Two-Debranch TEVAR with a Functional Brain Isolation Technique and Abdominal Debranching for a Thoracoabdominal Aortic Aneurysm with a Shaggy Aorta / 日本心臓血管外科学会雑誌

A 72-year-old man presented with a thoracoabdominal aortic aneurysm which had been diagnosed six years earlier. Surgical intervention was planned due to aortic diameter enlargement up to 57 mm and back pain. Although he had a shaggy aorta, a preoperative work-up revealed pulmonary dysfunction, which made open repair via thoracotomy challenging. Therefore, a decision was made to proceed with two-stage thoracic endovascular aortic repair (TEVAR) with debranching and functional brain isolation. In the first operation, iliofemoral bypass with debranching of four abdominal vessels was performed via median laparotomy to secure the access route and distal landing zone. In the second operation, two debranching TEVAR was performed. The functional brain isolation technique was employed using cardiopulmonary bypass and balloon occlusion of the left subclavian artery to prevent an embolic stroke from the shaggy aorta during the stent graft deployment. In addition, embolic protection of abdominal branches and lower extremities was established using a balloon occlusion and a sheath in the iliac arteries. The postoperative course was uneventful with no embolic complications. Although the shaggy aorta is not evaluated in Japan SCORE or Euro SCORE, it is a risk factor for perioperative stroke. Those patients would benefit from a tailored approach to prevent embolic complications.

Use of unidirectional and spherical porous β-tricalcium phosphate in opening-wedge high tibial osteotomy: a case series / Journal of Rural Medicine

Introduction: Unidirectional porous β-tricalcium phosphate (UDPTCP) consists of a novel porous artificial bone that is structurally different from conventional artificial bone comprised of spherical porous β-tricalcium phosphate (SPTCP).Case presentation: We present our first four clinical cases of opening-wedge high tibial osteotomy (OWHTO) using UDPTCP and SPTCP together. The patients’ mean age was 54.5 ± 5.9 years, and the mean observation period was 20.8 ± 2.8 months. In OWHTO, two wedge shaped pieces of UDPTCP and SPTCP were cut to fit the gap and implanted parallel to each other in the anterior and posterior parts, respectively. We evaluated the correction loss and bone remodeling for UDPTCP and SPTCP over time using radiography and computed tomography, and evaluated the clinical outcomes.Conclusion: There was no correction loss reported in any case, and early bone remodeling was observed with UDPTCP. All patients achieved satisfactory clinical results with no adverse events.