Multiple recurrent sinus of valsalva aneurysms.

We report a case of multiple unruptured sinus of Valsalva aneurysms in an adult patient over nine years.

Renal Vein Thrombosis Occurring in Association with Oral Contraceptives: A Case Report.

Peripheral venous thromboembolism is a well-known complication of hormonal contraception, but reports on its association with visceral vein thrombosis is limited. We report the case of left renal vein thrombosis (RVT) associated with oral contraceptives (OCs) and concurrent smoking. The clinical presentation of this patient was acute left flank pain. Computed tomography revealed left RVT. The OC was discontinued, and we initiated anticoagulation with heparin and switched to edoxaban. Computed tomography 6 months later showed complete resolution of the thrombosis. This report alerts us regarding the importance of OCs as a risk factor for RVT.

Cardiac surgery for a right atrial myxoma with traumatic intracranial hemorrhage: a case report.

BACKGROUND: The timing of cardiac surgery with cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB) for intracranial hemorrhage is controversial. CASE PRESENTATION: We report the case of an 82-year-old woman who was transferred to our hospital because of a head injury. Brain computed tomography (CT) revealed traumatic intracranial hemorrhage, and transthoracic echocardiography revealed a giant right atrial myxoma. After confirming the disappearance of intracranial hemorrhage on brain CT, cardiac surgery with CPB was performed, which was uneventful. CONCLUSIONS: For an uneventful surgery, the optimal timing of cardiac surgery with CPB in patients with giant right atrial myxoma and intracranial hemorrhage should be based on brain CT.

Fatal pulmonary thromboembolism caused by idiopathic ovarian vein thrombosis.

Ovarian vein thrombosis (OVT) is observed in the field of obstetrics and gynaecology. It is occasionally diagnosed during the postpartum period or in patients with ovarian malignancy. Few cases of pulmonary thromboembolism (PTE) caused by OVT have been reported previously. We report the case of a 67-year-old woman who presented with fatal PTE due to left OVT during hospitalization for cerebral infarction. The left ovary of the postmenopausal elderly patient showed no tumorous appearance. This case of OVT is extremely rare because of its idiopathic nature and fatal result.

A case of plastic bronchitis after mitral valve surgery in an adult.

Plastic bronchitis is a rare and fatal disease that is characterized by the presence of long dendritic bronchial casts in the airway. It is encountered most frequently in children with congenital heart disease after correction surgery. We reported a case of plastic bronchitis after mitral valve surgery in a 70-year-old woman.

Efficacy of Preoperative Antibiotic Therapy for the Treatment of Vascular Graft Infection.

Objective: We aimed to assess the efficacy of preoperative antibiotic therapy for the treatment of prosthetic graft infection. Materials and Methods: We retrospectively analyzed the treatment strategies used for managing patients with prosthetic vascular graft infections between 2000 and 2016. The patients were divided into two groups: early antibiotic (EA) group, those who were administered with antibiotics ≥2 weeks preoperatively and late antibiotic (LA) group, those who were administered with antibiotics <2 weeks preoperatively. We evaluated the outcomes including surgical procedures, length of hospital stay, and surgical revision. Results: All the surgical procedures performed in the EA group were elective surgeries. Three of the 11 surgeries performed in the LA group were emergency surgeries (P=0.16). No significant differences were observed in the operative procedure (P=0.64), operation time (P=0.37), and blood loss (P=0.63) of the two groups. Although the length of postoperative hospital stay did not significantly differ (P=0.61), the total length of hospital stay was longer in the EA group (P=0.02). Surgical revisions were performed for five patients in the LA group and for none in the EA group (P=0.04). Conclusion: Preoperative antibiotic therapy provided excellent outcomes in terms of avoiding surgical revisions in the treatment of vascular graft infection.

Off-pump coronary artery bypass grafting for a patient with anomalous origin of the right coronary artery from the pulmonary artery.

