ABSTRACT
<p>A 42 year-old woman with Marfan syndrome, who had replacement of the ascending aorta for acute aortic dissection several years ago, was found to have distal aortic arch aneurysm. The aneurysm had small entries at cervical arterial branches and large re-entry at the left external iliac artery. It was necessary to perform two-staged operation Bentall procedure with total arch replacement and abdominal aortic replacement with re-entry closure. It was usually performed with a primary entry closure for chronic aortic dissection, but massive invasion was expected. We performed catheter angiography for entry and re-entry, and decided to perform preceding re-entry closure. First, we underwent replacement of the abdominal aorta, and then successfully performed the Bentall procedure with total aortic arch replacement. The catheter angiography was useful for decision-making for medical treatment.</p>
ABSTRACT
A 65-year-old man was admitted with subacute myocardial infarction. During medical treatment, the patient lost consciousness as a result of an atrioventricular block and underwent an operation for an emergency percutaneous coronary intervention in the right coronary artery. In a follow-up examination, transthoracic echocardiography and computed tomography showed a left ventricular pseudo-false aneurysm, and therefore another operation was carried out. The operative findings showed that the heart markedly adhered to the pericardium and the aneurysm at the apex. The patient then underwent a double-patch closure of the ruptured point using an equine pericardial patch and a Dacron patch. No perioperative complication was observed. Left ventricular pseudo-false aneurysm is a rare complication following myocardial infarction. Here, we report a successful case of a double-patch closure of a pseudo-false aneurysm.
ABSTRACT
A 56-year-old woman was admitted due to a cerebral hemorrhage two years after undergoing aortic valve replacement, mitral valve annuloplasty, and tricuspid valve annuloplasty. During treatment, she developed infective endocarditis. Although this was successfully treated conservatively, a surgical approach was subsequently adopted due to progressive mitral stenosis. Echocardiography revealed gradual proliferation of abnormal tissue overhanging the mitral valve around the prosthetic mitral annularring, as well as increased flow velocity in the artificial aortic valve. The cause of the increased flow velocity could not be determined on echocardiography. However, multidetector computed tomography revealed abnormal subprosthetic tissue that obstructed the opening and closing of the prosthetic aortic valve. Resection of the abnormal tissue and double valve replacement were performed. Prosthetic valve dysfunction due to pannus proliferation is relatively rare (around 1-2%), but it should be considered as a potential long-term postoperative complication. Though turbulent flow has been suggested as a potential cause, the exact etiology remains unknown. Furthermore, the disease course may be fulminant or gradual and symptomatic, leading to difficulties with diagnosis. A case of double valve replacement conducted for valve dysfunction due to abnormal tissue proliferation occurring two years after aortic valve replacement, mitral valve annuloplasty, and tricuspid valve annuloplasty followed by infective endocarditis is reported, along with a review of the related literature.