A Case of Redo Ascending Aortic Replacement for Anastomotic Pseudoaneurysm through Right Thoracotomy in a Patient with Severe Coagulation Disorder / 日本心臓血管外科学会雑誌

A 51-year-old man presented to our hospital with general fatigue and lower extremity edema due to right heart failure with severe coagulation disorder. He had undergone ascending aortic and total arch replacement for type A acute aortic dissection when he was 49 years old and had diagnosed with anastomotic pseudoaneurysm in the ascending aorta by computed tomography 1 year after the operation. Preoperative computed tomography showed an enlargement of the pseudoaneurysm. Since re-median sternotomy seemed to be high risk strategy for bleeding due to severe coagulation disorder, we decided to perform ascending aortic replacement through right thoracotomy. We opened the pseudoaneurysm and found an aorto-right atrium fistula. Redo ascending aortic replacement with direct closure of the fistula was successfully performed. The postoperative course was uneventful.

A Case of Tricuspid Valve Endocarditis Complicated with Severe Lung Abscess / 日本心臓血管外科学会雑誌

<p>A 25-year-old woman with a history of atopic dermatitis was admitted to hospital with shortness of breath, high fever, cough, and bloody sputum. Chest X-ray showed a diffuse infiltrative shadow. We diagnosed pneumonia, and antibacterial therapy was started ; however, the treatment was ineffective. Echocardiography showed tricuspid endocarditis, and she was thus transferred to our hospital. We selected medical treatment because the case was complicated with severe lung abscesses and pulmonary failure. As a result of appropriate antibacterial medication for 4 weeks, her symptoms and lung abscesses were improved ; however, tricuspid regurgitation and right heart failure continued to worsen. Therefore, the patient underwent vegetectomy and tricuspid valve plasty. No perioperative pulmonary complication was observed. She continued to receive the same antibacterial treatment after 2 weeks. In preceding antibacterial treatment before surgical treatment, it is effective for tricuspid endocarditis complicated with severe lung abscess.</p>

Waffle Procedure Improved Hemodynamic Circulation of Constrictive Epicarditis / 日本心臓血管外科学会雑誌

A 62-year-old woman who had suffered from malignant articular rheumatism since 2000 felt fatigue, exertional dyspnea and edema was admitted in May 2009. Cardiac catheterization demonstrated a dip-and-plateau pattern of the pressure curve of RV. Therefore we diagnosed constrictive pericarditis. She decided to have surgery as soon as possible. As she had also been troubled with constrictive pulmonary damage, chronic renal failure, and was taking an inotropic agent, we concluded that the use of extracorporeal circulation was risky. After median sternotomy, we recognized diastolic insufficiency of the heart due to hypertrophy of the epicardium. Using an ultrasonic scalpel and electrotome, we incised the thickened epicardium with a waffle procedure. The dip-and-plateau disappeared and as a result the cardiac index was improved immediately (1.9 <i>l</i>/min/m²→2.6 <i>l</i>/min/m²). She was discharged on postoperative day 25. In this way waffle procedure for constrictive pericarditis can an effective surgical procedure for a high risk patient.

A Case of Infrarenal Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm Associated with Postoperative Paraplegia / 日本心臓血管外科学会雑誌

Spinal cord ischemia is a very rare and unpredictable complication in surgery of infrarenal abdominal aortic aneurysms. A 65-year-old man who had a history of CABG (LITA-LAD, LITA-Y composite RA-OM) underwent resection of an abdominal aortic aneurysm. Postoperatively, he developed paraplegia and hypoesthesia with associated fecal incontinence. Reduction of collateral flows of patent lumbar arteries probably caused serious ischemia of the spinal cord. A standard infra-renal abdominal aorta surgery still has the risk of postoperative paraplegia, which should be incorporated in the preoperative informed consent.

Clinical Studies of Anticoagulant Therapy by Monitoring of Heparin Concentration / 日本心臓血管外科学会雑誌

The activated clotting time (ACT) is used to assess adequacy of anticoagulation during cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB). However, ACT values during CPB do not correlate with heparin concentration and are affected by variations of such factors as hypothermia and hemodilution. ACT is also used to estimate protamine doses, because excess protamine may result in hypotension and an increase in bleeding after CPB. This study was designed to evaluate the effect of heparin and protamine administration that were administered based on whole blood heparin concentration using Hepcon/HMS (HC group) on the incidence of bleeding and blood transfusion after CPB. We treated 32 of adult cases and 36 pediatric cases. For the control group (NC group), an initial fixed dose of 300U/kg heparin was administered and if the ACT was less than 400s an additional fixed dose of 100U/kg heparin was administered. Heparin was neutralized with an initial fixed dose of protamine. For the HC group, the initial dose of heparin and the additional dose of heparin were based on an automated heparin dose response assay. The initial dose of protamine was based on the residual heparin concentration. The patients in the HC group received greater doses of heparin and lower doses of protamine than the patients in the NC group. In the pediatric HC group, the amount of TAT, FTC and D-dimer post CPB were smaller than those in the NC group. Operative time and closure time were similar the two groups. Operative bleeding, mediastinal chest tube drainage in the postoperative period were similar in the two groups. The volume of total blood transfusion was also comparable in the two groups. In conclusion, the monitoring of heparin concentration during CPB in children was effective for the maintenance of coagulation factors.