A Reproducible and Effective Technique for Coronary Sinus Injury Repair

Objective: Coronary sinus injury related to the use of a retrograde cardioplegia catheter is a rare but potentially life-threatening complication with mortality reported as high as 20%. We present a series of iatrogenic coronary sinus injuries as well as an effective method of repair without any ensuing mortality. Methods: There were 3,004 cases that utilized retrograde cardioplegia at our institution from 2007 to 2018. Of these, 15 patients suffered a coronary sinus injury, an incidence of 0.49%. A pericardial roof repair was performed in 14 cases in which autologous pericardium was sutured circumferentially to normal epicardium around the injury with purified bovine serum albumin and glutaraldehyde injected into the newly created space as a sealant. Incidence of perioperative morbidity and mortality, operative time, and length of stay were collected. Results: In our series, there were no intraoperative or perioperative mortalities. Procedure types included coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG), valve replacement and repair, or combined CABG and valve procedures. Median (interquartile range) cross-clamp time was 100 (88 to 131) minutes, cardiopulmonary bypass duration was 133 (114 to 176) minutes, and length of stay was 6 (4 to 8) days. None of the patients returned to the operating room for hemorrhage, and there were no complications associated with the repair of a coronary sinus injury when using the pericardial roof technique. Conclusions: Coronary sinus injuries can result in difficult to manage perioperative bleeding and potentially lethal consequences from cardiac manipulation. Our series supports the pericardial roof technique as an effective solution to a challenging intraoperative complication.

A Single Coronary Artery Originating from the Right Coronary Sinus with a Typical Course of the Right Coronary Artery and the Interarterial Course of the Left Main, Left Anterior Descending, and Left Circumflex as an Example of a Rare Case of High-Risk Coronary Anomaly

In the typical course of the coronary arteries, the right coronary artery comes from the right coronary sinus and descends in the right atrioventricular groove. The left coronary artery trunk begins from the left coronary sinus. It crosses the pulmonary trunk and divides into left anterior descending and left circumflex arteries. Anatomical differences of the coronary arteries can be observed in 0.3–5.6% of the population. The interarterial course of coronary branches between the aorta and the pulmonary trunk is a malignant anomaly of the coronary arteries. Such abnormalities have been associated with an increased risk of sudden cardiac death. We present a rare case of coronary arteries anomaly involving the presence of a single right coronary artery and the interarterial course of its atypical branches documented by computed tomography angiography (CTA). In summary, the accurate assessment of the anatomical topography of coronary anomalies, possible in CTA, is necessary in the analysis of the risk of sudden cardiac death and its prevention.

Superdominant Right Coronary Artery with Absent Left Coronary Artery and Left Circumflex Artery with Anomalous Left Anterior Descending Artery

The occurrence of super-dominant “single coronary artery” is an extremely rare and seldom reported phenomenon. The heart is dependent on a single vessel which makes its occlusion, if present, catastrophic. Here, the authors present an extremely rare combination of superdominant right coronary artery coexisting with absent left coronary artery and left circumflex artery with abnormal origin of left anterior descending artery from right coronary sinus. Precise morphological and physiological knowledge and evaluation of these anomalies is a must for opting the best available therapeutic modality and better prognosis.

Surgical revascularization of a rare type IV dual left anterior descending artery—a case report

Background Type IV dual left anterior descending artery (LAD) is a rare congenital coronary anomaly. Though benign with most of the patients being asymptomatic, knowledge of its existence and identification during coronary angiography is important during coronary interventions and surgical revascularization. Case presentation We present a rare case of type IV dual left anterior descending artery (LAD) with anomalous origin of one of the two vessels from the right coronary sinus. A 49-year-old female presented with inferior wall infarction and she underwent coronary angiography. Coronary angiogram showed triple vessel coronary artery disease. This rare variant of dual LAD was identified and was confirmed intra-operatively. The patient underwent coronary revascularization with grafts to both the LAD systems. Conclusions Proper assessment of the angiogram and knowledge of the coronary anomalies is required during surgical revascularization and percutaneous coronary interventions. This rare anomaly can be missed due to the anomalous origin of the LAD from the right coronary sinus. The identification of the dual LAD and grafting of both the LAD systems is required to achieve complete revascularization.

