[Swelling at the sternoclavicular joint]. / Een zwelling ter plaatse van het sternoclaviculaire gewricht.

A visible mass around the sternoclavicular (SC) joint may be explained by a wide variety of diagnoses, each with its own diagnostic pathway and treatment options. Here we report three cases: a 56-year-old male with an anterior luxation of the right SC joint, a 59-year-old male with osteomyelitis of the left SC joint and a 78-year-old male with a painless swelling to the right medial clavicle, interpreted as sterno-costo-clavicular hyperostosis (SCCH) as part of his SAPHO syndrome. An atraumatic swelling of the SC joint is most often caused by osteoarthritis, characterized by a slowly progressing solid swelling. Acute swelling with concurrent redness and fever justifies an intra-articular- or bone aspiration, possibly CT guided, in combination with laboratory blood tests to differentiate between an infectious or rheumatologic cause. Since there are also multiple rare diseases that present specifically around the SC joint, a multidisciplinary review often proves helpful.

Minimally Invasive Sutureless Aortic Valve Replacement With the Perceval S Bioprosthesis Through Ministernotomy: A Single-Center Experience.

Objectives Minimally invasive aortic valve replacement has the potential advantage of faster postoperative recovery compared to open procedures. Moreover, aortic valve replacement with a sutureless valve shortens procedure time. The aim of this study is to report early postoperative outcomes and one-year survival of patients undergoing sutureless aortic valve replacement with the Perceval S bioprosthesis (LivaNova, Milan, Italy) through a ministernotomy. Methods A total of 110 patients underwent sutureless aortic valve replacement in our center with the Perceval S bioprosthesis through a ministernotomy between February 2016 and March 2019. Data regarding preoperative and operative details, hospital stay, postoperative outcomes within 30 days after surgery, and one-year mortality were assessed. Results The mean cross-clamping time and extracorporeal circulation time were 54 ± 14 and 78 ± 21 minutes, respectively. No conversion to full median sternotomy was needed perioperatively. In-hospital mortality was 0.9%. Postoperative peak gradient was 13.3 mmHg; no major paravalvular leakage or valve migration occurred postoperatively. Postoperative complications consisted of one (0.9%) patient requiring full sternotomy for bleeding and two (1.8%) patients requiring re-ministernotomy due to acute tamponade. Pacemaker implantation was needed in four (3.6%) patients. Postoperative ischemic stroke rate and new-onset atrial fibrillation were 0.9% (n = 1) and 20% (n = 22), respectively, and one-year survival was 97.3%. Median intensive care unit and hospital stay were one and eight day(s), respectively. Conclusion Minimally invasive sutureless aortic valve replacement with the Perceval S bioprosthesis through a ministernotomy appears to be a safe procedure with good postoperative results and one-year survival. Further follow-up is needed to evaluate long-term outcomes.

The Right Anterior Thoracotomy Approach to Resect a Cardiac Papillary Fibroelastoma of the Aortic Valve.

A cardiac papillary fibroelastoma (CPFE) is reported to be the second most common cardiac neoplasm after myxoma cordis. CPFEs are histologically benign, frequently asymptomatic, but highly thrombogenic, which could lead to systemic and peripheral embolization. We present a case of a 68-year-old-patient, with a history of angioosteohypertrophy syndrome, who presented at our emergency department (ED) with symptoms of transient ischemic attacks. A thorough investigation, including echocardiography, revealed a neoplasm on the left coronary cusp (LCC) of the aortic valve. The neoplasm was resected via a valve-sparing shave via the right anterior thoracotomy (RAT). The pathological assessment confirmed it to be CPFE. CPFE is a rare but treatable cause of thromboembolism. The removal of CPFEs has classically been performed through a full median sternotomy. We like to present the first case of a valve-sparing removal of a CPFE on the aortic valve through a RAT approach.

Minimal invasive aortic valve replacement: associations of radiological assessments with procedure complexity.

