ABSTRACT
An 87-year-old woman underwent AVR (CEP 21 mm) for aortic stenosis at age 73 years. Fourteen years later, she was treated with antibiotics for mediastinal abscess, which showed a tendency to shrink and inflammation improved. At that time, no vegetation or aortic regurgitation was observed. Eight months later, the patient was brought to the emergency room with a complaint of respiratory distress. After close examination, a severe transvalvular leakage was found at the aortic valve position. No vegetation was found. Enhanced chest computed tomography (CT) showed an aneurysm of the left sinus of Valsalva. The diagnosis of healed aortic prosthetic valve endocarditis with an aneurysm of the sinus of Valsalva was made. The CEP valve was removed at surgery, and the valve leaflet corresponding to the right coronary cusp was destroyed. The left sinus of Valsalva was dilated and a Perceval was implanted. The patient was doing well postoperatively, but a pacemaker was implanted due to atrioventricular dissection. Transthoracic echocardiography confirmed that there was no problem with prosthetic valve function at the aortic valve position, and CT showed a reduction of aneurysm of the left sinus of Valsalva. The patient was discharged from the hospital on the 30th postoperative day. Aortic valve replacement with Perceval is effective in high-risk cases of prosthetic valve endocarditis.
ABSTRACT
A 22-year-old man shot himself with a nail gun. He was admitted to a local hospital with chest pain. Chest x-ray film and chest computed tomography showed 5 nails penetrating the left thorax and some of these nails were considered to reach the pericardium. He was transferred to our hospital for intervention. Left thoracotomy was performed. Three nails reached the left ventricle and one nail was embedded the left lung. The last nail was found by transesophageal echocardiography to be completely buried in the left ventricle wall. All nails were removed and the left ventricular wounds were repaired with felt 4-0 surgipro mattress sutures. He made an uneventful postoperative recovery with a normal postoperative echocardiography and he was discharged on postoperative day 12 in good condition.