A Case of Primary Cardiac Angiosarcoma Associated with Cardiac Tamponade / 日本心臓血管外科学会雑誌

We report a rare case of primary cardiac angiosarcoma in the right atrium. A 47-year-old man was admitted to our hospital with cardiac tamponade. Echocardiography and computed tomography revealed a tumor in the right atrial cavity. We performed tumor resection to confirm the histological diagnosis, to prevent tumor embolism, and to increase the possibility of improving the prognosis. The tumor was resected with the right atrial wall and right pericardium. The right atrium was then reconstructed with a bovine pericardial patch. The pathological diagnosis was angiosarcoma. The patient survived only about 6 months after surgical resection, but there was no local recurrence. This report presents a very rare case of cardiac angiosarcoma associated with cardiac tamponade.

Ventricular Septal Perforation Repair Carried out on a Jehovah's Witness / 日本心臓血管外科学会雑誌

In a 63-year-old male patient Jehovah's witness, IABP was introduced due to acute myocardial infarction and cardiogenic shock, and PCI (BMS) was carried out to CAG #7 100%. Stent placement was carried out and his hemodynamics stabilized. A left-to-right shunt was observed upon carrying out LVG, so the patient was referred to our hospital for surgery purposes due to a diagnosis of ventricular septal perforation (VSP). Upon transferring the patient to hospital, his PA pressure elevated to 53 mmHg although the blood pressure was maintained, and no findings of right heart failure were observed. His respiratory condition was stable. Emergency surgery was considered, but the patient was taking Clopidogrel following PCI, and so VSP repair (extended endocardial repair) was carried out following 4 days discontinuation of Clopidogrel. Preoperative anemia was not observed ; however, postoperative hemorrhagic anemia improved due to iron preparation administration, and the patient was discharged from hospital 22 days following surgery without blood transfusion.

Two Cases of Quadricuspid Aortic Valve with Aortic Regurgitation / 日本心臓血管外科学会雑誌

Congenital quadricuspid aortic valve is a very rare malformation. We report two cases with severe aortic regurgitation due to isolated quadricuspid aortic valve. It consisted of three equal cusps and one smaller cusp, which was identified at the time of valve replacement surgery for severe aortic regurgitation.

Successful Repair of Critical Air Leakage after Surgery for a Large Thoracoabdominal Aortic Aneurysm / 日本心臓血管外科学会雑誌

A 76-year-old woman with a sudden onset of chest and back pain was admitted to our hospital. Computed tomography (CT) showed a giant thoracoabdominal aortic aneurysm. Therefore, the patient underwent emergency operation. Under a left anterolateral thoracotomy and pararectal laparotomy with left heart bypass, we performed graft replacement of the thoracoabdominal aorta and reconstruction of the celiac artery, superior mesenteric artery and renal arteries. The left lung was tightly adhered to the aneurysm because of the contained rupture. Copious pulmonary bleeding and air leakage occurred due to thrombectomy of the aneurysm. During the operation, critical air leakage was repaired using the remaining aneurysmal wall. The postoperative course was uneventful. The patient was discharged 16 days after surgery. Copious air leakage due to lung injury was a potentially life-threating condition in the postoperative course of this case of thoracoabdominal aortic aneurysm. Surgical treatment of critical air leakage due to lung injury is very important in thoracic surgery.

Trans-Thoracic Aortic Insertion of Intra-Aortic Balloon Pumping for the Patient of Ischemic Cardiomyopathy with Severe Arteriosclerotic Disease / 日本心臓血管外科学会雑誌

A 58-year-old man with diabetic nephropathy had been on hemodialysis for 15 years. He had lost his left leg below the knee and whole right leg due to atherosclerotic necrosis. During the past 3 years, his cardiac function had also gradually deteriorated. For the past 2 years, echocardiography showed progressively worsening mitral valve regurgitation. Coronary angiography showed severe stenosis in the left main trunk and left descending artery. Ischemic cardiomyopathy with mitral regurgitation were diagnosed. He underwent coronary artery bypass grafting and mitral valve annuloplasty. Because of difficulty in weaning him from cardiopulmonary bypass, he required intra-aortic balloon-pump (IABP) support. An IABP was inserted through the ascending aorta via a tube graft. It was removed on the 4th postoperative day with a small skin incision, under local anesthesia. The postoperative course was uneventful. This IABP insertion technique was useful for a patient with severe arteriosclerotic disease.

