Triple valve replacement late after tetralogy of Fallot repair: report of a case.

Right ventricular failure after repair of tetralogy of Fallot (TOF) is associated with late mortality and morbidity. We report a case of tricuspid and mitral regurgitation with severe pulmonary regurgitation (PR) diagnosed 31 years after repair of TOF. The patient, a 48-year-old woman, presented with severe ventricular arrhythmia and exercise intolerance. She was treated successfully with triple valve replacement, following which her symptoms improved dramatically. She has remained well for 2 years postoperatively.

Primary cardiac liposarcoma causing cardiac tamponade: report of a case.

The intracardiac growth and extension of liposarcoma was observed in a 60-year-old woman. The epicardial tumor was identified to originate from the anterior wall of the right ventricle. She initially showed symptoms associated with cardiac tamponade. A surgical operation was performed but it resulted in incomplete resection due to massive invasion and dissemination. The recurrence of the tumors led to congestive heart failure. Finally, she died of heart failure and liver dysfunction as a result of tumor metastasis and invasion. An autopsy detected the primary cardiac liposarcoma. Only a few cases of cardiogenic liposarcoma have so far been reported. A further elucidation of cardiac liposarcoma could reveal mechanisms of the disease, and thus contribute to development of complementary therapies after surgical intervention.

Inflammatory aneurysm of the ascending aorta: report of a case.

Inflammatory aortic aneurysms are found most commonly in the infrarenal abdominal aorta. We report the case of a 78-year-old man with an inflammatory aortic aneurysm of the ascending aorta, which is extremely unusual. Surgery revealed that the ascending aorta was adherent to the superior vena cava and pulmonary artery, but a dissection membrane was not found. The wall of the ascending aorta was up to 20 mm thick with perianeurysmal fibrosis. Pathologic examination revealed an inflammatory aneurysm with adventitia remarkably thickened by fibrotic tissue and infiltrated by lymphocytes and plasma cells. Our search of the literature found only seven other cases of an inflammatory ascending aortic aneurysm. Preoperative diagnosis was very difficult in most of these cases; however, improved scanning techniques using multidetector row computed tomography may allow the differential diagnosis of this clinical entity.

Common hepatic artery as an inflow site for off-pump coronary artery bypass grafting.

We used the common hepatic artery (CHA) as an inflow site for a saphenous vein graft bypass to the right coronary system during off-pump coronary artery bypass grafting. The CHA is a suitable inflow vessel to provide sufficient blood flow and a short-distance bypass in case both the ascending aorta and the gastroepiploic artery are considered inadequate.

Combined endovascular and surgical procedure for recurrent thoracoabdominal aortic aneurysm.

We report the case of an 85-year-old man with a recurrent thoracoabdominal aortic aneurysm who underwent two-staged combined endovascular and surgical procedure. First, two retrograde bypasses using saphenous vein grafts were implanted from the right common iliac artery to the celiac artery and superior mesenteric artery. Two weeks later the aneurysm was successfully excluded with a stent-graft. The postoperative course was uneventful. This two-staged combined endovascular and surgical approach may be a safe and effective alternative to open surgical repair of thoracoabdominal aortic aneurysm in high-risk patients.

Postoperative chylothorax in patients with a thoracic aortic aneurysm.

OBJECTIVES: Postoperative chylothorax in patients with a thoracic aneurysm is generally infrequent. We report a mode of surgery to reduce the incidence of paraplegia. We review our experience with chylothorax after resection of an aneurysm to find its cause and to evaluate the success of management. PATIENTS AND METHODS: For descending thoracic aneurysms, intercostal arteries in the aneurysm were exposed before incising the aneurysm and, they were only sacrificed no change in motor-evoked potentials (MEPs) occurred after temporary occlusion. Between January 2001 and December 2003, out of a total of 147 aneurysms including thoracic and thoracoabdominal, 4 consecutive patients (2.7%) with chylothorax were reviewed. RESULTS: The chylothorax was diagnosed 1.5 days after operation (range 1 to 2 days). All patients were initially treated by the cessation of oral intake. This treatment was successful for 2 patients and the remaining 2 required surgical intervention to control the fistula. Chylothorax was cured in all patients. CONCLUSION: We postulate that chylothorax is caused by injury of the thoracic duct or its branch during the exposing the intercostal arteries. In the management of chylothorax, early intervention is recommended when the volume of chylous fluid is not decreased by conservative treatment.

