Accelerated atherosclerosis in tertiary syphilis and successful treatment with saphenous vein grafting--a case report.

A 48-year-old male patient having none of the known risk factors for atherosclerosis underwent coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) surgery because of double-vessel coronary artery disease. During the operation, the aorta, both internal thoracic arteries (L/R-ITA), and the femoral artery were sclerotic, and CABG was performed using only saphenous vein grafts. A diagnosis of tertiary syphilis had been confirmed by either microscopic or serologic tests. There were different degrees of sclerosis in different arteries of different sizes. The presence of coronary artery disease with no known atherosclerotic risk factors should include preoperative testing for connective tissue disorders, chronic inflammatory disease, and cold hemagglutinins, because of the possible use of obligatory deep hypothermia or total circulatory arrest due to a diseased ascending aorta.

Brucella-mediated prosthetic valve endocarditis with brachial artery mycotic aneurysm.

A 39-year-old female with a Hall-Kaster mitral prosthesis developed fever, general malaise and arthralgia 15 years after valve replacement for rheumatic mitral valve disease. Prosthetic valve endocarditis was identified after serial laboratory, clinical and echocardiographic examinations. Penicillin G (40 x 106 units/day, i.v.) + gentamicin (240 mg/day, i.v.) was started as initial therapy. The patient showed no signs of recovery, and penicillin G was replaced with vancomycin (1,000 mg/day, i.v.). There was a gradual reduction in spiking fever, and prominent reductions in erythrocyte sedimentation rate and white cell count. Meanwhile, a tender and pulsatile mass developed in the anterior surface of the left arm; peripheral angiography yielded a diagnosis of brachial artery aneurysm. A successful aneurysmectomy with saphenous vein interposition was performed. Histopathology of the lesion revealed mycotic aneurysm. An initial control SAT for Brucella of 1/80(+) was found to increase. A detailed history showed the patient to have consumed unpasteurized dairy products. Doxycyline (200 mg/day, oral) + co-trimoxazole (2,700 mg/day, oral) + rifampicin (600 mg/day, oral) was administered to treat brucellosis. Later, doxycyline caused intolerable gastrointestinal side effects and was replaced by ciprofloxacin (1,000 mg/day, oral). Subsequently, the patient made an uneventful recovery within one week. Antibiotic treatment was continued for 12 months, with complete resolution of vegetation and paravalvular leakage. During a four-year follow up, the patient showed no signs of relapse.

Absent right superior vena cava with hypoplastic proximal inferior vena cava.

We describe the precise preoperative diagnosis of a very rare anomaly that comprises absence of the right superior vena cava, persistence of the left superior vena cava, and proximal hypoplasia of the inferior vena cava draining into the left superior vena cava via the hemiazygos vein associated with a large atrial septal defect and tricuspid regurgitation.

Critical-illness polyneuropathy complicating cardiac operation.

Critical-illness polyneuropathy is a complication of septic syndrome. However, this complication has been largely unrecognized in cardiac surgery units. Difficulty in weaning from the ventilator is an important early manifestation. Electromyography should be routinely performed to establish the diagnosis. Here we report a case of polyneuropathy complicating surgical repair of acute aortic dissection.