Surgery News

A bactericidal nasal gel administered during the 24 hours before cardiac surgery reduced the burden of Staphylococcus aureus carriage vs. placebo with no adverse events or surgical site infections, researchers reported.

The FDA announced it has designated a recall of intra-aortic balloon pumps by Datascope/Getinge as class I, the most serious kind.

NEW ORLEANS — Minimally invasive thoracoscopically guided right mini-thoracotomy for mitral valve repair was as effective and safe compared with sternotomy, with faster recovery and shorter hospital stay, a speaker reported.

Lower socioeconomic status was associated with increased risk for cardiogenic shock, decreased likelihood of transfer to cardiac catheterization and increased odds of 30-day all-cause death, researchers reported.

The COVID-19 pandemic increased risk for negative cardiac surgery outcomes, but socioeconomic status did not significantly affect surgical outcomes during the pandemic, researchers reported.

LivaNova announced it received FDA 510(k) clearance for its heart-lung machine and initiated the commercial launch of the machine in the U.S.

A commercial water purifier was possibly responsible for infections among four patients undergoing cardiac surgery at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, three of whom died, according to a study published in Annals of Internal Medicine.

Women remain at significantly higher risk than men for adverse outcomes after coronary artery bypass grafting with no substantial improvements observed in the last decade, according to a retrospective cohort study published in JAMA Surgery.

In a pooled analysis of two trials comparing self-expanding transcatheter aortic valve replacement with surgical AVR, bioprosthetic valve dysfunction was less common with TAVR at 5 years, researchers reported.

The FDA has issued a letter to health care providers about potential risk for early structural valve deterioration with Abbott’s surgical aortic heart valves featuring externally mounted leaflets on the valve frame.