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Updated: May 16, 2026

Transcatheter Pulmonary Valve Replacement from Autologous Pericardium with a Self-Expandable Nitinol Stent in an Adult Sheep Model
Published on: June 8, 2022
Pericardium reconstruction with the starfish heart positioner after extended thymectomy with combined left side
Kimihiro Shimizu1, Tetsuhiro Nakano, Seiichi Kakegawa
1Department of Thoracic and Visceral Organ Surgery, Gunma University Graduate School of Medicine, and Department of General Thoracic Surgery, Maebashi Red Cross Hospital, Gunma, Japan. kmshimizu@gmail.com
Abstract:
We describe the use of the Starfish 2 heart positioning device as an aid to pericardium reconstruction after en bloc resection of mediastinal tumors of the left pericardium by use of median sternotomy with anterolateral thoracotomy. The Starfish device, which is a tool for off-pump coronary artery procedures, allows excellent cardiac positioning and hemodynamic stability during pericardium reconstruction through a median sternotomy with anterolateral thoracotomy.