Tranexamic Acid Reduces Bleeding during Off-Pump Coronary Artery Bypass Grafting in a Patient on Clopidogrel / 日本心臓血管外科学会雑誌

A 72-year-old man was admitted to a local hospital with symptoms of unstable angina pectoris. He was given Clopidogrel for acute coronary syndrome. Coronary angiography showed left main trunk and three-vessel disease. He was then admitted to our hospital due to a sudden onset of unstable angina following shock during the PCI procedure. We performed emergency off-pump coronary artery bypass grafting (OPCAB). He received 10 mg/kg/h tranexamic acid during the operation. He also received 2,000 U ascorbic acid at the start of surgery and 2,000 U after undergoing anastomoses of the coronary artery. Postoperatively, only some minor bleeding was observed. Tranexamic acid and Ascorbic acid reduce bleeding, and transfusion requirements of packed red blood cells, platelets, and the total blood units in patients on Clopidogrel who undergo emergency OPCAB.

Successful Off-Pump Coronary Artery Bypass Grafting for a Renal Transplant Patient / 日本心臓血管外科学会雑誌

This paper reports the findings of off-pump coronary artery bypass grafting (OPCAB) for a 56-year-old man who had undergone a renal transplantation. Coronary angiography (CAG) revealed triple-vessel coronary disease. OPCAB was therefore performed. The patient was discharged 20 days after surgery without any subsequent rejection, infection or renal dysfunction. At two years after the operation the patient is doing well without any cardiac events. Cardiac disease, especially coronary artery disease is a common cause of death in renal transplant patients. Cardiac surgery in renal transplant patients is expected to increase. OPCAB for renal transplant patients with ischemic heart disease is therefore expected to reduce the incidence of myocardial infarction, thereby prolonging patient survival.

The Long-Term Results of Left Internal Thoracic Artery Grafting in the Left Anterior Descending Artery with Either a Sternotomy or an Anterior Minithoracotomy / 日本心臓血管外科学会雑誌

The main objective of this study was to describe the long-term results of left internal thoracic artery grafting of the left anterior descending artery with a sternotomy or anterior minithoracotomy without using extracorporeal circulation. From March 1997 to February 2000, a median sternotomy was performed in 8 patients and a minithoracotomy in 22 patients. We compared and analyzed the findings of these groups. An emergency operation was performed in 75% of the patients in the median sternotomy group and in 27.3% of those in the minithoracotomy group (<i>p</i>=0.03). The operation time was 2.1h in the median sternotomy group and 3.9h in the minithoracotomy group (<i>p</i><0.01). The early graft patency rate was 100% in the median sternotomy group and 90.4% in the minithoracotomy group (NS). The five-year actuarial survival rate was 100% in the median sternotomy group and 86.4% in the minithoracotomy group. The five-year cardiac event free rate was 100% in the median sternotomy group and 86.4% in the minithoracotomy group. In conclusion, the results for the median sternotomy group were comparatively better than for minithoracotomy group. Minithoracotomy and median sternotomy have differences in operation time, early graft patency and early outcome. The median sternotomy technique therefore remains an invaluable operative modality for the treatment of one-vessel disease.

A Case of Emergency Off-Pump Coronary Artery Bypass Grafting after DES Stenting / 日本心臓血管外科学会雑誌

A 75-year-old man was admitted with symptoms of unstable angina pectoris. The patient was initially treated with ticlopidine and aspirin after first undergoing percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) by means of a drug eluting stent (DES). Coronary angiography thereafter showed re-stenosis in left main trunk and two-vessel disease. As a result, emergency off-pump coronary artery bypass grafting (OPCAB) was therefore performed. However, major bleeding (3, 245ml) occurred after OPCAB. Therefore, a re-thoracotomy operation had to be performed to stop the bleeding. Based on the above findings it is important for surgeons to keep in mind that pre-operative ticlopidine administration can increase the risk of re-operation for hemostasis, while also potentially increasing and the requirements for blood and blood product transfusion both during and after OPCAB surgery.