Pulmonary thromboendarterectomy for chronic pulmonary thromboembolism in protein C deficiency.

Pulmonary thromboendarterectomy was performed on a patient with chronic pulmonary thromboembolism showing thrombophilia. The patient was a 56-year-old female with the above condition complicated by congenital protein C deficiency. She was admitted to our hospital with severe dyspnea accompanied by right ventricular failure. A pulmonary arteriogram showed occlusion and stenosis from lobar to segmental arteries. Cardiac catheterization showed marked pulmonary hypertension. A lung perfusion scintigram revealed multiple defects in the right and left lungs. After the insertion of an inferior vena cava filter, she was operated on. Following a median sternotomy, thromboendarterectomy of the bilateral pulmonary arteries was performed using deep hypothermia and intermittent circulatory arrest. Circulatory arrest was employed in three periods totaling up to 36 minutes. After surgery, she had improvements in pulmonary hypertension and pulmonary vascular resistance. She maintained improved lung functions, and remained in the New York Heart Association functional class I for more than two years and eight months after surgery.

Successful resection of giant hemangiopericytoma originating from the left atrium.

We report a case of a giant hemangiopericytoma in the left atrium showing severe dyspnea. Preoperative echocardiogram showed the giant tumor herniating into the left ventricle during cardiac diastole. Emergency surgery was performed due to failure of hemodynamics. The tumor was identified to originate from the posterior wall of the left atrium and was successfully excised with the left atrial wall. Histological investigations revealed existence of malignant hemangiopericytoma.

Combined stent-graft and surgical treatment for a thoracoabdominal aortic aneurysm in a high risk patient.

We report a case of thoracoabdominal aortic aneurysm (TAAA) Crawford type I with high-risk factors. A 74-year-old woman, who had a history of myocardial infarction with severe left ventricular dysfunction, asthma, and hypothyroidism, underwent endovascular stent-graft replacement for TAAA and simultaneous surgical reconstruction of the visceral arteries to avoid thoracotomy and extracorporeal circulation. Postoperatively she suffered from weakness of the left leg, with suspected paraparesis, but recovered muscular strength to some extent and was discharged in a wheelchair on postoperative day 74.

Hammock-like graft-holding method using a cotton bandage in off-pump coronary artery bypass.

A simple and inexpensive new graft-holding method is described. This method requires only a cotton bandage to hold the skeletonized graft in off-pump coronary artery bypass. A wet cotton bandage hung between the blades of a retractor can hold grafts in an atraumatic fashion at the center of the operating field and facilitate anastomosis during off-pump coronary artery bypass.

Simultaneous operation of off pump coronary artery bypass and abdominal aortic aneurysm repair.

OBJECTIVES: Coronary artery disease (CAD) and abdominal aortic aneurysms (AAA) commonly coexist. However, each disease treatment complicates the management of the other. In this study, we evaluate whether a simultaneous operation of AAA repair and off pump coronary artery bypass (OPCAB) would be safe and acceptable, compared with either procedure alone. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: We retrospectively reviewed all patients who underwent simultaneous AAA repair and OPCAB (AAA/OPCAB, n=18), compared AAA repair alone (AAA, n=239) and OPCAB alone (OPCAB, n=137) from June 1999 to December 2003. There were no significant differences with regard to age or gender, but the AAA/OPCAB group had significantly larger aneurysms (60.6 vs. 53.2 mm) and significantly lower ejection fractions (EF) (54.9 vs. 60.3%). RESULTS: The patients in the AAA/OPCAB group underwent a significantly longer operative time than AAA, OPCAB (403 vs. 360, 296 minutes, respectively), there was significantly greater blood loss (726 vs. 426, 462 ml), and more transfusion required (8.13 vs. 1.69, 2.8 units). The number of bypass grafts in AAA/OPCAB group (1-5 per patients) was significantly smaller (1.78 vs. 2.93). The AAA/OPCAB patients had a significantly longer hospital stay than the AAA (38 vs. 22 days), but was not significantly longer than the OPCAB. There were no significant differences with regard to the morbidity and mortality rate among the three groups. CONCLUSION: This study suggests that the simultaneous operation of AAA and OPCAB can be done with the same morbidity and mortality as independent surgical procedures.

