ABSTRACT
We report successful operative treatment of a ruptured coronary artery saccular aneurysm associated with a coronary-pulmonary artery fistula. A 66-year-old woman experienced sudden onset of unconsciousness due to cardiac tamponade. Echocardiogram and chest CT on admission showed pericardial effusion and a 50-mm diameter saccular coronary artery aneurysm. Coronary angiogram revealed coronary artery aneurysm which arose on the conus branch of the right coronary artery. The connection between the aneurysm and the pulmonary artery was not clarified. Cardiac tamponade due to rupture of the saccular coronary artery aneurysm was suspected and emergency operation was performed. Operative findings revealed coronary-pulmonary artery fistula. Closure of the orifice of the draining artery to the pulmonary artery, and aneurysmorrhaphy were performed. Postoperative coronary angiogram and chest CT showed no residual fistula, and the postoperative course was uneventful.
ABSTRACT
We encountered a patient with platypnea-orthodeoxia syndrome. This rare syndrome is characterized by right-to-left shunt, which appears in the upright position. A 76-year-old woman with symptomatic hypoxemia was referred for evaluation and treatment. She did not complain of dyspnea while in a supine position, but experienced dyspnea with severe hypoxemia in a sitting or standing position. She did not have any pulmonary diseases that can be cause of dyspnea. Echocardiography revealed a patent foramen ovale and mild left-to-right shunt when the patient was supine. However in an upright position, right-to-left shunt appeared and the arterial oxygen saturation dropped from 95% to 80% with dyspnea. Cardiac catheterization revealed normal pulmonary artery pressure and right-to-left shunt through the patent foramen ovale in the sitting position. We then diagnosed platypnea-orthodeoxia syndrome. The chest CT showed deformity of the right atrium caused by compression of the elongated ascending aorta. The patent foramen ovale was closed and the ascending aorta was shortened by open heart surgery. Her dyspnea and hypoxemia in the upright position was completely resolved after surgery.
ABSTRACT
A 59-year-old woman with blunt multiple trauma was transferred to our emergency unit. A computed tomography revealed both an intimal flap of the descending aorta and cerebral bleeding. Immediate aortic surgery was considered, however full heparinized cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB) was not suitable because of acute brain hemorrhage. We performed surgery 55 days after the trauma. On operation 75% of the intima at the descending aorta was disrupted circumferentially. The descending aorta was replaced by a prosthetic graft under CPB. The postoperative course was uneventful and the patient has been well for 30 months after surgery. In treating aortic dissection associated with blunt trauma, emergency surgery should be performed immediately when possible, however there can be some limitations because of other acute organ injury. Accurate information concerning other injured organs, obtained by careful examination, may help an appropriate decision to be reached.
