This European multicentre experience, with the largest cohort of patients with sutureless valves to date, shows excellent clinical and haemodynamic results that remain stable even up to the 5-year follow-up. Even in this elderly patient cohort with 40% octogenarians, both early and late mortality rates were very low. There were no valve migrations, structural valve degeneration or valve thrombosis in the follow-up. The sutureless technique is a promising alternative to biological aortic valve replacement.

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Amongst clinical factors, the EuroSCORE may indicate moderate risk increase for acute postoperative encephalopathy. Most strokes occur early after surgery. Patients having suffered stroke prior to cardiac surgery may represent a high-risk group in the acute as well as chronic outcome after cardiac surgery.

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BackgroundPost‐acute myocardial infarction papillary muscle rupture (post‐AMI PMR) may present variable clinical scenarios and degree of emergency due to result of cardiogenic shock. Veno‐arterial extracorporeal life support (V‐A ECLS) has been proposed to improve extremely poor pre‐ or postoperative conditions. Information in this respect is scarce.MethodsFrom the CAUTION (meChanical complicAtion of acUte myocardial infarcTion: an InternatiOnal multiceNter cohort study) database (16 different Centers, data from 2001 to 2018), we extracted adult patients who were surgically treated for post‐AMI PMR and underwent pre‐ or/and postoperative V‐A ECLS support. The end‐points of this study were in‐hospital survival and ECLS complications.ResultsFrom a total of 214 post‐AMI PMR patients submitted to surgery, V‐A ECLS was instituted in 23 (11%) patients. The median age was 61.7 years (range 46–81 years). Preoperatively, ECLS was commenced in 10 patients (43.5%), whereas intra/postoperative in the remaining 13. The most common V‐A ECLS indication was post‐cardiotomy shock, followed by preoperative cardiogenic shock and cardiac arrest. The median duration of V‐A ECLS was 4 days. V‐A ECLS complications occurred in more than half of the patients. Overall, in‐hospital mortality was 39.2% (9/23), compared to 22% (42/219) for the non‐ECLS group.ConclusionsIn post‐AMI PMR patients, V‐A ECLS was used in almost 10% of the patients either to promote bridge to surgery or as postoperative support. Further investigations are required to better evaluate a potential for increased use and its effects of V‐A ECLS in such a context based on the still high perioperative mortality.

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