Study limitations
The main limitations of our study are related to the retrospective and single-centre nature of the study, which cannot therefore be compared to randomized trials. Furthermore, the numerosity of the population was partly limited due to lack of sufficient preoperative and postoperative data. A larger sample size might have been useful in identifying more preoperative predictors of unfavourable outcomes, making analyses and comparisons more effective. Larger multicentre studies on this topic are therefore warranted.
Acknowledgements: This paper was written with the support of the Alfieri Heart Foundation.
Conflicts of interest : none declared.