The Clinical Outcome of Pulmonary Thromboendarterectomy for the Treatment of Chronic Pulmonary Thromboembolism / 대한흉부외과학회지

BACKGROUND: Diagnosing chronic pulmonary embolism at an early stage is difficult because of the patient's non-specific symptoms. This condition is not prevalent in Korea, and in fact, there have been only a few case reports on this in the Korean medical literature. We analyzed the surgical outcome of performing pulmonary thromboendarterectomy in patients with chronic pulmonary embolism. MATERIAL AND METHOD: The study subjects included those patients who underwent surgery for chronic pulmonary embolism from 1996 to 2008. For making the diagnosis, echocardiography, chest CT and a pulmonary perfusion scan were performed on the patients who complained of chronic dyspnea. RESULT: Pulmonary endarterectomy was performed as follows: by incision via a mid-sternal approach (7 patients); by incision via a left posterolateral approach (1 patient); using the deep hypothermic circulatory arrest technique (4 patients); under ventricular fibrillation (3 patients); and under cardioplegic arrest (1 patient). The postoperative systolic pulmonary artery blood pressure significantly decreased from a preoperative value of 78.9+/-14.5 mmHg to 45.6+/-17.6 mmHg postoperatively (p=0.000). The degree of tricuspid regurgitation was less than grade II after surgery. Two patients died early on, including one patient who had persistent pulmonary hypertension without improvement and right heart failure. CONCLUSION: Patients who have chronic pulmonary embolism are known to have a poor prognosis. However, we think that early surgical treatment along with making the proper diagnosis before the aggravation of right heart failure can help improve the quality of a patient's life.

Clinical Study of Composite Valve Graft Replacement of the Aortic Root / 대한흉부외과학회지

BACKGROUND: A composite valve graft replacement has been used for a variety of aortic root diseases. The aim of this study was to evaluate the mid-term results of this technique. MATERIAL AND METHOD: We conducted a retrospective analysis of aortic root composite valve graft replacements in 39 patients and these procedures were done at our institution between 1992 and 2009. The mean age of the patients was 49.2+/-16.4 years. The mean follow-up was 64.2+/-53.4 months (maximum: 176 months). RESULT: There were 4 hospital deaths (8.6%) due to emergency aortic dissection and 4 late deaths owing to several causes. The causes of late death were 2 ruptures of a remnant aneurysm, 1 subdural hemorrhage and 1 paravalvular leakage. The calculated survival rate was 93.5%, 85.0% and 85.0% at 1, 5 and 10 years, respectively. There were 3 cerebrovascular accidents during the follow up period. The rate of freedom from cerebrovascular accidents was 97.0%, 92.0% and 80.0% at 1, 5 and 10 years, respectively. All of these brain accidents were hemorrhage-related complications. CONCLUSION: A composite valve graft replacement of the aortic root was associated with favorable results. So, this technique seems to be a good method to treat various aortic root diseases.

Robot-assisted Thymectomy with the 'da Vinci' Surgical System in a Patient with Myasthenia Gravis: A case report / 대한흉부외과학회지

In the treatment of myasthenia gravis, thymectomy is generally accepted as the standard of therapy. For thymectomy, there have been various conventional open approaches including sternal splitting, but recently minimally invasive approaches have been increasingly applied. A 28-year-old man presenting with weakness of both hands and fatigability was diagnosed as having myasthenia gravis with thymic hyperplasia. He underwent a robot-assisted thymectomy with the 'da Vinci' surgical system. Through the right thoracic cavity, two thirds of the thymic gland was dissected, and the remainder was resected through the left; these procedures took, respectively, 1 hour and 30 minutes. The patient was discharged on the 8th postoperative day without complications. The minimally invasive approach with the 'da Vinci' surgical system is emerging as a popular choice and various advantages have been reported. Here we report the first successful case of robot-assisted thymectomy.

