaller incisions.
Biventricular Pacing during Cardiac Operations (July 2003) — Gaudiani VA, Castro LJ, Fisher AL, The Heart Surgery Forum Vol 6, Issue 6, 2003
Biventricular pacing (resynchronization therapy) improves the duration and quality of life in a subset of patients with congestive heart failure, but this technique has received little attention in the cardiac surgery literature. This report presents some preliminary ideas about its rationale and technique, and some likely indications for this procedure during the performance of cardiac operations.
Routine Enlargement of the Small Aortic Root: A Preventive Strategy to Minimize Mismatch (July 2002) — Castro LJ, Arcidi JM, Fisher AL, Gaudiani VA, Annals of Thoracic Surgery; 76:31-6, July 2002
We routinely use aortic root enlargement (ARE) as part of one strategy to avoid prosthesis-patient mismatch in patients with relatively small aortic roots who are undergoing aortic valve replacement (AVR).