A Case of Subclavian-Subclavian Artery Bypass Grafting for Relief of Left Subclavian Artery Occlusion in a Patient with Coronary Artery Bypass Grafting Using a Left Internal Mammary Artery Graft / 日本心臓血管外科学会雑誌

A 65-year-old man had undergone coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) using a left internal mammary artery graft 3 years and 5 months previously. Anginal pains recurred due to an occlusion of the left subclavian artery. A subclavian-subclavian artery bypass was performed using 8mm e-PTFE graft with rings and the results were excellent. This grafting procedure appears to be a safe and satisfactory reperfusion technique, and therefore we recommend its use in patients requiring CABG.

The Optimum Temperature of the Retrograde Continuous Blood Cardioplegia in Coronary Artery Bypass Grafting / 日本心臓血管外科学会雑誌

Myocardial oxidative stress during retrograde continuous blood cardioplegia (RCBC) was evaluated in 35 patients undergoing elective aortocoronary bypass surgery. The patients were divided into three groups: Group C (<i>n</i>=12) received cold (20°C) RCBC, Group T (<i>n</i>=11) received tepid (30°C) RCBC, and Group W (<i>n</i>=12) received warm (36°C) RCBC. Myocardial oxidative stress was assessed by measuring the release of oxidized glutathione (GSSG), malondialdehyde (MDA), and myeloperoxidase (MPO) in the coronary sinus plasma before aortic clamping, at 1, 5, and 10min after unclamping. Myocardial oxygen uptake and lactate release were assessed at the same times. Both the hemodynamic recovery and the creatine kinase MB (CKMB) activity were measured perioperatively until 24h after unclamping. In Group C, a significant coronary sinus release of GSSG was found in the early reperfusion period in comparison to Groups T and W. However, the peak CK-MB activity was significantly lower in Group T than in Group W. No significant difference in the release of MDA or MPO was noted in the three groups. The recovery of oxygen uptake after unclamping was rapid in Group T. The recovery in the left and right ventricular functions and the myocardial lactate release were similar in the three groups. In conclusion, tepid RCBC is considered to protect the myocardium from ischemia-reperfusion injury better than cold or warm blood cardioplegia under retrograde continuous perfusion.

Immunosuppressive Effects of Prostaglandin E1 during and after Cardiopulmonary Bypass Operation in Patients with Ischemic Heart Diseases / 日本心臓血管外科学会雑誌

The Immunosuppressive effects of prostaglandin E₁ (PGE₁) used in cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB) operation were studied. We examined 30 patients, with ischemic heart diseases. The patients were divided into 3 groups: 11 patients given PGE₁ in group PG (G-PG), 10 patients given amurinon, a phosphodiesterase inhibiter, in group A (G-A), and 9 patients not given either of those drugs in the control group (G-C). Immunologically, lymphocyte subpopulations, and adhesion molecule expression on cell membrane and phagocytosis of neutrophils were analyzed before, at the time of, and after the operation until POD 7. The prominent effects of PGE₁ were observed on neutrophils. The expression of CD 62L, an adhesion molecule designated as L-selectin, on the cell surface membrane of neutrophils significantly increased during and after CPB in G-A and G-C, but it remained unchanged in G-PG during the observation period. Moreover, CPB caused an enhancement of the phagocytic activity of neutrophils in all groups, but its degree was much less in G-PG than in the other two groups. Among lymphocyte subpopulations, the number of CD 3⁺T-cells in G-PG rather than that of CD 20⁺B-cells reduced more greatly than those values observed in G-A and G-C. The decrease of T-cell number, throughout the observation period, in G-PG seemed to be mainly due to the decrease of the number of CD 4⁺T-cells designated as helper T-cells, although the number of CD 8⁺T-cells esignated as killer/suppressor T-cells slightly decreased on PODs 3 and 7. Amurinon, as a whole, did not exert any significant effect either on lymphocytes or on neutrophils in our experiments. Taken together, these results show that the treatment of patients with PGE₁ during CPB causes suppressive effects on immunorelevant cells. It may mitigate the activity of neutrophils, which are suspected as a possible culprit causing reperfusion injury. However, these suppressive effects, including the lowered numbers of CD 4⁺T-cells, may render the patients more vulnerable to infection. Much more intensive cares is required in these patients after operations.

