Placement of a temporary pacemaker electrode through a persistent left superior vena cava

Perioperative temporary pacing was needed in a patient with congenital skeletal malformations and a cardiac conduction disturbance with incomplete trifascicular block. We report the successful placement of the pacemaker electrode through a persistent left superior vena cava (SVC

Long-term Outcome after Surgical Closure of Atrial Septal Defect in Childhood with Extensive Assessment Including MRI Measurement of the Ventricles

Surgical closure of the secundum type of atrial septal defect (ASD) in childhood leads to excellent survival. However, relevant morbidity has been reported. Transcatheter closure of these defects has now become an alternative approach. To compare the results of the two different interventions, reliable data are needed on the long-term morbidity after defect closure with both methods. Patients were evaluated after a minimum of 10 years after surgical closure of an ASD in childhood. Assessment included analysis of perioperative data, interview, clinical examination, electrocardiogram, (ECG), 24-hour ECG, ergometry, chest radiograph, echocardiography, and MRI. A total of 66 patients underwent operation between 1971 and 1986 at our institution. Forty-eight of them (73%) were interviewed and 38 (58%) participated fully in the study program. Eighteen (27%) either refused to participate or were lost to follow-up. There were no substantial residual disorders, such as arrhythmias, right-sided heart dilatation, pulmonary hypertension, or reduced work capacity. Surgical closure of an ASD in childhood has an excellent long-term outcome. Surgical closure is thus the standard against which transcatheter closure needs to be measure

Stable Isotope Event Markers Near the Permo-Triassic Boundary in the Karavanke Mountains (Slovenia)

Stable isotope analyses of carbonates and organic matter from the Permo-Triassic boundary section in the Karavanke Mountains, Slovenia, indicate a further example of the “light carbon” event across the boundary. In this section the changes in carbon isotope values were a direct result of the culmination of the marine regression and associated events at the end of the Permian, which caused a drop in primary productivity, as well as related local environmental changes, with no evidence of any considerable diagenetic overprint