ABSTRACT Valvular heart disease is increasingly prevalent, and bedside confirmation or exclusion of severe disease is needed to enable a rapid and cost-effective diagnostic workup. The physical examination skills of clinicians are insufficient for accurate diagnosis, making complementary tests generally necessary. Despite being commonly requested, electrocardiography and chest radiography present low positive and negative likelihood ratios. Incipient studies involving artificial intelligence have shown promising opportunities to support the diagnosis. In addition, solid current evidence demonstrates that point-of-care ultrasound enhances bedside […]

We present a rare case of probable caseous calcification of the mitral. This pathology is more frequently detected in asymptomatic women older than 70 years. To recognize this image is important because echocardiography is the easiest way to elucidate this diagnosis, and more importantly because this structure could be easily misdiagnosed as tumors, thrombus and vegetations, which are much more common. Normally, it has a benign evolution, and the correct diagnosis is crucial to avoid unnecessary surgical interventions.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the short and medium-term outcomes of patients undergoing robotic-assisted minimally invasive cardiac surgery. METHODS: From March 2010 to March 2013, 21 patients underwent robotic-assisted cardiac surgery. The procedures performed were: mitral valve repair, mitral valve replacement, surgical correction of atrial fibrillation, surgical correction of atrial septal defect, intracardiac tumor resection, totally endoscopic coronary artery bypass surgery and pericardiectomy. RESULTS: The mean age was 48.39±18.05 years. The mean cardiopulmonary bypass time was 151.7±99.97 minutes, and the mean aortic […]