An Effective Case of Intraoperative Thermal Coronary Angiography in Coronary Artery Bypass Grafting / 日本心臓血管外科学会雑誌

A 47-year-old man was admitted with symptoms of angina pectoris. After evaluating the patient, coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) was performed. First, the left internal thoracic artery (LITA) was grafted to the obtuse marginal branch (OM), and then the right gastroepiploic artery (RGEA) was grafted to the posterior descending branch (PD). Just after completing anastomosis, we performed intraoperative thermal coronary angiography. The RGEA-PD was patent. However, the LITA-OM was not patent on thermal coronary angiography. After a re-anastomosis was done at the LITA-OM, thermal coronary angiography was again performed and the LITA-OM was found to be patent. The postoperative course was uneventful, and all grafts were patent on postoperative angiography. In conclusion, intraoperative thermal coronary angiography was found to be useful for CABG.

The Early Results of MIDCAB / 日本心臓血管外科学会雑誌

We herein review the early results of minimally invasive coronary artery bypass (MIDCAB). From April 1994 to November 1998, 23 patients underwent MIDCAB, and 12 patients underwent coronary artery bypass grafting with cardiopulmonary bypass (CABG). We compared and analyzed the findings of these two groups. Regarding preoperative factors, the MIDCAB group included elderly patients, while the CABG group consisted of younger patients. However, the frequency of hemodialysis, respiratory disorders and cerebral vascular accidents did not differ significantly between the 2 groups. Regarding perioperative factors, the MIDCAB group needed a shorter operation time, and also had a lower bleeding volume, and a low incidence of blood transfusion. Regarding the postoperative course, the MIDCAB group needed a shorter artificial respiration time, and a shorter postoperative hospital stay, and no mortality was observed. The graft patency of the MIDCAB group was lower (88%) than the CABG group (100%). However, the graft patency of the MIDCAB group reached 94% after we used a stabilizer in the operation. In conclusion, the operation results of the MIDCAB group were comparatively better than those of the CABG group. Thanks to recent technological advances, the results of MIDCAB continue to improve. Though MIDCAB remains an invaluable operative modality for the treatment of one-vessel disease, surgeons must be careful to select appropriate candidates for this operative method.

A Case of Successful Treatment for DeBakey Type I Dissecting Aortic Aneurysm in a Patient with Systemic Lupus Erythematosus / 日本心臓血管外科学会雑誌

A 45-year-old woman with an 8-year history of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) was admitted with complaints of sudden onset of chest and back pain and syncopal attack. Aortography showed DeBakey type I acute aortic dissection. She has been maintained on a small dose of corticosteroids (prednisone 5mg/day). After antihypertensive drug treatment, a replacement of the total aortic arch and arch vessels was successfully performed. The postoperative course was uneventful and she has had no relapse of SLE.

Coronary Artery Bypass with Free Internal Mammary Artery Grafts / 日本心臓血管外科学会雑誌

We experienced 26 cases of free internal mammary artery (IMA) grafting for coronary artery bypass (CABG) during past 44 months. There were 3, 6 distal anastomoses per patient and 1.6 distal anastomoses per patient were performed with free IMA. The early mortality rate (within 1 month after surgery) was 3.8%. The surgical complications were 0 in mediastintis requiring operation, 0 in reoperation for bleeding and 1; phrenic nerve paralysis with respiratory dysfunction, the patency rate at 1 month after surgery were 97.2% in free IMA and were 96.1% in <i>in-situ</i> IMA. Conclusion was as followed that the use of free IMA for CABG provided excellent result in early period and we would anticipate to expand the use of IMA.