ABSTRACT
A 46-year-old man who had been hospitalized for treatment of pneumonia was referred to our hospital with a diagnosis of acute pulmonary thromboembolism. Multi-detector row computed tomography revealed massive thrombi in the bilateral main pulmonary arteries. Transthoracic echocardiography showed dilated right heart chambers and a large floating thrombus in the right atrium. Emergency thromboembolectomy was performed. Although fresh thrombi were removed from the right atrium and left main pulmonary artery, organized old thrombi were present in the bilateral pulmonary arteries, leading to a diagnosis of chronic thromboembolic pulmonary hypertension. Because no instruments were available for pulmonary endarterectomy, the surgery was terminated with percutaneous cardiopulmonary support. Five days postoperatively, pulmonary endarterectomy was performed under deep hypothermic circulatory arrest. The postoperative course was uneventful, and the patient returned to his preoperative lifestyle without the need for oxygen support.
ABSTRACT
<p>A 46-year-old man who developed fever and general fatigue was referred to our hospital with suspicion of infective endocarditis. A ventricular septal defect had been previously diagnosed. Transthoracic echocardiography revealed vegetation on the aortic, mitral, and pulmonary valves, and each valve had significant regurgitation. An emergency operation was performed because of congestive heart failure. The aortic and mitral valves were replaced with mechanical valves. The pulmonary valve was repaired ; the anterior leaflet was resected and replaced by glutaraldehyde-treated autologous pericardium. The patient's postoperative course was uneventful. Recurrence of infection was not observed for 3 years after the operation. Triple-valve endocarditis, especially that involving a combination of the aortic, mitral, and pulmonary valves, is rare. Involvement of multiple valves on both sides of the heart may be attributed to a congenital intracardiac shunt. Early surgical intervention may be useful to control infection and heart failure, as in the present case.</p>
ABSTRACT
Ischemic colitis following cardiac surgery is a rare but critical complication. We report two cases of ischemic colitis following cardiac surgery successfully treated with stenting of the stenotic celiac trunk. Case 1 was a 65-year-old man who developed perioperative myocardial infarction during off-pump coronary artery bypass grafting. He experienced abdominal pain and bloody stool on postoperative day 19. Severe ischemic changes in the sigmoid colon and descending colon were seen on colonoscopy, and CT scan revealed significant stenosis of the celiac trunk and occlusion of the inferior mesenteric artery and bilateral internal iliac arteries. Revascularization of the celiac trunk via stenting resulted in dramatic improvement in colonic ischemic changes. Case 2 was a 60-year-old woman who underwent a restoration procedure for a left ventricular aneurysm. She experienced gradual onset of postprandial pain beginning 9 days after surgery and massive bloody stool on postoperative day 33. Imaging revealed severe ischemic changes in the descending colon on colonoscopy and stenoses of the celiac trunk, superior mesenteric artery, inferior mesenteric artery, and bilateral common iliac arteries on CT angiogram. Stenting was performed to the celiac trunk on postoperative day 52. Her abdominal pain and bloody stool were completely resolved after treatment. Prior to the introduction of endovascular treatment of mesenteric ischemia in 1980, the standard treatment had been open surgical repair. Since then, endovascular repair has become widely accepted. In our experience, endovascular treatment of the mesenteric vessels may be an effective and less invasive approach to treating mesenteric ischemia in unstable patients after cardiac surgery.
ABSTRACT
We report a case of successful medical treatment for graft infection after abdominal aortic aneurysm repair. A 63-year-old man with a ruptured abdominal aortic aneurysm underwent a prosthetic graft replacement via a retroperitoneal approach. He became febrile on the 26th postoperative day (POD). A CT scan demonstrated fluid collection around the grafts. Re-operation was performed and gross pus was found around the prosthetic graft. After all pus and nonviable tissue were removed, two irrigation tubes and a drainage tube were placed adjacent to the graft for continuous irrigation with 0.5% povidone-iodine and super-acidic solution. Inflammatory reactions were gradually improved, and the patient discharged on the 88th POD.
ABSTRACT
A 74-year-old woman was first admitted to our hospital for orthopnea, and was given a diagnosis of severe congestive cardiac failure caused by myocardial infarction. Coronary angiography revealed severe triple vessel disease, with a totally obstructed left anterior descending artery (LAD) and right coronary artery. First diagonal branch (Dx1) was 90% stenotic, and left circumflex artery was also 90% stenotic in its proximal portion (segment 11; #11). There was no stenotic lesion in the obtuse marginal branch or posterolateral branch, which are the usual target branches for the left circumflex branch (LCx). But they were too small to be grafted. Left ventriculography showed severe left ventricular dysfunction (ejection fraction; 31%). Saphenous vein grafting (SVG) to the distal portion of #11 and sequential SVG to the LAD and Dx1 were performed. Postoperative angiography proved that these grafts were patent. The patient was discharged on the 46th postoperative day after an uneventful course.