VIGANO M.

The increasing number of patients awaiting heart transplant and the shortage of donors led to the development of a variety of left ventricular assist devices (LVAD). We analyse our experience in order to evaluate the efficacy of LVAD as bridge to transplant and the feasibility of permanent implantation. The data are drawn from our experience on...

Background: Re-do mitral valve procedures performed through median sternotomy carry substantial mortality and morbidity. To avoid complications of sternal re-entry and to provide adequate mitral valve exposure, antero-lateral thoracotomy has been suggested by some authors. Methods: From October 1997 to January 2007, 677 mitral valve operations...

Purpose: The aim of the present study is to describe our preliminary experience with the Arrow CorAide left ventricular assist system (LVAS). Description: The Arrow CorAide LVAS is a small implantable, continuous flow centrifugal pump, with a fully suspended rotating assembly, intended as a bridge to transplant device, bridge to recovery, and...

Background: A growing number of clinical trials have shown that regulatory T (Treg) cell transfer may have a favorable effect on the maintenance of self-tolerance and immune homeostasis in different conditions such as graft-versus-host disease (GvHD), solid organ transplantation, type 1 diabetes, and others. In this context, the availability of...