Lucerne Cantonal Hospital 4 articles published in JoVE Medicine Technique and Patient Selection Criteria of Right Anterior Mini-Thoracotomy for Minimal Access Aortic Valve Replacement Reza Tavakoli1,2, Pascal Leprince1, Max Gassmann2, Peiman Jamshidi3, Nassrin Yamani4, Julien Amour5, Guillaume Lebreton1 1Department of Cardiovascular and Thoracic Surgery, Pitié Salpêtrière University Hospital, Assistance Publique, Hôpitaux de Paris (APHP), Institut de Cardiologie, 2Institute of Veterinary Physiology and Zurich Center for Integrative Human Physiology, University of Zurich, 3Herzzentrum Hirslanden, Klinik St Anna, 4Department of Radiology, Canton Hospital Lucerne, 5Department of Anesthesiology and Intensive Care Unit, Pitié Salpêtrière University Hospital, Assistance Publique, Hôpitaux de Paris (APHP), Institut de Cardiologie The goal of this protocol is to describe in detail the technique of minimally invasive aortic valve replacement through a right anterior mini-thoracotomy and central aortic cannulation. This technique can potentially enhance patients' comfort and, by reducing post-operative morbidity, promote lowering the length of stay and global costs. Medicine Full-root Aortic Valve Replacement by Stentless Aortic Xenografts in Patients with Small Aortic Roots Reza Tavakoli1,2, Peiman Jamshidi3, Max Gassmann1,2 1Institute of Veterinary Physiology, University of Zurich, 2Zurich Center of Integrative Human Physiology, University of Zurich, 3Department of Cardiology, Canton Hospital Lucerne Full-root aortic valve replacement by stentless aortic xenograft is a viable option in patients with small aortic roots. We describe, a technique for the full-root implantation of stentless aortic xenografts, with emphasis on the management of the proximal suture line and coronary anastomoses, and discuss its limitations and alternative options. Medicine Direct Re-implantation of Left Coronary Artery into the Aorta in Adults with Anomalous Origin of Left Coronary Artery from the Pulmonary Artery (ALCAPA) Reza Tavakoli1, Peiman Jamshidi2, Nassrin Yamani3, Max Gassmann1 1Institute of Veterinary Physiology and Zurich Center of Integrative Human Physiology (ZIHP), University of Zurich, 2Department of Cardiology, Canton Hospital Lucerne, 3Department of Radiology, Canton Hospital Lucerne Surgical correction of ALCAPA is highly recommended, regardless of age or the degree of intercoronary collateralization. This protocol presents a technique for the direct re-implantation of adult-type ALCAPA into the aorta to re-establish the dual-coronary perfusion. Whenever feasible, direct re-implantation is preferred to other surgical correction techniques. Developmental Biology An Enzymatic Method to Rescue Mesenchymal Stem Cells from Clotted Bone Marrow Samples Philipp Schlaefli*1, Alessandro Bertolo*1, Cherry Malonzo1, Tobias Poetzel2, Martin Baur3, Frank Steffen4, Jivko Stoyanov1 1Swiss Paraplegic Research, 2Orthopaedics and Spinal Surgery, Swiss Paraplegic Centre, 3Department of Neurosurgery, Lucerne Cantonal Hospital (LUKS), 4Section of Small Animal Surgery/Neurology, Vetsuisse Faculty, University of Zurich Mesenchymal stem cells are usually obtained from bone marrow and require expansion culture. When samples clot before processing, a protocol using the (enzymatic) thrombolytic drug urokinase can be applied to degrade the clot. Thus, cells are released and available for expansion culture. This protocol provides a rapid and inexpensive alternative to resampling.