Aorto-right atrial fistula caused by type A aortic dissection.

We present a rare surgical case of aorto-right atrial fistula caused by type A aortic dissection in an 85-year-old man. Complaints included progressive general fatigue and anorexia caused by right side heart failure. However, there were no symptoms attributable to onset of the aortic dissection. A diagnosis of aorto-right atrial fistula was made from intraoperative transesophageal echocardiography. Total aortic arch replacement concomitant with direct closure of the fistula was performed successfully.

Ultrasonic plaque density of aortic atheroma and stroke in patients undergoing on-pump coronary bypass surgery.

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to determine the relationship between the aortic atheromatous plaque echo density and the incidence of postoperative stroke or embolic events in patients undergoing on-pump coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG). PATIENTS AND METHODS: Three hundred and fourteen patients who received on-pump CABG alone were studied. Images of the aortic plaques obtained using transesophageal echocardiography were transferred to a computer. Using an image analysis program, a histogram for plaques more than 3 mm in thickness was obtained through the gray tone frequency distribution of the pixels (0-225). The gray scale median (GSM) was used as a measure of plaque echo density. RESULTS: Fifty-eight plaques in patients not associated with postoperative stroke or embolic events had GSM ranging from 58 to 241 (151.0+/-38.2), while 9 plaques in patients associated with stroke or embolic events had GSM ranging from 67 to 130 (90.6+/-21.3, p<0.001). The incidence of stroke or embolism was 58.3% when GSM of plaque was less than 100, while it was 3.6% when plaque GSM was more than 100 (p<0.001). CONCLUSION: This study indicated that computer analysis of aortic atheromatous plaque was useful for selecting patients who had a high risk of postoperative stroke or embolism when receiving on-pump CABG, and for decreasing the incidence of them.

Papillary muscle rupture following acute myocardial infarction.

OBJECTIVES: Papillary muscle rupture following acute myocardial infarction (AMI), which rarely occurs, leads to catastrophic outcomes. We reviewed 6 patients who were diagnosed as having papillary muscle rupture. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: Between February 1986 and September 2002, 6 consecutive patients underwent mitral valve replacement (MVR) for acute mitral regurgitation due to postinfarction papillary muscle rupture (4 men and 2 women, mean age 67 years). Preoperatively, all were in New York Heart Association (NYHA) class IV. All patients had intraaortic balloon pumping, and one needed additional percutaneous cardiopulmonary support. Operations were performed within 1 to 19 days (mean 6.8) after the onset of AMI, and within 24 hours after papillary muscle rupture. Complete ruptures were found in 5 of 6 patients. Four patients had posterior papillary rupture and 2 patients anterior. All patients underwent MVR to preserve the posterior mitral leaflet. Concomitant coronary artery bypass grafting was performed in 5 of 6 patients (mean 1.6 grafts per person) and pulmonary venous isolation for atrial fibrillation in one patient. RESULTS: The cardiopulmonary bypass time ranged from 178 to 325 minutes (mean 236), and the aortic cross clamp time from 123 to 196 minutes (mean 155). Two patients died of low cardiac output syndrome. Of 4 operative survivors, 3 patients were in NYHA class I and one in class II. The mean follow-up term was 21 months. One patient with the pulmonary venous isolation has been in sinus rhythm. All survivors have been doing well without any valve related complications. CONCLUSION: Six patients underwent MVR for the papillary muscle rupture following AMI and the perioperative mortality rate was 33%. All survivors have been well with no cardiac events. We propose that in papillary muscle rupture following AMI emergent surgery should be undertaken as soon as possible, and that concomitant surgery should be performed as thoroughly as possible.