Clinical Experience of the Surgical Treatment of Cardiac Tumor / 대한흉부외과학회지

BACKGROUND: Primary cardiac tumors are extremely rare. The most common type are benign myxomas, and these are almost completely curable with early surgery. Malignant tumors, however, such as sarcomas, are difficult to remove surgically, and their prognosis is known to be poor. In this study, data on patients who had undergone surgical treatment of cardiac tumor in the authors' hospital were collected and analyzed. MATERIAL AND METHOD: The subjects included 28 patients who had undergone surgical treatment of cardiac tumor from August 1993 to December 2008. Their medical records were reviewed and retrospectively analyzed. RESULT: The patients were aged from 20 to 76 years (mean age: 54.2+/-15.6), and 11 were male (39%) and 17 female (61%). Fifteen of them (54%) underwent emergency surgery to improve heart failure symptoms. The most common preoperative symptom was dyspnea (15 cases, 54%). Preoperative echocardiography was performed on all the patients. The average size of the tumor as measured during the operation was 7.0+/-6.9 cm (the average length of the long axis was 2~40 cm), and the sites of tumor attachment were the interatrial septum (18 cases, 64%), the left atrium (9 cases, 32%), the mitral valve annulus (2 cases, 7%), and the left ventricle (2 cases, 7%). The operation was performed with an incision through both atria in all the patients, and a complete excision was made in 25 cases (89%). According to the biopsy results, there were 4 cases of sarcoma (14%), 1 case of lipoma (4%), and 23 cases of myxoma (82%). The three cases in which the tumors were not completely excised were sarcomas. No operative deaths occurred after the operations. Outpatient follow-up was possible for 24 cases (86%), with a mean follow-up period of 46.8+/-42.7 months. Late death occurred in 3 of the 24 patients; each of these patients had sarcomas. Of these patients, the first had undergone two repeat surgeries, the second had metastatic sites removed, and the last had only chemotherapy. The average recurrence time was 12.7+/-10.8 months, and the average metastasis time was 20.5+/-16.8 months. CONCLUSION: Most cardiac tumors are benign myxomas. In principle, they should be surgically treated because they can create risks such as embolism, and can be radically treated when surgically removed. In most cases, however, malignant sarcomas are already considerably advanced with severe infiltration into the neighboring tissues at the time of diagnosis. The surgical removal of malignant sarcomas is known to be difficult because of the advanced stage and degree of infiltration. We suggest that excision of the removable portion of the tumor sites to alleviate symptoms such as heart failure can improve quality of life.

Obturator Bypass Surgery in a Patient with an Infected Femoral Artery Rupture after Performed ECMO: A case report / 대한흉부외과학회지

Infection of both native and prosthetic vessels in the groin is a very serious disease because of recurrent arterial rupture and sepsis, which can cause death. The successful treatment of groin infection, including infection of the femoral artery, requires extensive excision of the infected tissues and restoration of the circulation where the infected area is isolated. Here we describe a case of obturator bypass in a patient with infected femoral artery rupture that occurred after extracorporeal membrane oxygenation for myocarditis and severe heart failure.

Histidine-tryptophan-ketoglutarate Versus Blood Cardioplegic Solutions: A Prospective, Myocardial Ultrastructural Study / 대한흉부외과학회지

BACKGROUND: We performed a prospective clinical study to evaluate the ultrastructural integrity of the myocardium after using Histidine-Tryptophan-Ketoglutarate (HTK) solution in comparison with blood cardioplegic solution during congenital heart surgery. MATERIAL AND METHOD: Twenty two patients with acyanotic heart disease, who were scheduled for elective open heart surgery, were randomized into two groups. The HTK Group (n=11) received HTK cardioplegic solution; the blood group (n=11) received conventional blood cardioplegic solution during surgery. The preoperative diagnoses included ventricular septal defect (n=9) and atrial septal defect (n=2) in each group. A small biopsy specimen was taken from the right ventricle's myocardium, and this was processed for ultrastructural examination at the end of 30 minutes of reperfusion. Semiquantitative electron microscopy was carried out "blindly" in 4 areas per specimen and in 5 test fields per area by 'random systematic sampling' and 'point and intersection counting'. The morphology of the mitochondrial membrane and cristae were then scored. The interstitial edema of the myocardium was also graded. RESULT: The semiquantitative score of the mitochondrial morphology was 19.65+/-4.75 in the blood group and 25.25+/-5.85 in the HTK group (p=0.03). 6 patients (54.5%) in the blood group and 3 patients (27.3%) in the HTK group were grade 3 or more for the interstitial edema of the myocardium. CONCLUSION: The ultrastructural integrity was preserved even better with HTK solution than with conventional blood cardioplegic solution.