OBJECTIVES: Limited aortic annulus exposure during minimal invasive aortic valve replacement (mini-AVR) proves to be challenging and contributes to procedure complexity, resulting in longer procedure times. New innovations like sutureless valves have been introduced to reduce procedure complexity. Additionally, preoperative imaging could also contribute to reducing procedure times. Therefore, we hypothesize that Computed Tomography (CT)-image based measurements are associated with mini-AVR complexity. METHODS: One hundred patients who underwent a mini-sternotomy and had a preoperative CT scan were included. With a CT-based mini-AVR planning tool, we measured access distance, access angle, annulus dimensions, and calcium volume. The associations of these measurements with cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB) time and aortic cross-clamp (AoX) time were assessed using univariable and multivariable regression models. In the multivariable models, these measurements were adjusted for age and suture technique. RESULTS: In the univariable regression models, calcium volume and annulus dimensions were associated with longer CPB and AoX time. After adjusting for age and suture technique, increasing calcium volume was still associated with longer CPB (adjusted ß-coefficient 0.002, 95%-CI (0.005, 0.019), p-value = 0.002) and AoX time (adjusted ß-coefficient 0.010, 95%-CI (0.004, 0.016), p-value = 0.002). However, after adjusting for these confounders, the association between annulus dimensions and procedure times lost statistical significance. CONCLUSION: Increase in calcium volume are associated with longer CPB and AoX times, with age and sutureless valve implantation as independent confounders. In contrast to previous studies, access angle was not associated with procedure complexity.

[Catamenial pneumothorax: an intriguing cause of recurrent pneumothorax in women]. / Catameniale pneumothorax.

BACKGROUND: Thoracic endometriosis (TE) is one of the causes of secondary pneumothorax in women. According to the literature, 1 in 3 premenopausal women with pneumothorax can be diagnosed with 'catamenial pneumothorax'. The diagnosis is often not or only belatedly made in practice, even though treatment is significantly different than that of primary pneumothorax. CASE DESCRIPTION: A 40-year-old woman came to the emergency department because of dyspnoea and right-sided chest pain. The patient had recurrent pneumothorax and chest pain related to the menstrual cycle. Thoracoscopy revealed thoracic endometriosis. The endometriosis lesions were removed and the patient subsequently received hormonal menstrual suppression treatment. CONCLUSION: In premenopausal women with pneumothorax or a recurrence of pneumothorax, it is important to consider catamenial pneumothorax. Infertility, earlier proven abdominal endometriosis and chest pain linked to menstruation are indications of thoracic endometriosis or catamenial pneumothorax.

Left subclavian artery revascularization as part of thoracic stent grafting.

OBJECTIVES: Intentional covering of the left subclavian artery (LSA) as part of thoracic endovascular aortic repair (TEVAR) can cause (posterior) strokes or left arm malperfusion. LSA revascularization can be done as prophylaxis against, or as treatment of, these complications. We report our experience with the surgical technique, indications and the results of LSA revascularization. METHODS: Between 2000 and 2013, 51 patients of 444 patients who were treated by TEVAR, had LSA revascularization. All elective patients had a preoperative work-up with magnetic resonance angiography to evaluate the circle of Willis. In all, surgical access was through a left supraclavicular incision only. RESULTS: The majority (90%) had prophylactic LSA revascularization because of incomplete circle of Willis and or dominant left vertebral artery (LVA) (n=29), patent left internal mammary artery (n=1), prevention spinal cord ischaemia (SCI) (n=2), prevention left arm ischaemia due to small LVA (n=2) and LVA origin in arch (n=1). Fourteen percent had secondary revascularization, either immediate because of malperfusion of the left arm (n=2) or late after TEVAR because of persisting left arm claudication (n=5). In 12 patients, the following early complications were observed: re-exploration for bleeding, n=1; left recurrent nerve paralysis, n=2; left phrenic nerve paralysis, n=1; left sympathetic chain neuropraxia, resulting in Horner's syndrome, n=3; Chyle duct lesions, resulting in persistent Chyle leakage, n=3. Neither strokes nor SCI was observed. One patient experienced occlusion of the bypass at 6 months. CONCLUSIONS: The present study shows that the procedure of LSA revascularization as part of TEVAR is safe with low morbidity consisting of mainly (transient) nerve palsy.

Open repair of long-standing thoracic stent graft collapse resulting in pseudocoarctation and aneurysm formation.

After reported successful endovascular repair of an aortoesophageal fistula (AEF) caused by a chicken bone, subsequent stent graft collapse resulted in pseudocoarctation and late aneurysm formation requiring complex open surgical repair using deep hypothermic circulatory arrest.