Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2022 Mar 31;34(4):597-603.
doi: 10.1093/icvts/ivab264.

Cormatrix® for vessel reconstruction in paediatric cardiac surgery-a word of caution

Johanna Weis  1 , Ralf Geiger  1 , Juliane Kilo  2 , Daniel Zimpfer  3
Affiliations

Cormatrix® for vessel reconstruction in paediatric cardiac surgery-a word of caution

Johanna Weis et al. Interact Cardiovasc Thorac Surg. .

Abstract

Objectives: The aim of this retrospective study was to determine if Cormatrix® (CM) represents a safe alternative to conventional patch materials used in congenital heart surgery.

Methods: A total of 57 paediatric patients who underwent cardiac surgery using an Extracellular Matrix Bioscaffold (CM) were categorized into 4 groups according to the patch implant location. Patch-related complications and reintervention rates were analysed. A subgroup of 18 patients was subsequently compared to a matched group of 36 patients who underwent similar surgical procedures with autologous pericardium as patch material.

Results: No patient died during hospitalization. There were 2 late deaths, not related to the implanted CM patch. Fourteen (66.7%) out of 21 patients with arterial patch plasty developed progressive vessel/right ventricular outflow tract stenosis or aneurysm. All 3 patients with a valved CM conduit developed haemodynamically relevant valve stenosis or regurgitation. A total of 18 (31.5%) patients needed reintervention and 12 (21.1%) related to CM. Four (7%) patients needed surgical treatment with operative removal of the stenosis. Redo valve replacement was performed on 2 (3.5%) patients. Six (10.5%) patients required an interventional cardiology procedure at a median interval of 5 months from surgery. The subgroup analysis revealed a significantly lower patch-related reintervention rate in patients treated with autologous pericardium when compared to CM (P = 0.006).

Conclusions: CM is safe for atrial and ventricular defect closure. The use of CM for arterial vessel reconstruction is associated with higher reintervention rates when compared to autologous pericardium.

Keywords: Congenital heart defect Bioscaffold; Cormatrix®; Small intestinal submucosa-extracellular matrix.

PubMed Disclaimer

References

    1. Dolk H, Loane M, Garne E; European Surveillance of Congenital Anomalies (EUROCAT) Working Group. Congenital heart defects in Europe: prevalence and perinatal mortality, 2000 to 2005. Circulation 2011;123:841–9. - PubMed
    1. Van Der Linde D, Konings EE, Slager MA, Witsenburg M, Helbing WA, Takkenberg JJ. et al. Birth prevalence of congenital heart disease worldwide: a systematic review and meta-analysis. J Am Coll Cardiol 2011;58:2241–7. - PubMed
    1. Witt RG, Raff G, Van Gundy J, Rodgers-Ohlau M, Si MS.. Short-term experience of porcine small intestinal submucosa patches in paediatric cardiovascular surgery. Eur J Cardiothorac Surg 2013;44:72–6. - PubMed
    1. Padalino MA, Quarti A, Angeli E, Frigo AC, Vida VL, Pozzi M. et al. Early and mid-term clinical experience with extracellular matrix scaffold for congenital cardiac and vascular reconstructive surgery: a multicentric Italian study. Interact CardioVasc Thorac Surg 2015;21:40–9. - PubMed
    1. Holubec T, Caliskan E, Sündermann SH, Starck CT, Plass A, Bettex D. et al. The use of extracellular matrix patches in cardiac surgery. J Card Surg 2015;30:145–8. - PubMed