Early and Midterm Results of Arterial Switch Operation for Double-Outlet Right Ventricle with Subpulmonary VSD / 대한흉부외과학회지

BACKGROUND: Excellent clinical results of the arterial switch operation and the limited availablity of the intraventricular rerouting has recently made an arterial switch operation to become the therapeutic method of choice for the repair of double-outlet right ventricle (DORV) with subpulmonary ventricular septal defect (VSD). The early and midterm outcomes of arterial switch operation for this anomaly were evaluated. MATERIAL AND METHOD: Between August 1994 and July 2002, 13 patients underwent an arterial switch operation for the correction of double-outlet right ventricle with subpulmonary VSD at Dong-A university hospital.. The 50% rule was used to define DORV. Median age and mean body weight were 27 days (range, 3~120 days) and 3.8+/-0.7 kg (range, 2.92~5.3 kg) respectively. Aortic arch anomalies were associated in 6 cases (46.2%), which were all repaired through one-stage operation. The relationship of the great arteries were side-by-side in 8 cases (61.5%) and anteroposterior in 5 (38.5%). Coronary artery patterns were 1LCx-2R in 6 cases, retropulmonary left coronary artery (LCA) in 6, and intramural LCA in 1 respectively. The enlargement of VSD was required in 1 patient and the patch enlargement of right ventricular outflow tract was performed in another one patient. The Lecompte maneuver was used in all but 3 patients with a side by side relationship of the great arteries. RESULT: Overall postoperative hospital mortality was 23.1% (3/13). All operative deaths were occurred in the patients with aortic arch anomalies. There was one late death related to the postoperative complication of the central nerve system during the mean follow-up of 41.3+/-30.7 months. Pulmonary valvar stenosis (>30 mmHg of pressure gradient) developed in 1 patient (10%) and left pulmonary artery stenosis in 2 (20%), among them, one required reoperation 52 months after repair. There was an asymptomatic patient with moderate aortic regurgitation. 5-year survival rate including operative deaths was 68.3%. CONCLUSION: Although the operative mortality is high in the patients with aortic arch anomaly, the arterial switch operation for DORV with supbpulmonary VSD can be performed with low operative mortality and low reoperation rate in the patients without arch anomaly. The arterial switch operation can be considered a good option for this complex anomaly.

Arterial Switch Operation: The Technical Modification of Coronary Reimplantation and Risk Factors for Operative Death / 대한흉부외과학회지

BACKGROUND: Anatomic correction of the transposition of the great arteries (TGA) or Taussig-Bing anomaly by means of the arterial switch operation is now accepted as the therapeutic method of choice. This retrospective study was conducted to evaluate the risk factors for operative deaths and the efficacy of technical modification of the coronary transfer. MATERIAL AND METHOD: 85 arterial switch operations for TGA or Taussig-Bing anomaly which were performed by one surgeon from 1994 to July 2002 at Dong-A university hospital were included in this retrospective study. Multivariate analysis of perioperative variables for operative mortality including technical modification of the coronary transfer was performed. RESULT: Overall postoperative hospital mortality was 20.0% (17/85). The mortality before 1998 was 31.0% (13/42), but reduced to 9.3% (4/43) from 1998. The mortality in the patients with arch anomaly was 61.5% (8/13), but 12.5% (9/72) in those without arch anomaly. In patients who underwent an open coronary reimplantation technique, the operative mortality was 28.1% (18/64), but 4.8% (1/21) in patients undergoing a technique of reimplantation coronary buttons after neoarotic reconstruction. Risk factors for operative death from multivariated analysis were cardiopulmonary bypass time (> = or 250 minutes), aortic cross-clamping time (> = or 150 minutes), aortic arch anomaly, preoperative event, and open coronary reimplantation technique. CONCLUSION: Operative mortality has been reduced with time. Aortic arch anomaly and preoperative events were important risk factors for postoperative mortality. However atypical coronary artery patterns did not work as risk factors. We think that the technical modification of coronary artery transfer played an important role in reducing the postoperative mortality of arterial switch operation.

