Twenty years' use of expanded polytetrafluoroethylene sheet for an artificial cardiac pacemaker.

Physicians can prolongedly use expanded polytetrafluoroethylene sheets for fixation of artificial cardiac pacemakers to avoid pacemaker lead displacement. The sheets can also be used to prevent implant rejection in patients with metal allergies.

[Valve-sparing Aortic Root Replacement in Patient with Dissecting Ascending Aortic Aneurysm Complicated with Hemorrhagic Moyamoya Disease;Report of a Case].

A 62-year-old female with Moyamoya disease (MMD) had cardiomegaly pointed out by chest X-ray and was admitted to our hospital. Chest computed tomography (CT) scan and echocardiography revealed a large dissecting ascending aortic aneurysm 78 mm in diameter combined with severe aortic regurgitation and mild mitral regurgitation. She had a history of intracranial hemorrhage related with MMD twice. Considering her relatively young age and risk of intracranial hemorrhage, valve-sparing aortic root replacement was planned to avoid anticoagulant therapy. Operation was performed keeping intra-operative blood pressure, perfusion pressure, Paco2 and activating clotting time in appropriate ranges. The postoperative course was uneventful without cerebral complication. No clinical symptom related with MMD was observed in 4 years after the operation.

[Surgical Repair for the Ventricular Septal Perforation Following Blunt Chest Trauma;Report of a Case].

Ventricular septal perforation(VSP) after blunt chest trauma is rare. As the clinical symptoms and timing of presentation are varied, appropriate diagnosis can be difficult or delayed. An 86-year-old man presented with a traumatic VSP following a forestry injury. He showed a normal cardiac structure at the time of injury, but echocardiography after 9 days revealed VSP. He was treated successfully with surgical closure of the VSP.

[Tension Hemothorax Associated with Spontaneous Rupture of the Thoracic Aorta;Report of a Case].

A 94-year-old woman was admitted to our hospital with sudden onset of chest pain without any episode of trauma. Computed tomography(CT) revealed left massive pleural effusion and extravasation of contrast medium from the side chest wall to the back. Neither aortic aneurysm nor dissection was evident. During the investigation, the patient went into hypovolemic shock. Hemothorax due to bleeding from an intercostal artery was diagnosed, and emergency surgery was performed. A 1-mm hole was detected in the descending aorta, and closed by a single suture. The final diagnosis was spontaneous rupture of the thoracic aorta. Three-dimensional CT (3D-CT), reconstructed postoperatively, revealed extravasation of the contrast medium from the descending aorta. The postoperative course was satisfactory, and the patient was discharged on the 20th postoperative day. 3D-CT may be useful for identifying the source of bleeding in such cases.

[Giant aortic arch aneurysm following ligation of patent ductus arteriosus in an adult patient with Down syndrome; report of a case].

A 45-year-old male with Down syndrome( DS) had abnormal findings pointed out by chest X-ray and admitted to our hospital. He had undergone ligation of the patent ductus arteriosus 33 years before. Computed tomography showed a giant aortic aneurysm at the aortopulmonary window. Aortic arch replacement was performed under cardiopulmonary bypass and circulatory arrest. The postoperative course was uneventful. Postoperative ductal aneurysm in an adult is relatively rare and needs early operation because of the high risk of rupture. In this case, considering the size of the aneurysm, the timing of diagnosis seemed to be late. As the life expectancy of patients with DS has been lengthning recently, their regular health examinations is mandatory to improve the life expectancy and quality of life.

[Left atrial myxoma who presented cardiac arrest immediately after the onset of coldness of a leg; report of a case].

A 55-year-old woman visited the emergency department of our hospital with complaint of coldness and pain in her right leg. Two hours after the onset, she suddenly felt dyspnea and temporarily suffered cardiac arrest. Echocardiography revealed a left atrial tumor prolapsing into the left ventricle through the mitral valve. By emergency operation, both the cardiac tumor and the embolus were diagnosed as myxomas. The postoperative course was uneventful. Cardiac failure and arterial embolism are major symptoms of a left atrial myxoma, but there have been no reports of both symptoms occurring at the same time. It is supposed that the changing form of the tumor because of embolus separation could have caused heart failure. We must consider the use of echocardiography to examine cardiac tumors in patients with arterial embolism who do not have cardiac arrhythmias.

Repeat surgery for hemolysis 6 years after replacement of the ascending aorta for acute aortic dissection.

A 71-year-old woman underwent replacement of the ascending aorta for Type A aortic dissection. After 6 years, she suddenly developed severe hemolytic anemia, and a second operation for replacement of the ascending aorta was performed. Her hemolysis was thought to occur as follows: the proximal ascending aorta of the graft might have gradually expanded until it compressed the graft. The severe hemolysis was thought to be attributable to disturbance of blood flow by a jet of blood at the site of constriction or the reversed inner felt. Such a case as this is very unusual in that the second operation for hemolytic anemia occurred 6 years after the first surgery.