Aortic valve replacement in children: are mechanical prostheses a good option?
Mechanical AVR, with enlargement of the aortic root if necessary, remains an excellent treatment option in children. It is associated with acceptable operative mortality, low incidence of late events and re-operation, and provides good long-term survival. It clearly represents a good alternative to available biological substitutes, including the pulmonary autograft (Ross procedure).
We show that electrical stimulation of the DRG in rats reverses neuropathic pain behavior and provides a rewarding effect to animals with spontaneous neuropathic pain. This confirms analgesic efficacy of DRG stimulation in an animal model, and provides a platform for preclinical exploration.