Surgical Therapy of Stanford Type A Acute Aortic Dissection: Dose intimal tear within replaced aortic segment make any differnce in its clinical characteristics / 대한흉부외과학회지

BACKGROUND: Stanford type A aortic dissection is a sur gical disease which has its intimal tear point somewhere in the aorta. The start ing intimal tear point of the type A aortic dissection has not been a common iss ue in the therapy of the aortic dissection. So we analysed our surgical cases of the type A acute aortic dissection subdivided by the location of intimal tear point. MATERIAL AND METHOD: Between M arch 1991 and July 1999, 40 patients with type A acute aortic dissection underwe nt surgical repair. In 27 patients intimal tear was found within the ascending a orta and aortic arch(Group I), but in 13 patients not found(Group II). All clini cal factors were compared between two groups and analized retrospectively. RESULT: The Group I had more s erious preoperative conditions such as shock, aortic regurgetation, cardiac isch emia and renal failure than the Group II. Group I had more aortic valve abnormal ies. Group II had more hematoma in the false lumen but it had no statistical sig nificance. Group II had more frequent postoperative renal dysfunction than Group I, but Group I had more reoperations from bleeding. The surgical mortality rate was 22.2 % in Group I and 0 % in Group II. CONCLUSION: The patients with ascending aortic intimal tear point had poor preoperative conditions and more ao rtic valve abnormalities, which resulted in the poor postoperative prognosis. Be sides the patients without ascending aortic intimal tear point developed intraop erative malperfusion of distal organ more frequently. Conclusively the prognosis of the patient without intimal tear in ascending aorta was better than that of the patient with intimal tear in ascending aorta.

Anormalous Origin of Left Coronary Artery from Pulmonary Artery / 대한흉부외과학회지

Anomalous origin of left coronary artery from pulmonary artery(ALCAPA) is a rare fatal congenital anormaly that needs early surgical intervention. Many reports say that the choice of operative procedure is reimplantation of the left coronary artery into the ascending aorta. We experienced the surgical management of a case of the ALCAPA. The patient was 44 days old and 3.45 kg weighed female baby who had a symptom of congestive heart failure. She underwent implantation of coronary artery on the aorta with cardiopulmonary bypass and recovered without any complications.

Surgical Treatment of Coarctation of the Aorta / 대한흉부외과학회지

There remains controversy regarding the appropriate surgical treatment for coarctation of the aorta because of relatively high rate of recoartation and high mortality in the cases associated with complex anomalies. We evaluated 31 consecutive patients who underwent surgical repair of coarctation of the aorta from May 1992 through June 1996. Nineteen patients(61.3%) were neonates and 26(83.9%) were under three months. Nine patients did not have major associated anomalies(Group I), 15 patients had ventricular septal defect(Group II), and 7 patients had major complex anomalies(Group III). 35.5% of the patients had arch hypoplasia. Surgical procedures performed were as follows: extended end-to-end anastomosis in 17 patients, combined resection-flap procedure in 7 patients, and subclavian flap aortoplasty in 7 patients. Residual coarctation occurred in 7(25%) of 28 patients; 2 after subclavian flap aortoplasty(2/6, 33.3%), none after combined resection-flap procedure(0/7, 0%)), and 5 after extended end-to-end anastomosis(5/15, 33.3%). Higher incidence of residual coarctation was noticed in the group with arch hypoplasia. The incidence of postoperative coarctation at a mean follow-up of 20.5 months in survivals was 12.0%(3/25); 2 cases after subclavian flap aortoplasty(2/6, 33.3%), none after combined resection-flap procedure(0/7, 0%), and one after end-to-end anastomosis(1/12, 8.3%). The mortality rate related to coarctation repair was 9.7%(3 patients, all in Group III). This study revealed that isolated coarctation of aorta and coarctation with ventricular septal defect(groups I and II) can be repaired with low mortality, but repair of coarctation with complex anomaly had a high operative mortality. Also the patients with arch hypoplasia had higher incidence of post-operative residual coarctation.