Paracentral acute middle maculopathy in systemic sclerosis and subsequent branch retinal artery occlusion.

Purpose: We report a case of systemic sclerosis-associated paracentral acute middle maculopathy (PAMM) in a young woman who subsequently developed branch retinal artery occlusion. Observations: A 22-year-old woman presented with a paracentral scotoma. Optical coherence tomography (OCT) revealed bilateral paracentral acute middle maculopathy. Upon systemic examination, she was diagnosed with systemic sclerosis (SSc). She subsequently developed branch retinal artery occlusion despite vasodilator medications. After the prescription of aspirin, she did not experience a new event for one year. Conclusion and importance: This case illustrates that SSc may affect the retinal vascular system and vision and cause PAMM. The optimal prophylaxis for patients with recurrent retinal events should be investigated in future studies.

The Application and Pitfalls for Registering New Japanese Board of Cardiovascular Surgery / 日本心臓血管外科学会雑誌

The first examination of the new board of the Japanese cardiovascular surgery took place in 2022. As it is a transitional period for the new system, many doctors are not familiar with the changes and details of the new system, and some have their concerns. Here, we held a round-table discussion with doctors who actually took the new board of the Japanese cardiovascular surgery under the new system, and we summarized their opinion.

Xanthogranulomatous Inflammation of the Aortic Aneurysm Wall after Endovascular Aortic Repair for Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm / 日本心臓血管外科学会雑誌

A 77-year-old woman underwent endovascular abdominal aortic repair (EVAR) for an abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA)．Five years after surgery, she visited the hospital with the chief complaint of a fever. Enhanced computed tomography (CT) showed enlargement of the AAA around the stent-graft and a mass, which was suspected to be an abscess, outside the aneurysm. A blood test revealed a high level of inflammatory response. The patient was diagnosed with infectious AAA. She received antibiotics; however, the inflammatory response did not completely improve. A second CT scan revealed that the suspected abscess had a spreading tendency. The patient was referred to our hospital for a highly suspected stent-graft infection. We performed Y-graft replacement using a rifampicin-immersed graft, and as much as possible of the wall around the aortic aneurysm was removed. The inflammatory response improved rapidly after the operation, and the patient was discharged 15 days later. According to the results of a pathological examination, a diagnosis of xanthogranulomatous inflammation and fibrosis was made. Here, we report a rare case of xanthogranulomatous inflammation of the aortic aneurysm wall after EVAR.

The Realities of Becoming a Board-Certified Cardiovascular Surgeon in Japan No.2 / 日本心臓血管外科学会雑誌

The system of the Japanese Board of Cardiovascular Surgery is changing. Since the last time, we have deliberated on the medical specialty board for U-40 column articles about the problems faced by young cardiovascular surgeons. This time, we conducted the second survey to U-40 members about the realities of becoming a board-certified cardiovascular surgeon. The results showed the circumstances and details on how to acquire the board certification. Moreover, we discussed about the current problems and future perspectives for the young cardiovascular surgeons.

A Case of Left Ventricular Pseudoaneurysm Associated with Infective Endocarditis after Double Valve Replacement / 日本心臓血管外科学会雑誌

<p>A 66-year-old man experiencing fever and dyspnea was transferred to our hospital 2 years ago. He had been on hemodialysis for 30 years due to chronic renal failure and was observed as having aortic stenosis for 5 years. Severe mitral regurgitation and complete atrioventricular block caused by infective endocarditis (IE) were noted. Thus, he emergently underwent double-valve replacement (DVR) and pacemaker implantation. The range of infection extended widely to the right atrium and atrioventricular septum beyond the mitral annulus. The infection was suppressed by perioperative antibiotic therapy. Transthoracic echocardiography (TTE) revealed a cavity approximately 30 mm in diameter in the left ventricle, which was located under the mitral annulus, and it extended to the right atrium 3 months after the operation. A diagnosis of left ventricular pseudoaneurysm associated with IE was then made. Because of progressive expansion of the aneurysm, we performed another operation 2 years after the previous one. The pseudoaneurysm was located in the region of the Koch's triangle, which indicated that it was caused by mitral annular abscess. We closed the orifice of the aneurysm approximately 20 mm in diameter with a polyester patch with a diameter of 35 mm. Postoperative TTE showed that the pseudoaneurysm was thrombosed and had no blood flow. Pathological examination of the wall of the pseudoaneurysm revealed that it consisted of fibrous tissues without myocardium. We encountered a rare case treated by patch closure for the left ventricular pseudoaneurysm after DVR associated with IE.</p>

A One-Stage Operation for Incomplete AVSD, Mitral Regurgitation, Patent Foramen Ovale, Atrial Fibrillation, and Pectus Excavatum / 日本心臓血管外科学会雑誌

<p>A 55-year-old man presented with exertional dyspnea. He was found to have an incomplete atrioventricular septal defect (AVSD), mitral regurgitation, a patent foramen ovale (PFO), atrial fibrillation, and pectus excavatum. A one-stage operation including thoracoplasty in addition to the intracardiac repair was preferred in order to obtain a good view of the operative field and control the postoperative hemodynamics. Therefore, we performed autologous pericardial patch closure of the AVSD, mitral valve plasty with closure of the mitral cleft, direct closure of the PFO, and a modified maze procedure, followed by sternal elevation (modified Ravitch procedure) during chest closure. Postoperatively, his respiratory status on a respirator improved slowly and he was extubated on the 17th postoperative day. Dysphagia developed because of the prolonged intubation, but improved with deglutition rehabilitation. The subsequent postoperative course was uneventful and he was discharged on the 59th postoperative day. We performed a modified Ravitch procedure, instead of sternal turnover, because the latter requires exfoliating a broad area, which could increase the total blood loss and the risk of infection, and make it difficult to maintain the blood flow of the plastron. We obtained a good view of the operative field and stable hemodynamics postoperatively with sternal elevation in pectus excavatum accompanied by heart disease.</p>