EJCTS Click here for details of sales representative
HOME HELP FEEDBACK SUBSCRIPTIONS ARCHIVE SEARCH TABLE OF CONTENTS
QUICK SEARCH:   [advanced]


     

This Article
Right arrow Full Text (PDF)
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Right arrow Citation Map
Services
Right arrow Email this article to a friend
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Add to Personal Folders
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrow Permission Requests
Citing Articles
Right arrow Citing Articles via Google Scholar
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by von Segesser, L. K.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow Articles by von Segesser, L. K.
Related Collections
Right arrow Education
Right arrow Congenital - acyanotic
Right arrow Valve disease

Eur J Cardiothorac Surg 2005;27:1128-1129
© 2005 Elsevier Science NL

Letter to the Editor

Reply to Corno

Ludwig K. von Segesser*

Department of Cardio-vascular Surgery, Centre Hospitalier Universitaire Vaudois, CHUV, Rue du Bugnon 46, CH-1011 Lausanne, Switzerland

Received 21 February 2005; accepted 21 February 2005.

* Tel.: +41 21 314 22 79; fax: +41 21 314 22 80. (E-mail: ludwig.von-segesser{at}chuv.hospvd.ch). (URL: www.cardiovasc.net).

Key Words: Myocardial band • Ross operation

As confirmed by Dr Corno in his letter [1], the pulmonary artery, and, up to some degree, the right ventricular outflow tract can be separated from the left ventricle and aortic continuity with relative ease [2] during pulmonary auto-graft harvesting for the Ross operations. This experience from clinical practice was reported as an argument speaking in favour of the existence of the myocardial band, although this optimal dissection plane is not always readily obtained, and therefore some doubt may remain.

This is in line with the observation that, what we (believe to) see is not necessarily what we get [3]. Following the previous series of articles about the myocardial band [4–6], there are by now two more reports on this topic relying on very sophisticated analytical tools by Schmid et al. [7] and by Castella et al. [8]. Whereas Schmid and colleagues claim that MRI data from post-mortem studies offer no support for the existence of a unique myocardial band, Castella and colleagues provide now evidence in favour of the myocardial band based on three-dimensional sono-micrometric studies obtained in vivo.

This brings us back to the myocardial band, the Ross operation and the statement "... the pulmonary valve and the right ventricle constitute a separate entity attached simply through a thin layer of muscle... " [1] in order to ask, whether such a ‘thin layer of muscle’ represents an additional loop of the myocardial band originally described by Torrent-Guasp [5] or if there are two myocardial bands: the original one, and a ‘thin’ one in-between its loops?

References

  1. Corno A. Ventricular myocardial band and Ross operation. Eur J Cardiothorac Surg 2005;27:1128.[Free Full Text]
  2. von Segesser LK. The myocardial band: fiction or fact. Eur J Cardiothorac Surg 2005;27:181-182.[Free Full Text]
  3. von Segesser LK. Changes in font design: should surgeons align?. Eur J Cardiothorac Surg 2005;27:1-2.[Free Full Text]
  4. Lunkenheimer PP, Redmann K, Anderson RH. The architecture of the ventricular mass and its functional implications for organ-preserving surgery. Eur J Cardiothorac Surg 2005;27:183-190.[Abstract/Free Full Text]
  5. Torrent-Guasp F, Kocica MJ, Corno AF, Komeda M, Carreras-Costa F, Flotats A, Cosin Aguillar J, Wen H. Towards new understanding of the heart structure and function. Eur J Cardiothorac Surg 2005;27:191-201.[Abstract/Free Full Text]
  6. Buckberg G. Architecture must document functional evidence to explain the living rhythm. Eur J Cardiothorac Surg 2005;27:202-209.[Abstract/Free Full Text]
  7. Schmid P, Jaermann T, Boesiger P, Niederer PF, Lunkenheimer PP, Cryer CW, Anderson RH. Ventricular myocardial architecture as visualised in postmortem swine hearts using magnetic resonance diffusion tensor imaging. Eur J Cardiothorac Surg 2005;27(3):468-472.[Abstract/Free Full Text]
  8. Castella M, Buckberg GD, Saleh S, Gharib M. Structure function interface with sequential shortening of basal and apical components of the myocardial band. Eur J Cardiothorac Surg 2005;27:980-987.[Abstract/Free Full Text]




This Article
Right arrow Full Text (PDF)
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Right arrow Citation Map
Services
Right arrow Email this article to a friend
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Add to Personal Folders
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrow Permission Requests
Citing Articles
Right arrow Citing Articles via Google Scholar
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by von Segesser, L. K.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow Articles by von Segesser, L. K.
Related Collections
Right arrow Education
Right arrow Congenital - acyanotic
Right arrow Valve disease

HOME HELP FEEDBACK SUBSCRIPTIONS ARCHIVE SEARCH TABLE OF CONTENTS
ANN THORAC SURG ASIAN CARDIOVASC THORAC ANN EUR J CARDIOTHORAC SURG
J THORAC CARDIOVASC SURG ICVTS ALL CTSNet JOURNALS