Glycemic Control in Coronary Artery Bypass Graft Surgery: A Different Perspective

Background: Hyperglycemia during coronary artery bypass graft surgery (CABG) strongly predicts intra- and post-operative adverse consequences. Objectives: This study aimed to evaluate the quality of glycemic management during CABG in an academic center regarding peripheral blood and coronary sinus values. Methods: This prospective descriptive study encompassed 55 eligible patients undergoing on-pump CABG surgery in 2020. Peripheral blood glucose (BG) was measured four times, before anesthesia induction (T0), before cardiopulmonary bypass pump (CPB) (T1), during CPB (T2), at the end of CPB (T3), and at the end of surgery (T4). The surgeon also took a sample of the coronary sinus BG. Results: The BG variations from T0 to T4 were statistically significant (P < 0.0001). The higher values detected in the ASA class III compared to ASA classes II were statistically significant at T1 (P = 0.01) and T2 (P = 0.025): patients with the higher BMI showed the higher levels of BG. In this regard, the differences were significant at T0 (P = 0.0001), T2 (P = 0.004), and T3 (P = 0.015). Regarding coronary sinus, the mean BG was 222.18 ± 75.74 mg/dL. It was also observed that the ASA class III (P = 0.001), longer duration of CPB (P = 0.021), higher IV fluid volume administrated during surgery (P = 0.023), higher BMI (P = 0.0001), and less urine volume at the end of surgery (P = 0.049) were significantly associated with the higher BG of the coronary sinus. Conclusions: The existing glycemic management protocols on the CABG patients were acceptable in our hospital. However, the BG level of the coronary sinus was higher than the peripheral one.

707 Transvenous radiofrequency ablation of epicardial posterior-septal accessory pathways in children with WPW syndrome: can technology and imaging innovations improve the outcome?

Aims The aim of the study was to analyse our recent single-centre experience about epicardial posterior-septal accessory pathways transcatheter ablation in children and young patients using radiofrequency through the coronary sinus, in order to understand which mapping and ablation strategy is associated with higher success rate and safety. Methods and results We reviewed all the cases of ablation of overt accessory pathways (in Wolff–Parkinson–White syndrome) with epicardial posterior-septal localization performed in children or young patients at our institution in the last 5 years. Twenty-two paediatric patients (mean age: 13 ± 3 years) with epicardial posterior-septal accessory pathways (15 in coronary sinus and 7 in the Middle Cardiac Vein) underwent radiofrequency transcatheter ablation with CARTO 3TM. Acute success rate was 77%. No patient was lost to follow-up (mean time 14.4 ± 9 months). The recurrence rate was 18%. Two patients underwent a successful redo-procedure; the overall long-term success rate was 68%. NAVISTAR® catheter presented the highest acute success rate in the coronary sinus. NAVISTAR SMARTTOUCH® was the only catheter that did not present recurrences after the acute success and it was successfully used in two patients previously unsuccessfully treated with a NAVISTAR THERMOCOOL®. Integration with angio-CT of coronary sinus branches obtained with CARTOMERGE was associated with higher success rate in patients with a previous failed ablation attempt. Conclusions Epicardial posterior-septal accessory pathways can be successfully treated with transvenous radiofrequency ablation in more than half of the cases in children/young patients. Acute success rate does not seem to depend on catheters used but contact-force catheter seems to be useful in cases with recurrences. Image integration with cardiac-CT reconstruction of coronary sinus branches anatomy can be useful to better guide ablation in case of previously failed attempts.

689 Hybrid transvenous and surgical approach for the extraction of coronary sinus leads: a case series

Aims The rates of cardiac device-related infection have increased substantially over the past years. Transvenous lead extraction is the standard therapy for such cases. In some patients, however, the procedure cannot be completed through the transvenous route alone. A hybrid surgical and transvenous approach may provide the solution in such cases. Methods and results We present three cases who underwent hybird transvenous and surgical extraction for coronary sinus leads due to infection of CRT-D systems. One patient had an Attain Starfix lead implanted in the coronary sinus. The procedures were performed under local anaesthesia with continuous haemodynamic and transthoracic echocardiographic monitoring. We highlight the characteristics of the patients, the features of the devices, the technical difficulties, and the outcomes of the procedures. In all cases, the right atrial and right ventricular leads were extracted through the transvenous route. In one patient, they were extracted using regular stylets and manual traction, while in the other two patients, telescoping dilator sheaths (Cook), Tightrail hand-powered mechanical sheaths (Spectranetics), and/or Glidelight Excimer Laser sheaths (Spectranetics) were used. The coronary sinus lead could not be retrieved due to extensive fibrosis after utilizing locking stylets and mechanical dilator sheaths in all three cases, in addition to rotational mechanical sheaths and laser sheaths in one case, so the patients were referred to surgery. Two patients underwent left mini-thoracotomy and one patient underwent midline sternotomy to extract the remaining CS lead. The target vein was identified and ligated, then the fibrosis around the lead was dissected, this was followed by lead retrieval through the surgical incision. The patient who underwent sternotomy suffered from mediastinitis, which required reoperation and mediastinal lavage. There were no complications in the other two patients. All three patients were reimplanted with a new CRT-D device on the contralateral side after the resolution of infection. Conclusions A hybrid surgical and transvenous approach can be complementary in case the transvenous route alone fails to completely extract the coronary sinus lead. The transvenous approach can be used to free the proximal part of the lead, while the distal adhesions can be removed surgically, preferably though a limited thoracic incision.