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Valve Sizer as Retractor
Valve Sizer as Retractor Arkalgud Sampathkumar, MCh, and Rahul Sharma, PhD Pushpanjali Crosslay Hospital, Vaishali, Ghaziabad, India
FEATURE ARTICLES Fig 1.
T
he SJM Mechanical Heart Valve Sizer (St. Jude Medical, Inc, St. Paul, MN) is an ideal instrument for visualizing the subaortic membrane clearly. The valve sizer is inserted into the aortic valve to keep the aortic cusps safe and away from harm while resecting the membrane. The snugly fitting sizer remains in place and does not require an assistant. It may also be
used for other procedures in the left ventricular outflow tract. Figure 1 is an operative photograph showing a size 27 SJM Mechanical Heart Valve Sizer in situ. The subaortic membrane exposure is superb. The aortic cusps are retracted out of harm’s way. The black arrow indicates the sizer, and the blue arrow shows the membrane.
Address correspondence to Dr Sampathkumar, A4 First Flr, Yojana Vihar, Delhi 110092, India; e-mail: [email protected].
Ó 2014 by The Society of Thoracic Surgeons Published by Elsevier Inc
Ann Thorac Surg 2014;97:1810 0003-4975/$36.00 http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.athoracsur.2013.11.058
FEATURE ARTICLES Fig 1.
T
he SJM Mechanical Heart Valve Sizer (St. Jude Medical, Inc, St. Paul, MN) is an ideal instrument for visualizing the subaortic membrane clearly. The valve sizer is inserted into the aortic valve to keep the aortic cusps safe and away from harm while resecting the membrane. The snugly fitting sizer remains in place and does not require an assistant. It may also be
used for other procedures in the left ventricular outflow tract. Figure 1 is an operative photograph showing a size 27 SJM Mechanical Heart Valve Sizer in situ. The subaortic membrane exposure is superb. The aortic cusps are retracted out of harm’s way. The black arrow indicates the sizer, and the blue arrow shows the membrane.
Address correspondence to Dr Sampathkumar, A4 First Flr, Yojana Vihar, Delhi 110092, India; e-mail: [email protected].
Ó 2014 by The Society of Thoracic Surgeons Published by Elsevier Inc
Ann Thorac Surg 2014;97:1810 0003-4975/$36.00 http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.athoracsur.2013.11.058