Journal Articles

• Patent foramen ovale closure in patients with cryptogenic thrombo-embolic events using the Cardia PFO occluder
  - European Heart Journal
  Owing to technical improvements and modified adjunctive pharmacotherapy, the rate of thrombus formation has declined and wire fractures are virtually absent in generation III devices. The overall rate of recurrent TE is reduced by transcatheter PFO closure with the Cardia PFO occluder, and seems comparable to recurrence rates reported for other devices used for this purpose....
   

• Influence of patient characteristics and arterial grafts on freedom from coronary reoperation
  - J Thorac Cardiovasc Surg 2006;131:90-98
  Arteriosclerosis is a progressive disease, and many patients require repeat coronary intervention after coronary artery bypass grafting. We sought to identify patient characteristics and operative factors that predict the need for or bias toward reoperative coronary artery bypass grafting...
   

• Seven years' experience with suture annuloplasty for mitral valve repair
  - J Thorac Cardiovasc Surg 2006;131:99-106
  Our early experience with the mural annulus shortening suture procedure for mitral valve repair showed superior hemodynamic performance over ring annuloplasty. The aim of this study was to assess the durability of the mural annulus shortening suture procedure and evaluate our 7-year experience regarding valve function, hemodynamic performance, and clinical outcome...