OBJECTIVE The Cox-Maze IV procedure (CMPIV) has been established as the gold standard for surgical ablation, however late outcomes using current consensus definitions of treatment failure have not been well described. In order to compare to reported outcomes of catheter-based ablation, we report our institutional outcomes of patients who underwent a left-sided or biatrial CMPIV at five years of follow up. METHODS Between January 2002 and September 2014, data were collected prospectively on 576 patients with AF who underwent a CMPIV(n= 532) or left-sided CMPIV(n= 44). Perioperative variables and long-term freedom from AF on and off AADs were compared in multiple subgroups. RESULTS Follow up at any time point was 89%. At five years, overall freedom from AF was 78% (93/119) and freedom from AF off AADs was 66% (77/177). There were no differences in freedom from AF on or off AADs at 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5 years between patients with paroxysmal AF(n=204) and patients with persistent/long-standing persistent AF(n=305), or between those who underwent stand-alone and those who received a concomitant CMP. Duration of preoperative AF and hospital length of stay were the best predictors of failure at 5 years. CONCLUSIONS The outcomes of the CMPIV remain good at late follow up. The type of preoperative AF or the addition of a concomitant procedure did not affect late success. The results of the CMPIV remain superior to those reported for catheter ablation and other forms of surgical AF ablation, especially for patients with persistent or long-standing AF.

SummarySurvival in congenital heart disease has steadily improved since 1938, when Dr. Robert Gross successfully ligated for the first time a patent ductus arteriosus in a 7-year-old child. To continue the gains made over the past 80 years, transformative changes with broad impact are needed in management of congenital heart disease. Three-dimensional printing is an emerging technology that is fundamentally affecting patient care, research, trainee education, and interactions among medical teams, patients, and caregivers. This paper first reviews key clinical cases where the technology has affected patient care. It then discusses 3-dimensional printing in trainee education. Thereafter, the role of this technology in communication with multidisciplinary teams, patients, and caregivers is described. Finally, the paper reviews translational technologies on the horizon that promise to take this nascent field even further.

Objectives The Cox-Maze IV has the best results for the surgical treatment of atrial fibrillation. It has been traditionally performed through sternotomy with excellent outcomes, but this has been felt to be too invasive. An alternative approach is to perform a less invasive right anterolateral minithoracotomy. This series compared these approaches at a single center in consecutive patients. Methods Patients receiving Cox-Maze IV (n=356) were retrospectively reviewed from January 2002 to February 2014. Patients were stratified into two groups: right mini-thoracotomy (RMT: n=104) and sternotomy (ST: n=252). Preoperative and perioperative variables were compared as well as long term outcomes. Patients were followed for up two years and rhythm was confirmed with electrocardiogram or prolonged monitoring. Results Freedom from atrial tachyarrhythmias off antiarrhythmic drugs was 81% and 74% at 1 and 2 year respectively using a RMT approach and was not significantly different from the ST group at these same time points. Overall complication rate was lower in the RMT group (6% vs. 13%, p=0.044) as was 30 day morality (0% vs. 4%, p=0.039). Median ICU length of stay was lower in the RMT group (2 days [range 0-21] vs. 3 days [range 1-61], p=0.004) as was median hospital length of stay (7 days [range 4-35] vs. 9 days [range 1-111], p<0.001). Conclusions The Cox-Maze IV performed through a right mini-thoracotomy is as effective as sternotomy in the treatment of atrial fibrillation. This approach was associated with fewer complications and decreased mortality and decreased ICU and hospital length of stays.

Compared with patients undergoing complete operative IPMN clearance, patients with residual IPMN after segmental pancreatectomy do not demonstrate increased risk for the development of invasive disease or reduced survival. In patients without residual IPMN who later develop new IPMN, the risk for invasive IPMN is increased.

Post-HT survival for failing Fontan patients has improved, particularly for PVF. In the CE, our Fontan patients had a 1-year post-HT survival similar to other indications.

The population of people with a single-ventricle is continually increasing due to improvements across the spectrum of medical care. Unfortunately, a proportion of these patients will develop heart failure.Often, for these patients, mechanical circulatory support (MCS) represents the only available treatment option. While single-ventricle patients currently represent a small proportion of the total number of patients who receive MCS, as the single-ventricle patient population increases, this number will increase as well.Outcomes for these complex single-ventricle patients who require MCS has begun to be evaluated. When considering the entire population, survival to hospital discharge is 30-50%, though this must be considered with the significant heterogeneity of the single-ventricle patient population. Patients with a single-ventricle have unique anatomy, mechanisms of failure, indications for MCS and the type of support utilized. This has made the interpretation and the generalizability of the limited available data difficult. It is likely that some subsets will have a significantly worse prognosis and others a better one. Unfortunately, with these limited data, indications of a favorable or poor outcome have not yet been elucidated. Though currently, a database has been constructed to address this issue. While the outcomes for these complex patients is unclear, at least in some situations, they are poor. However, significant advances may provide improvements going forward, including new devices, computer simulations and 3D printed models. The most important factor, however, will be the increased experience gained by the heart failure team to improve patient selection, timing, device and configuration selection and operative approach.

Background In patients with atrial fibrillation(AF), the addition of surgical ablation to aortic valve replacement(AVR) does not increase procedural morbidity or mortality. However, efficacy in this population has not been carefully evaluated. This study compared outcomes between patients undergoing stand-alone Cox-Maze IV to those undergoing surgical ablation and concomitant AVR. Methods From January 2002 to May 2014, 188 patients received a stand-alone Cox-maze IV(n=113) or surgical ablation with concomitant AVR(n=75). In the concomitant AVR group, patients underwent Cox-maze IV(n=58), left-sided Cox-maze IV(n=3), or pulmonary vein isolation(n=14). Thirty-one perioperative variables were compared. Freedoms from AF on and off antiarrhythmic drugs were evaluated at 3, 6, 12, and 24 months. Results Follow up was available in 97% of patients. Freedom from AF on and off antiarrhythmic drugs in patients receiving a stand-alone Cox-maze IV vs. concomitant AVR was not significantly different at any time point. The concomitant AVR group had more comorbidities, paroxysmal AF, pacemaker implantations(24% vs. 5%, p=0.002), and complications(25% vs. 5%, p<0.001). Freedoms from AF off antiarrhythmic drugs for patients receiving an AVR and pulmonary vein isolation at 1 year was only 50%, which was significantly lower than patients receiving an AVR and Cox-maze IV(94%, p=0.001). Conclusions A Cox-maze IV with concomitant AVR is as effective as a stand-alone Cox-maze IV in treating AF, even in an older population with more comorbidities. Pulmonary vein isolation was not as effective and is not recommended in this population. A Cox-maze IV should be considered all in patients undergoing AVR with a history of AF.

The last twenty years has seen the development of demand for a new type of computing professional, which has resulted in the emergence of the academic discipline of Information Technology (IT). Numerous colleges and universities across the country and abroad have responded by developing programs without the advantage of an existing model for guidance. Efforts to define a model curriculum for IT began at the first Conference on Information Technology curriculum (CITC-1) in December 2001, which included representatives from 15 IT programs at four-year universities across the United States. Membership in SIGITE (Special Interest Group Information Technology Education) has grown to over 400 representing many of the four-year IT programs in the United States and abroad and some of the two-year IT programs in the United States. Continued development of the curriculum and subsequent funding by the Education Board of ACM enabled the completion of a first draft of the model curriculum for IT establishing program outcomes and a body of knowledge defining the discipline. This paper presents an overview of the process followed and the results achieved.