Cardiac Surgery

The topics in this book represent the presentations given at the Seventh Annual Meeting entitled "Cardiac Surgery: Current Issues," held at the Frenchman's Reef Beach Resort, St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands, November 9-12, 1994. This symposium was sponsored by the American College of Chest Physicians in conjunction with the Division of Cardiothoracic Surgery of Cooper HospitallUniversity Medical Center, the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey, Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, Camden, New Jersey. Chapter authors were charged with the task of writing brief overviews of major issues related to the field of cardiac surgery. The book is specifically tailored to the needs of cardiothoracic surgeons, cardiovascular perfusionists, allied health professionals, and nurs ing personnel involved in all phases of caring for the cardiac surgical patient. Although intended as a reference source with emphasis on updated approaches applied in cardiac surgery, it is hoped that the discussion of these topics will compliment other texts and manuscripts. Obviously, a book of this length cannot cover the whole multidisciplinary and complex field of cardiac surgery. However, co-editors are certain that the annual appearance of this text will highlight comprehensive, new, and interesting approaches to the field of cardiac surgery. The co-editors are greatly thankful to the contributors for their efforts in providing comprehensive chapters. Without their expertise, this work may not have been possible. We would also like to thank Ms. Eileen Birmingham and the staff at Plenum Publishing Corporation for their tremendous help in completing this work.

1. Current Status of Neonatal Heart Transplantation.- 2. Current Status of Mitral Valve Repair: A Perspective.- 3. Transmyocardial Laser Revascularization.- 4. The Inflammatory Response to Cardiopulmonary Bypass.- 5. Current Status on Circulatory Assist and Cardiomyoplasty.- 6. Coronary Artery Bypass for Ischemic Cardiomyopathy.- 7. Current Approach to the Diagnosis and Treatment of Acute Ascending Aortic Dissection.- 8. Hospital Mortality and Cost following Coronary Artery Bypass Procedures: Assessing the Risk.- 9. Autologous Pericardium Revisited: Design of a New Valved Conduit.- 10. Traumatic Injuries to the Heart.- 11. Coronary Artery Restenosis following Balloon Angioplasty: Insights into the Mechanisms of Neointimal Hyperplasia and Molecular Strategies for Prevention.- 12. Left Ventricular Assist Devices.- 13. Arrhythmia Management in the Postoperative Cardiac Surgery Patient.- 14. Fast Track Recovery of the Cardiac Surgery Patient.- 15. Women and Heart Disease.- 16. Heart-Lung Transplantation.- 17. The Adult with Congenital Heart Disease.- 18. Use of Alternative Arterial Bypass Conduits.- 19. Quality of Life after Cardiac Surgery: Beyond Survival.- 20. Measuring U.S. Healthcare s Quality of Care: The Role of Report Cards.- 21. Workforce Issues under Health Care Reform.- 22. Current Issues in Health Care Policy.- Contributors.