We report on a case of a 70-year-old chronic hemodialysis patient. He presented with anomalous origin of the right coronary artery from the pulmonary artery (ARCAPA) and severe left anterior descending coronary artery (LAD) stenosis, which supplied collateral flow to the right coronary artery (RCA). The patient complained of myocardial ischemic symptoms during routine hemodialysis. We performed off-pump coronary artery bypass grafting (OPCABG) surgery and ligation of the origin of the ARCAPA. Previous reports described that the myocardial ischemia was a rare complication with the ARCAPA patients. However, this case required coronary revascularization because of the atherosclerotic LAD stenosis as a collateral source of the RCA.

Lethal thrombus in the carotid artery during operation for acute aortic dissection with cerebral malperfusion.

A drowsy patient with acute type A aortic dissection and cerebral malperfusion required emergency operation. Because the right carotid artery was totally obstructed, cerebral perfusion was first restored by cannulating it and the left femoral artery before midline sternotomy. However, a long fresh thrombus was found flowing backward from the obstructed carotid artery. This thrombus was removed, and both arteries were connected through a Y-shaped extracorporeal circulation circuit to reperfuse the brain. During the subsequent aortic procedure, both arteries were used for arterial inflow. Such thrombi can cause grave postoperative neurologic dysfunction. Carotid artery cannulation is mandatory in such cases.

The efficacy and safety of additional bypass graft during isolated coronary artery bypass grafting.

In 19 patients with an undesirable hemodynamic condition (n=15) or with regional asynergy and coexistent ST-T change (n=4) during isolated coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) surgery, one (n=17) or two (n=3) additional saphenous vein grafts were placed onto left anterior descending (LAD) (n=16), right (n=4), and left circumflex (LCx) (n=2) coronary arteries. Diagnosis of the cause of the suboptimal condition was insufficient graft flow in 16 patients, and spasm of the ungrafted coronary artery in 3. Additional myocardial ischemic time was 17 9 minutes, and the graft flow was 59 25 ml/min. Additional bypass was effective in 94.5%. Eighteen patients could be weaned from cardiopulmonary bypass, and 17 (89.5%) survived and were discharged from hospital. Median duration of mechanical ventilatory support and intensive care unit stay was 15 hours and 4 days, respectively. During 63 44 months follow-up, the additional graft was occluded and the treadmill test was positive for ischemia in 2 patients, and one child patient is now considered for redo CABG. Placement of additional bypass grafts thus appeared to be an effective and relatively safe strategy, although the decision has to be made cautiously.

Mid-term results of aortoplasty for dilated ascending aorta associated with aortic valve disease.

BACKGROUND: Dilatation of the ascending aorta concomitant with aortic valve disease is occasionally associated with progressive enlargement of the ascending aorta or acute aortic dissection (AAD). However, surgical procedure of choice for the aorta and its indication are controversial. PATIENTS AND METHODS: From July 1995 to August 2001, 10 patients with a moderately dilated ascending aorta (mean diameter, 52+/-4.8 mm) underwent concurrent aortic valve replacement (AVR) and aortoplasty. The aortic valve was bicuspid in eight patients. To tailor the ascending aorta 30-35 mm in diameter, the aortic wall was partially resected along the aortotomy, and the aorta was directly closed. RESULTS: Operation time and most of other perioperative variables were comparable to those of patients who underwent isolated AVR. The aortic diameter was reduced to 36.1+/-4.1 mm. Nine patients survived to hospital discharge uneventfully, but one patient developed disruption of the suture line in the aorta and died. During follow-up, no patient suffered AAD but redilatation was observed in one patient. In the two problematic patients, the ascending aorta was larger than 55 mm, and its media was histologically abnormal. CONCLUSION: In patients with dilated ascending aorta less than 55 mm in diameter, aortoplasty can be a procedure of choice. However, a prosthetic graft replacement is recommended when the diameter of the ascending aorta is larger than 55 mm.

Combined coronary artery bypass grafting and abdominal aortic aneurysm repair.

