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Journal and News Scan
October 16, 2025
Submitted by: Vincent Sier
In this article, the author reflects on 60 years of coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG), outlining its origins, the role of early surgical-cardiology collaboration, and its place alongside advances in medical therapy. Despite improvements in guideline-directed treatment, patients with extensive coronary disease still rely on CABG. The central message is that CABG remains the most durable revascularization strategy and will continue to be needed until true disease modifying therapies emerge.
October 16, 2025
Submitted by: EACTS Staff
This review evaluates branched and fenestrated thoracic endovascular aortic repair (B-/F-TEVAR) for aortic arch pathologies. Technical success rates are high (84-100 percent), with 30-day mortality ranging from 0–25 percent and stroke rates between 3–36 percent. Fenestrated repairs show lower mortality (2 percent in some studies) for lesser curvature pathologies, while branched repairs offer greater anatomical adaptability but have higher stroke rates. The authors conclude that B-/F-TEVAR is feasible for high-risk patients with complex aortic arch disease; however, stroke remains a significant concern, and reintervention rates indicate durability challenges.
October 16, 2025
Submitted by: Vincent Sier
The authors analyzed 2,748 adults undergoing aortic root replacement between 2004 and 2021. They report an overall stroke rate of 3.4 percent, which was highest in patients aged 80 years and older (9.7 percent). This group also experienced more renal failure requiring dialysis, prolonged ventilation, longer hospital stays, and the highest in-hospital mortality (13 percent). The 10-year survival was 78 percent overall but declined to 63 percent in ages 70–79 and 4 percent for those aged 80 years and older. Reoperation was required in 4 percent of cases, most often among patients aged 30–49. The authors conclude that outcomes worsen significantly with advanced age.
October 16, 2025
Submitted by: EACTS Staff
This study analyzed 159 patients with mediastinal benign teratomas across five hospitals from 2014–2024, comparing subxiphoid thoracoscopic surgery with other surgical approaches. Among the 26 patients undergoing subxiphoid surgery, the median operative time was 80 minutes with 20mL of blood loss and 100 percent complete resection rates. The subxiphoid approach showed superior outcomes, including faster recovery, reduced costs, and lower morbidity compared to median sternotomy, lateral thoracotomy, lateral thoracoscopy, and robotic surgery. The authors concluded that this technique is a safe and feasible alternative for anterior mediastinal teratoma resection.
October 9, 2025
Submitted by: Joel Dunning
Transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVR) has transformed treatment for high-risk aortic stenosis patients, but its recent use in low-risk younger populations and those with bicuspid aortic valves (BAV) raises concerns about valve durability and increased mortality and stroke rates. Emerging data suggests that TAVR risks may accumulate over time, particularly in patients with BAV. This article highlights the need for further research to inform clinical decisions regarding TAVR in younger patients.
October 9, 2025
Submitted by: Erica Curcio
The Warden procedure is a common surgical method for repairing partial anomalous pulmonary venous return (PAPVR), but it may be complicated by cavoatrial anastomosis obstruction. A retrospective analysis of 136 patients at Bambino Gesù Children’s Hospital revealed no deaths, with a median follow-up of 6.5 years. This study found that patients younger than 4.4 years or weighing less than 17.1 kg had a higher risk of requiring reintervention, suggesting that delaying the procedure until these thresholds are met may reduce the risk of complications unless clinically necessary.
October 9, 2025
Submitted by: EACTS Staff
The 2025 ESC/EACTS Guidelines for the management of valvular heart disease (VHD) are an update to the 2021 version of this document. Key topics that have been updated include the central role of the Heart Team, emphasizing patient-centered decision-making; the importance of Heart Valve Centers for managing complex patients; advanced diagnostic imaging with clearly defined diagnostic criteria for specific VHD pathologies, including aortic stenosis and multiple valvular disease; and appropriate indications and timing for different interventional options for patients with VHD.
Primary Repair of Common Arterial Trunk: A Systematic Meta-Analysis of Short- and Long-Term Outcomes
October 9, 2025
Submitted by: Francesco Pollari
The authors performed a systematic review and meta-analysis to estimate the pooled mortality, morbidity, and reoperation rates after common arterial trunk primary repair. Among 319 articles retrieved, 43 studies including 4,844 patients met the inclusion criteria. The pooled early mortality was 11.23 percent (95 percent CI, 9.4-13.37). There was no difference in early mortality rates between multicenter and single-center studies. A sub-analysis comparing neonatal and nonneonatal repair groups showed a significantly lower mortality rate in the neonatal group (P < .001). At follow-up, the pooled mortality was 0.72 percent per year (95 percent CI, 0.51-0.93), and the reoperation rate for the right ventricle pulmonary artery conduit was 3.4 percent per year (95 percent CI, 2.24-4.57). This meta-analysis supports the current tendency of performing primary repair during the neonatal period and can serve as a benchmark for future studies.
October 9, 2025
Submitted by: Vincent Sier
The authors conducted the NEWTON-CABG CardioLink-5 trial to assess whether intensive lowering of low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) lowering with evolocumab reduces saphenous vein graft (SVG) failure after coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG). This multicenter, double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled study enrolled 782 patients across 23 sites, all of whom received statin therapy and underwent CABG with at least two SVGs. Participants were randomized to receive either evolocumab or placebo within 21 days of surgery and were followed for 24 months. Evolocumab achieved a 48 percent placebo-adjusted reduction in LDL-C levels. However, the 24-month vein graft disease rate did not differ significantly between groups, with rates of 21.7 percent in the evolocumab arm vs 19.7 percent in the placebo group (p=0.44). Adverse events were similar in both groups. The authors conclude that LDL-C lowering with evolocumab does not prevent early SVG failure despite substantial lipid reduction.
October 2, 2025
Submitted by: Joel Dunning
This study analyzed data from the UK Mini Mitral trial, which compared recovery in patients undergoing either a sternotomy or a minimally invasive thoracoscopically-guided right minithoracotomy procedure for mitral valve repair, using wrist-worn triaxial accelerometers to track physical activity and sleep. Results indicated that the minimally invasive approach led to significantly higher total activity counts and more time spent in moderate-to-vigorous physical activity at six- and 18-weeks post-surgery, along with lower sedentary time. Overall, the findings suggest that wearable accelerometers are effective for assessing recovery after cardiac surgery.