[Post-infarction rupture of the heart into the pericardium. Surgical treatment combining synthetic patch and biological fibrin glue]. / Rupture du coeur post-infarctus en péricarde libre. Traitement chirurgical associant patch synthétique et colle biologique à base de fibrine.

A 66-year old man was hospitalized with chest pain and acute ischaemia of the lower limbs highly suggestive of dissection of the aorta. Computed tomography and aortography however showed pericardic effusion and thrombosis situated in the iliac bifurcation of the aorta. During the emergency operation, acute tamponade required sub-xyphoid drainage. The haemodynamic situation was reestablished and the operation continued but within minutes a cataclysmal haemorrhage occurred through the drainage tube due to ischaemic rupture of the lateral wall of the heart into the pericardium. Extra-corporal circulation was installed immediately and a large polytetrafluoroethylene patch was sutured to the epicardium, distally from the necrosed area, in healthy tissue. A biological fibrin glue was injected under the patch. The operation was terminated with an axillo-bifemoral bypass. The postoperative period was satisfactory and the patient was discharged. At the six months examination, the patient was in NYHA class II and the echography showed moderate left ventricular dysfunction with grade II mitral regurgitation and a false aneurysm facing the area of necrosis. This technique allowed us to patch the rupture without excessive tension on the sutures in the fragile tissue which would have increased the risk of secondary rupture. In addition, the large patch avoided excessive reduction in volume of the left ventricular cavity and saved the mitral chordae which would have been destroyed by direct suture. This method can be an effective salvage technique for heart rupture during the acute phase of myocardial infarction and offers the possibility of a second look in case of a secondary false aneurysm.

[Myocardial infarction in early postoperative complications in operations of myocardial revascularization: incidences, clinical study and mechanisms]. / L'infarctus myocardique dans les suites précoces de la chirurgie de revascularisation myocardique: incidence, étude clinique et mécanismes

A study of the electrocardiograms and enzyme levels after surgery to revascularise the myocardium in a group of 174 consecutive patients has allowed us to demonstrate 19 cases of early postoperative myocardial infarction (EPOMI) (10.9%). 10 of these cases had no clinical features of EPOMI; 9 had clinical signs (collapse of altered systemic pressures, arrhythmias) or haemodynamic disorders (raised left atrial pressure). The EPOMI turned out to be fatal in 3 cases (19%), and to be complicated by left ventricular failure in 6 cases (32%). Post-operative coronary arteriography showed that 8 out of 20 grafts were occluded in 13 patients; ventriculography showed the myocardial damage consequent upon EPOMI in 8 patients out of 12; Autopsy showed graft occlusion in each of the two patients. The means of diagnosis of EPOMI must be electrocardiographic and enzymatic. An attempt has been made to study the causes of EPOMI: aortocoronary bypass hazardous because of poor distal supply (6 cases) or surgical difficulties (6 cases); progression of the atheromatous lesions (3 cases); infarct already inicipient at the time of surgery (1 case). EPOMI is a complication of cardiac surgery which must be recognised; the mechanisms are diverse, and any of the factors which are relevant to the surgical procedure may be a cause.