The purpose of this paper was to assess the results and feasibility of simultaneous coronary artery bypass grafting and abdominal aortic aneurysm repair. Twenty nine patients with a mean age of 65 years underwent simultaneous coronary artery bypass grafting and abdominal aortic aneurysm repair between June 1990 and March 2002. All patients had significant coronary artery disease and were considered as indicated for coronary artery bypass grafting. This was performed first in 28 patients and simultaneously with abdominal aortic aneurysm repair in one, with a mean number of grafts of 2.5, a mean aortic cross-clamp time of 40 minutes, and a mean bypass time of 115 minutes. Eight straight and 21 bifurcated grafts were employed. The total operating time averaged 400 minutes. The median postoperative hospital stay was 18 days. One patient died of stroke and mediastinitis, for a mortality rate of 3.5%. This experience suggests that combined coronary artery bypass grafting and abdominal aortic aneurysm repair is both safe and effective.

[Long survival with chronic ventricular fibrillation under support of uni-left-ventricular assist system].

Few minutes of suspended malignant ventricular arrhythmia may be permitted for the patient with left ventricular assist system (LVAS). However, longer and continuous ventricular arrhythmia, especially ventricular fibrillation (Vf), may induce the low output of LVAS, which leads circulatory collapse immediately. Our presenting case is a female dilated cardiomyopathy patient who has been supported with LVAS. Four months after the LVAS installation, her electrocardiogram has changed to Vf without any symptoms. Her ventricular function has never recovered, even ventricular tachycardia. She has been a candidate of heart transplantation for more than 19 months with this rare hemodynamic condition (LVAS+Vf), like the Fontan circulation. Her performance status is limited due to deceasing of the LVAS flow, which caused by the change of her position: 2.5-2.9 l/min (lie down) to 2.0 l/min (rise). Her peak VO2/W is 6.9 ml/min/kg measured by the cardio-pulmonary exercise test. However, she has developed her general status by doing rehabilitation program and is able to walk for more than 100-150 meters.

Atypically located pericardial cyst in a patient who underwent off-pump myocardial revascularization.

Pericardial cysts are rare benign mediastinal lesions and most commonly located at the cardiophrenic angle. We present a case of an atypically located pericardial cyst in a patient who underwent myocardial revascularization. A 61-year-old man with acute myocardial infarction was scheduled for coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG). Preoperative chest computed tomography revealed a homogenous cystic lesion in the superior mediastinum. The mass was located between the ascending aorta, the superior vena cava, and the left innominate vein. It was growing to the anterior of the aorta and to the right anterior paratracheal area. The density of the mass was close to that of water; thus, the contrast medium failed to enhance its visualization. A concomitant resection of the mass and the CABG was scheduled. After a medial sternotomy and bypass graft harvest, a median pericardectomy was performed. The surgeon found the cystic mass along the roof of the pericardium and located between the ascending aorta and superior vena cava. There was no adhesion between the mass and cardiovascular components. The mass was resected en bloc; therefore, off-pump CABG was completed. Histopathological examination of the resected specimen confirmed diagnosis of a pericardial cyst.

Active cerebral perfusion during carotid endarterectomy.

A patient with critical stenoses in the bilateral internal carotid arteries (ICA) required multivessel coronary revascularization. The diameter of the left ICA was far greater than the right, which strongly suggested that the cerebral circulation was highly dependent on the left. During left ICA endarterectomy, active cerebral perfusion of 300 mL x min(-1) at 23 degrees C using an extracorporeal circulation was employed through the ICA under repair. Subsequently, coronary bypass was performed on-pump with the heart beating. The postoperative course was very good.

[Successful salvage of a patient with cardiac arrest caused by multiple pulmonary emboli and lung abscesses due to infective endocarditis of the tricuspid valve: a case report].

A 28-year-old female developed infective endocarditis in the tricuspid valve and multiple lung abscesses due to septic pulmonary emboli early after intensive therapy for ulcerative colitis. The pathogen was methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus. Usual antibiotic agents and linezolid were administered. Three weeks later, she fell into cardiopulmonary arrest due to further pulmonary emboli and required mechanical circulatory assist. Fatal brain damage was suggested at first. Two days later, she fully regained consciousness and underwent tricuspid valve replacement using mechanical valve and extirpation of septic pulmonary embolus. Mechanical circulatory assist was discontinued on the next day. After strenuous administration of linezolid and other drugs for 9 weeks, she was discharged from hospital on foot. We believe that early surgical intervention should be considered in patients with infective endocarditis in the right heart and subsequent septic pulmonary emboli. Linezolid was very useful in this patient.