This study of elderly patients reveals some novel predictors of post-CABG AF, most notably preoperative renal insufficiency and EuroSCORE. It is important to identify risk factors for post-CABG AF in all patient groups as this knowledge might lead to better prevention of this problem and its potential consequences.

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A b s t r a c tBackground: Atrial fibrillation (AF) after coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) surgery is associated with increased morbidity and mortality. The HATCH score was originally devised to predict the progression of paroxysmal AF to persistent AF. Aim:To determine whether the HATCH score predicts the development of AF after CABG surgery. Methods:The medical records of 284 consecutive patients, who underwent CABG surgery between January 2013 and December 2014, were retrospectively reviewed for the development of AF in the postoperative (POAF) period. The HATCH score, and clinical and echocardiographic parameters were evaluated for all patients.Results: Seventy (25%) patients developed POAF. The HATCH scores were higher in the POAF group (2.8 ± 1.8 vs. 1.1 ± 1.2, p < 0.001). The area of the HATCH score under the curve in the receiver operating characteristics analysis was 773 (95% CI 706-841, p < 0.001). When the HATCH score was 2 or more as a threshold, there was for POAF 72% sensitivity and 75% specificity. Conclusions:The results of the present study suggest that the HATCH score can be used to predict the development of POAF.

Based on our experience, cardiovascular surgeons should be aware of the concomitance of these diseases. It is therefore recommended that coronary angiography should be performed on all patients who present with left atrial myxomas.

Background: Due t o reported high morbidity and mortality, surgeons tend not t o endarterectomize the diffusely diseased right coronary artery. Most prefer n o t t o bypass this ' artery in such situation. We compared t h e endarterectomized right coronary patients with patients having total occlusion of right coronary artery not needing endarterectomy w h o received right coronary artery (RCA) bypass. Material and Methods: Between August 1998 and May 2000,1226 patients had coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) a t Alkan Hospital, of whom 59 had right coronary artery endarterectomy (REC) along with RCA bypass with saphenous vein graft. We compared t h e results of 59 RCE patients with 50 patients w h o underwent RCA bypass without RCE. Results: Compared with the control group, the RCE group had a higher incidence of diabetes. There were no statistically significant differences between groups for mortality and morbidity. Among postoperative variables only the crossclamp time was longer for the RCE group (33.5 & 10 min vs. 27.3 & 8 min, p < 0.05). Surviving patients were followed for a mean period of 7 & 5 months. No recurrence of angina occurred during the follow-up. Control angiography at t h e sixth month was performed o n 42 RCE patients accepting the procedure, and all grafts were found patent. Conclusion: Endarterectomy for diffusely atherosclerotic right coronary artery for selected patients did not bring additional mortality and morbidity t o t h e CABG procedure, and short term clinical and angiographic results were excellent. fJ Card Surg 2002; 17:267-266) Coronary endarterectomy was first described by Bailey et al. in 1957, as a method of treatment for coronary artery disease without the use of cardiopulmonary bypass and coronary artery bypass

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Various types of extracorporeal membrane oxygenation methods have been used in liver transplant operations. The main indications are portopulmonary or hepatopulmonary syndromes and other cardiorespiratory failure syndromes that are refractory to conventional therapy. There is little literature available about extracorporeal membrane oxygenation, especially after liver transplant. We describe our experience with 2 patients who had living-related liver transplant. A 69-year-old woman had refractory aspergillosis pneumonia and underwent pumpless extracorporeal lung assist therapy 4 weeks after liver transplant. An 8-month-old boy with biliary atresia underwent urgent liver transplant; he received venoarterial extracorporeal membrane oxygenation therapy on postoperative day 1. Despite our unsuccessful experience with 2 patients, extracorporeal membrane oxygenation and pumpless extracorporeal lung assist therapy for liver transplant patients may improve prognosis in selected cases.

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