A case of the coronary artery aneurysm including stent device after percutaneous coronary intervention.

We presented a case of left anterior descending coronary artery aneurysm that was developed after percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) with stent implantation. The aneurysm was plicated after removal of the stent device, and the left descending coronary artery was bypassed with the left internal thoracic artery. Few have reported surgical treatments for the coronary aneurysm including PCI stent. In this report, a patient requiring PCI stent explantation was described and technical considerations for this patient were discussed.

Aortic regurgitation secondary to back-and-forth intimal flap movement of acute type A dissection.

We present an unusual case of acute type A dissection complicated with severe aortic valve insufficiency caused by prolapse of the tubular intimal flap into the left ventricular outflow tract, which was shown legibly by transesophageal echocardiography in the diastolic phase and by intraoperative macroscopic findings. The dissected ascending aorta was excised completely and replaced without any repairing of the aortic valve, resulting in a favorable outcome for the patient. Prolapse of an intimal flap from the aorta into the left ventricle represented a rare pathophysiology of aortic regurgitation in patients with aortic dissection.

Subepicardial aneurysm following ventriculotomy closure of ventricular septal rupture due to acute myocardial infarction.

We report an unusual case of subepicardial aneurysm (SEA) of the left ventricle. An 82-year-old man had undergone patch closure of a ventricular septal rupture due to anterior acute myocardial infarction. A postoperative left ventriculogram showed the presence of contrast medium outside the left ventricle, and urgent surgery was performed. The lesion was diagnosed as SEA, and was repaired before rupture.

Successful emergency aortic valve replacement following percutaneous cardiopulmonary support for the patient with aortic stenosis and cardiac arrest.

We present a 57-year-old woman with severe aortic stenosis. She was diagnosed with acute myocardial infarction by electrocardiography and the detection of elevated creatine phosphokinase in another hospital. Soon after transfer to our hospital, this patient developed cardiac arrest. Percutaneous cardiopulmonary support (PCPS) was established, and subsequently performed coronary angiography revealed normal coronary arteries. However echocardiography revealed severe aortic stenosis. Emergency aortic valve replacement (AVR) was performed, and the patient was discharged from hospital 30 days after surgery in good health. Prompt establishment of PCPS maintained her systemic circulation, and allowed us to conduct investigations for diagnosis. In patients with critical aortic stenosis, emergency AVR should be performed as early as possible following diagnosis.

Ruptured sinus of Valsalva aneurysm associated with aortic regurgitation caused by hemodynamic effect solely.

We describe a case of ruptured sinus of Valsalva aneurysm (RSVA) with moderate aortic regurgitation (AR), which developed on the second day after admission. The AR was caused by a hemodynamic effect solely, in which the shunt blood flow through ruptured site pulled the right aortic cusp away from closure. The pathological mechanism of the AR was clearly visualized by intraoperative transesophageal echocardiography (TEE) and the AR was successfully resolved after simple closure of the RSVA without any additional procedure to the aortic valve.

Lymphatic cardiac tamponade after open-heart surgery with liver dysfunction.

A 46-year-old female with alcoholic liver dysfunction was admitted for mitral regurgitation due to infective endocarditis. She underwent mitral valvuloplasty and resection of the vegetation without complication. After removal of the chest tube, late cardiac tamponade occurred and subsequently recurred. On the 64th day after mitral valvuloplasty, we performed redo median sternotomy with small laparotomy trying to reveal and repair injured lymphatic vessels in the pericardial space and successfully cured the leakage of lymph. The post reoperative course was uneventful and the patient was discharged 20 days after reoperation. We review a rare complication of recurrent cardiac tamponade of lymphatic leakage associated with liver dysfunction.