Simple Excision for Cardiac Fibroelastomas Arising from Three Leaflets of the Aortic Valve / 日本心臓血管外科学会雑誌

Cardiac papillary fibroelastomas are rare but are still the second most common benign cardiac tumor ; after myxoma. While cardiac papillary fibroelastomas are benign, there is the potential for severe complications related to embolism. Consequently, a surgical treatment approach is generally recommended. Nevertheless, from the risk of the recurrence of tumor and the valve insufficiency, the excision range is still controversial, particularly with tumors arising from the valve. We report the case of a 66-year-old woman who underwent resection of cardiac papillary fibroelastomas arising from three leaflets of the aortic valves. We performed simple excision without valve surgery and obtained an uneventful prognosis. At 18 months after surgery, no recurrence of tumors was recognized. We consider that it is possible to resect cardiac papillary fibroelastomas without performing valve repair or replacement if they are removed carefully even if the tumors arise from three leaflets of an aortic valve.

A Case of Aortic Valve Replacement after Long-Term Antifungal Treatment of Candidemia / 日本心臓血管外科学会雑誌

We report a patient with candidemia, and remote organ infection, who underwent surgical treatment of aortic valvular stenosis. The patient was a 77-year-old man. <i>Candida glabrata </i>was detected in a blood culture during pharmacological treatment for pyelonephritis associated with vesicoureteral transition stenosis. A ureteral stent had been placed to preserve urine outflow, and vesicoureteral surgery had been scheduled. However, the urological surgery had to be performed first because of severe aortic valvular stenosis. After long-term (5 months) of antifungal treatment, <i>Candida </i>was no longer detected in the urine or blood cultures, but the serum <i>β</i>-D-glucan level did not fall below the reference value (21.6 pg/ml at the last measurement). It was difficult to control the infection further, and we decided to perform aortic valve replacement. There was no evidence of endocarditis at surgery, but pathological examination revealed traces of the fungus in the tissue of the aortic valve. The post-operative course was uneventful, and urological surgery was carried out 45 days later. Infection recurred when the antifungal medication was temporarily discontinued. The infection was then controlled by resumption of the antifungal medication. The patient has been free of recurrence for the past year since the aortic valve replacement. In the present case, in which a mycosis from a remote source was not readily eradicated prior to valve replacement, we were able to obtain good results by first administering long-term antifungal medication to quell the inflammation as much as possible.