April 2020

Expanding opportunities to publish in American Association for Thoracic Surgery journals

• Richard D. Weisel,
• Spencer McGrath

Long-term outcomes after valve-sparing anatomical aortic root reconstruction in acute dissection involving the root

• Vadim Irimie,
• Alaa Atieh,
• Gjoko Kucinoski,
• Atanas Jankulovski,
• Michael Zacher,
• Paul P. Urbanski

Commentary: Aortic root reconstruction in acute dissection: What is the reality?

• Alan M. Speir

Commentary: Can partial sinus replacement replace standard valve-sparing replacement?

• Ho Jin Kim,
• Joon Bum Kim

Frozen elephant trunk does not increase incidence of paraplegia in patients with acute type A aortic dissection

• Shi Sum Poon,
• David H. Tian,
• Tristan Yan,
• ...
• Anthony L. Estrera,
• Mark Field
• on behalf of the International Aortic Arch Surgery Study Group

Commentary: Frozen elephant trunk in type A aortic dissection—Is it time to play the long game?

• Clifford W. Barlow,
• Abe DeAnda Jr.

Commentary: Spinal cord injury after the frozen elephant trunk procedure: Are we really safe now?

• Oliver J. Liakopoulos

Total aortic arch replacement with frozen elephant trunk technique: Results from two European institutes

• Alessandro Leone,
• Erik Beckmann,
• Martens Aandreas,
• ...
• Roberto Di Bartolomeo,
• Davide Pacini,
• Malakh Sherestha

Discussion

Commentary: Despite global warming, frozen has its place

• Joseph S. Coselli

Histologic differences between the ascending and descending aortas in young adults with fibrillin-1 mutations

• Yoshimasa Seike,
• Kenji Minatoya,
• Hitoshi Matsuda,
• ...
• Hiroko Morisaki,
• Takayuki Morisaki,
• Junjiro Kobayashi

Commentary: Utilizing pathologic variation to inform clinical practice

• Meghana R.K. Helder

Concomitant left subclavian artery revascularization with carotid-subclavian transposition during zone 2 thoracic endovascular aortic repair

• Valentino Bianco,
• Ibrahim Sultan,
• Arman Kilic,
• ...
• Avantika Srivastava,
• Forozan Navid,
• Thomas G. Gleason

Commentary: Left subclavian artery revascularization during zone 2 thoracic endovascular aortic repair: Bypass versus transposition? Just do it!

• G. Chad Hughes

Commentary: Different routes, same destination?

• Suk Jung Choo

Aortic mural leiomyosarcoma with spinal involvement

• Hiroyuki Kawashima,
• Takashi Ariizumi,
• Akira Ogose,
• ...
• Takeshi Okamoto,
• Naoki Oike,
• Naoto Endo

Commentary: Aortic mural leiomyosarcoma with spinal involvement: Surgeons of different specialties…let's get together

• Jean Bachet

Stroke after type A aortic dissection repair: Can we do better?

• Mehrdad Ghoreishi,
• Sari D. Holmes,
• Bradley S. Taylor

Inter- and intrasite variability of mortality and stroke for sites performing both surgical and transcatheter aortic valve replacement for aortic valve stenosis in intermediate-risk patients

• Kevin L. Greason,
• Eugene H. Blackstone,
• Jeevanantham Rajeswaran,
• ...
• Susheel K. Kodali,
• Martin B. Leon,
• D. Craig Miller

Discussion

Commentary: Variability matters—lessons for quality and health policy

• Robert B. Hawkins,
• J. Hunter Mehaffey

Commentary: Constant variability

• Marvin Atkins,
• Michael J. Reardon

Transcatheter aortic valve replacement valve durability: Good enough for young, low-risk patients?

• J. James Edelman,
• Christian Shults,
• Vinod H. Thourani

Commentary: Transcatheter aortic valve replacement durability—Wouldn't it be nice if we were older?

• John Lisko,
• Kendra J. Grubb

Knowledge in numbers

• Paul Kurlansky,
• Emilia Bagiella

Commentary: In the management of aortic stenosis volume is not enough

• J. James Edelman,
• Hiroto Kitahara,
• Vinod H. Thourani

Risk of reoperative valve surgery for endocarditis associated with drug use

• Makoto Mori,
• Syed Usman Bin Mahmood,
• Asher J. Schranz,
• ...
• Bryan A. Whitson,
• Thomas Gleason,
• Arnar Geirsson

Commentary: How many times are enough? Infective endocarditis in drug users

• Siamak Mohammadi,
• Dimitri Kalavrouziotis

Commentary: When is repeated cardiac valve surgery justified during drug-associated infective endocarditis?

• Ari A. Mennander

The opioid epidemic and intravenous drug–associated endocarditis: A path forward

• Chris C. Cook,
• J. Scott Rankin,
• Harold G. Roberts,
• ...
• Mark Slaughter,
• Lawrence M. Wei,
• Vinay Badhwar

Bacterial infiltration and bioprosthetic valve failure: Emerging diagnostics for emerging therapies

• Alexander P. Kossar,
• Isaac George,
• Rachel Gordon,
• Giovanni Ferrari

Herculean efforts and standardizing valve labeling

• Thomas R. McLean

Reply: Focus: Diameters and gradients, not commerce or regulations

• John A. Elefteriades

Intraoperative transit-time flow measurement and high-frequency ultrasound assessment in coronary artery bypass grafting

• David P. Taggart,
• Daniel J.F.M. Thuijs,
• Gabriele Di Giammarco,
• ...
• Teresa M. Kieser,
• A. Pieter Kappetein,
• Stuart J. Head

Discussion

Commentary: Measure twice, cut as directed—Transit-time flow measurement and high-frequency ultrasound–guided surgical revision

• John Bozinovski

Commentary: Is routine use of transit-time flow measurement and high frequency ultrasound assessment in coronary bypass grafting ready for prime time, or a waste of time?

• Gaetano Paone

Off-pump versus on-pump coronary artery bypass grafting in moderate renal failure

• Rodolfo V. Rocha,
• Bobby Yanagawa,
• Mohamad A. Hussain,
• ...
• Jiming Fang,
• Maral Ouzounian,
• Robert J. Cusimano

Discussion

Commentary: We have mastered off-pump coronary artery bypass grafting technique, but not the indications for it

• Mario Gaudino,
• Berhane Worku

Left ventricular assist device implantation may be feasible in appropriately selected patients with severe renal insufficiency

• Chetan Pasrija,
• Douglas Tran,
• Praveen George,
• ...
• Van-Khue Ton,
• Zachary N. Kon
• the LVAD in Renal Failure Group

Discussion

Commentary: Ventricular assist devices in patients with major kidney compromise—A paradigm shift?

• James K. Kirklin

Avoiding the “set it and forget it mentality”: A need to regularly reassess left ventricular assist device patients for optimal support

• Jennifer A. Cowger,
• Gillian Grafton,
• Palak Shah

Commentary: Optimize the speed, enhance the patient's life

• Jason J. Han,
• Pavan Atluri

Rethinking the ethics of ventricular assist device withdrawal

• John W.C. Entwistle,
• Kathleen N. Fenton

Left ventricular dysfunction in potential heart donors and its influence on recipient outcomes

• Jonatan Oras,
• Rana Doueh,
• Erik Norberg,
• Björn Redfors,
• Elmir Omerovic,
• Göran Dellgren

Commentary: Fixing broken hearts—A supply-side proposition

• Joseph C. Cleveland Jr.

Commentary: To use or not to use? This is the question

• Yaron D. Barac