Ascending aorta syphilitic aneurysm presenting as a dystrophic disease.

A 37-year-old female originating from Central Africa presented with cardiac failure, aortic insufficiency and aortic root dilatation of supposed dystrophic origin. Left coronary ostial dilatation and dense adhesions between the aorta and the pulmonary trunk at operation were the only unusual features. However, pathological examination evoked a syphilitic disease and serology confirmed luetic infection. The diagnosis and the therapeutic approach are discussed. Syphilitic aneurysms belong to the protohistory of vascular surgery, but, in the antibiotherapy era, tracking a syphilitic aneurysm is like fishing for coelacanth. When this pathology mimics a dystrophic aneurysm, diagnosis and therapeutic attitude becomes hazardous and justifies the present report.

Isolated supradiaphragmatic descending thoracic aorta stenosis in a Takayasu's disease: surgical cure.

A 21-year-old male patient presented with a typical middle aortic syndrome. Echography disclosed a severe narrowing of the lower thoracic aorta with parietal thickening. The isolated character of the lesion was confirmed by magnetic resonance imaging and aortography. The surgical cure was realized by a Dacron bypass between the upper thoracic descending aorta and the juxta-diaphragmatic thoracic aorta. Aortic biopsy confirmed Takayasu's disease. Postoperative course was uneventful with normalized blood pressure. The therapeutic options, surgery versus percutaneous dilatation and stent, are discussed.

Aortic valve aneurysm after acute endocarditis.

Endocarditis at the aortic level is usually characterized by the presence of a vegetation or an abscess on echocardiography. This paper reports on what is believed by the authors to be the first case of endocarditis presenting as an aneurysmal deformation of one aortic cusp without a vegetation.

Jejunal stromal tumor.

A case of jejunal stromal tumor is reported. Clinical findings included melena, syncope, and palpable abdominal mass. CT scans showed an abdominal mass with characteristics simulating an intra-abdominal abscess.

Insertion of an aortic and pulmonary homograft for simultaneous reconstruction of the left and right ventricular outflow tracts. A case report.

We present the case of the successful reconstruction in a child of a congenital cardiac malformation (tetralogy of Fallot) complicated by acquired aortic regurgitation and aneurysm formation of the left pulmonary artery due to previous endocarditis, by using an aortic homograft for reconstruction of the left ventricular outflow tract and a pulmonary homograft for reconstruction of the right ventricular outflow tract. Regarding the excellent results recently obtained with cryopreserved homografts, the many advantages of these valves compared to mechanical prostheses, we feel that aortic and or pulmonary homografts might constitute ideal biological valves for reconstruction of left and or right ventricular outflow tract in children when the presence of a congenital anomaly of the pulmonary valve renders an autograft impossible.

Manipulation of tissue fatty acid profile by intravenous lipids in dogs.

This study was undertaken to determine the effects on the fatty acid (FA) composition of various dog tissues of 4 different lipid emulsions (a 100% long-chain triacylglycerol (LCT) derived from soya bean oil emulsion, a mixed 50% medium-chain triacylglycerol (MCT)/50% LCT emulsion as well as both these emulsions supplemented with 10% fish oil (FO) triacylglycerols), when daily infused over 15 days as a substantial component of total parenteral nutrition. Lipids represented 55% of the non-protein energy. Blood samples as well as biopsies from liver, muscle and adipose tissue were taken 15 days before, and again immediately after TPN. In addition, the spleen was also removed immediately after TPN. Tissue FA composition was analysed by gas liquid chromatography of each lipid component after separation by thin layer chromatography. No differences in either safety or tolerance were detected between the different TPN preparations. In particular, infusion over 2 weeks of fat emulsions containing 10% fish oil was tolerated as well as conventional LCT and MCT/LCT emulsions. Relative linoleate content of tissue triacylglycerol (TG) was markedly increased in animals that received the LCT emulsions (e.g. from 22.6 +/- 2.5% to 32.2 +/- 0.6% in the liver), this effect being markedly reduced with MCT/LCT preparations. n-3FA were slightly incorporated into liver TG (from 0.0 +/- 0.0% to 2.3 +/- 0.7% and 1.2 +/- 0.4% for eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) respectively, with LCT + FO), but remained undetectable in extrahepatic tissue TG. Of interest, medium chain FA were found in tissue TG after infusion of the mixed MCT/LCT emulsions. As expected, changes of tissue phospholipid (PL) composition involved only long-chain FA. Infusion of soya bean oil emulsion was associated with an increased content of linoleate in liver PL (from 13.6 +/- 0.4% to 17.7 +/- 0.4%), but not in other tissues. MCT/LCT did not markedly affect PL/FA pattern in any tissue. Supplementation with fish oil was associated with an efficient incorporation of n-3FA into tissue PL, particularly in the liver (from 0.4 +/- 0.1% to 2.5 +/- 0.3% for EPA and from 3.9 +/- 0.8% to 9.1 +/- 0.4% for DHA, with the LCT + FO emulsion).

Iatrogenic femoral arteriovenous fistula as a cause of erectile dysfunction.

The authors present a unique case of impotence in a 65-year-old patient caused by an iatrogenic common femoral arteriovenous fistula. After surgical treatment of the fistula, there was a clear improvement of the erectile function.