Surgery News

CHICAGO — Among patients undergoing CABG, use of ticagrelor monotherapy failed to improve rates of major adverse CV events or bleeding at 1 year compared with aspirin, according to findings reported at the American Heart Association Scientific Sessions.

CHICAGO — Among patients who had a kidney transplant, ligation of the arteriovenous fistula resulted in decreased left ventricular mass and reduction in volume of all four cardiac changers, researchers reported at the American Heart Association Scientific Sessions.

Vascular surgeons, interventional cardiologists, interventional radiologists and a wide variety of other health care professionals turned out for the Society for Vascular Annual Surgery Vascular Annual Meeting, held July 20-23 in Boston. Cardiology Today’s Intervention spoke to several attendees to discuss their highlights from the meeting. The experts include Christopher J. Abularrage, MD, from Johns Hopkins Hospital, Alik Farber, MD, from Boston Medical Center and Boston University School of Medicine, and Angela Kosie, ACNP-BC, ANP-BC, from Cleveland Clinic.

More than 15 years after the first transcatheter aortic valve replacement, the need to have two cardiac surgeons sign off on every procedure may now be more of a hindrance to effective and expedient patient care than a safeguard against inappropriate treatment, some experts said.

SAN FRANCISCO — Preemptive administration of pangenotypic direct-acting antiviral therapy resulted in rapid viral suppression of hepatitis C in patients without HCV who received a heart transplantation with an HCV-positive organ, according to data presented at The Liver Meeting 2018.

CHICAGO — The final long-term follow-up report from the landmark FREEDOM trial confirms that patients with diabetes who have multivessel CAD live longer with CABG than with PCI with drug-eluting stents, according to a presentation at the American Heart Association Scientific Sessions.

CHICAGO — In an analysis of transcatheter and surgical aortic valve replacement procedures, TAVR was associated with reduced rates of inpatient complications over time and had lower rates of in-hospital stroke, cardiogenic shock, acute kidney injury and blood transfusion than surgery.

CHICAGO — There were no significant differences between open vein graft harvesting and endoscopic vein graft harvesting in risk for major adverse cardiac events in veterans who underwent CABG, according to data presented at the American Heart Association Scientific Sessions.

LAS VEGAS — A fully percutaneous bypass system using the femoral vein as a conduit benefited patients with long superficial femoral artery lesions at 18 months, according to data presented at VIVA 18.

The American Heart Association Scientific Sessions, being held Nov. 10 to 12 in Chicago, will include the release of two major guidelines, the presentation of important science focusing on CVD prevention, a focus on the use of technology to improve CV care and a high-level overview of issues affecting patients and providers.