[Left Ventricular Outflow Tract Obstruction After Transcatheter Aortic Valve Replacement due to Pannus Formation].

We experienced a case of surgical aortic valve re-replacement due to structural valve deterioration caused by pannus formation 4 years after transcatheter aortic valve replacement( TAVR). The patient underwent surgery because the mean transvalvular pressure gradient increased to 48 mmHg on echocardiography. Contrast-enhanced computed tomography (CT) was useful for predicting the site of adhesion to surrounding tissue preoperatively and exploring the presence of the pannus. Intraoperative findings showed the TAVR valve was covered with neointima except around the origins of the left and right coronary arteries and was firmly adhered to the surrounding tissues. As residual pannus was present in the subvalvular tissues, it was carefully removed. The explanted TAVR valve functioned well with good opening and closure. The postoperative course was uneventful. Pannus formation can result from mechanical stress. TAVR valves put significantly greater stress on the left ventricular outflow tract than surgical valves and may be more likely to cause pannus formation.

[Surgical Explantation of a Bioprosthesis Nine Months After Transcatheter Aortic Valve Implantation].

CASE: 82-year-old female. In October 2020, the patient underwent transcatheter aortic valve implantation( TAVI)[Evolut PRO R 23 mm] via left subclavian artery approach for severe aortic valve stenosis. The patient was discharged home without any issues. However, nine months after surgery, the patient was hospitalized at another hospital for a right upper arm fracture and developed a fever. The patient was transferred to our hospital and was diagnosed with Enterococcal bacteremia while receiving antibiotic treatment. Echocardiography revealed leaflet thickening and cord-like structure on the artificial valve, and a diagnosis of prosthetic valve endocarditis (PVE) was made. The patient then underwent surgical removal of the valve. The patient had a good postoperative course and completed 4 weeks of antibiotic treatment before being transferred back to the referring hospital 31 days after surgery. TAVI made unprecendented revolution in the treatment of aortic valve stenosis. TAVI is often used for elderly patients with comorbidities because of high perioperative risk is for surgical aortic valve replacement. Although TAVI is widely promoted for its benefits, it is not without limitations. In cases with more than one year of follow-up, there are many complications and the risk of surgery is high. There have been few reports of cases from Japan requiring surgical removal of TAVI valve. In this case, PVE was diagnosed nine months after TAVI and the patient had a good outcome.

[Concomitant Tricuspid Annuloplasty with Resection of a Giant Right Atrial Myxoma:Report of a Case].

Myxomas account for the vast majority of heart tumors in adults. About 70% originate in the left atrium, while about 10% of these are reported to originate in the right atrium. A 70-year-old man with dyspnea, was found to have a giant right atrial mass by echocardiography, and tumor resection was performed under cardiopulmonary bypass( CPB) through a median sternotomy. At weaning from CPB the patient was hemodynamically unstable. Intraoperative echocardiography showed severe tricuspid regurgitation( TR), and tricuspid annuloplasty was performed. The postoperative course was uneventful and histopathological examination confirmed that the tumor was a myxoma. It is important to keep in mind that regurgitation of the atrio-ventricular valve might occur after resection of atrial myxoma.

[Valve Replacement for Isolated Pulmonary Valve Infective Endocarditis without Congenital Heart Defects:Report of a Case].

We report a rare case of isolated pulmonary valve endocarditis in a 60-year-old man without congenital heart defects. He had a persistent fever and back neck pain after pulling out his teeth. Echo cardiography revealed a mobile vegetation (measuring 53 mm in size) adhering to the pulmonary valve and blood cultures showed the presence of Staphylococcus aureus( S. aureus). Because of mobile vegetation, pulmonic embolism and presence of S. aureus, surgical treatment was selected. During surgical procedure, we found that the vegetation had destroyed markedly pulmonary valve leaflets. After excising pulmonary valve leaflets, we implanted a bioprosthetic valve and enlarged the pulmonary artery with autologous pericardium. A year after surgery, the patient is stable with no sign of infection.

[Gradual Enlargement of Saphenous Vein Graft Aneurysm Causing Chest Symptom after Coronary Artery Bypass Grafting;Report of a Case].

A 70-year-old man was admitted to our hospital because of shortness of breath. He had undergone coronary artery bypass grafting at another hospital 18 years before. We had detected his saphenous vein graft to the right coronary artery being aneurysmal 3 years before. The aneurysm had grown from 23 mm to 42 mm during the follow-up. Because of an angina-like symptom and the possibility of rupture, we performed resection of the aneurysm and redo coronary artery bypass grafting to the right coronary artery using another saphenous vein. His symptom has disappeared since then. Saphenous vein graft aneurysm needs close follow-up even when conservative therapy is selected.

[Surgical Treatment of Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm with Ectopic Kidney with Stanford Type A Acute Aortic Dissection;Report of a Case].

We experienced a surgical case of Stanford type A acute aortic dissection with abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) associated with ectopic kidney. Computerized tomography did not detect any ulcer-like projections, but 3 days later, it appeared, and emergency surgery was performed. Second-stage surgery was selected and done later to repair AAA. The right kidney was an ectopic pelvic kidney. The renal arteries had branched off from the left common iliac artery, and the renal artery lumen narrowed. With a 4 Fr catheter, cold Ringer's solution was given to protect the kidneys during surgery. The patient showed no deterioration of kidney function and made good progress. After rehabilitation, the patient had no complications and was discharged from the hospital.

[Treatment Strategy for Stanford Type A Acute Aortic Dissection].

The fundamental treatment of Stanford type A acute aortic dissection is a lifesaving emergency surgery in our hospital. We perform hemiarch replacement with a focus on entry tear, but an extended surgery is also performed only when resection of the entry tear is difficult. The outcomes of current therapeutic policy, along with the short-term and the long-term outcomes of different sites of entry tear, were examined retrospectively. Three hundred and twenty surgery of Stanford type A acute aortic dissection were performed between 1991 and 2015 at our hospital. Their short-term and long-term outcomes were examined after dividing them into 7 groups according to their entry sites. We also investigated surgical methods and effects of presence/absence of residual entry tear. As a result, overall hospital mortality was 13.1%. There was no significant difference in either shortterm or long-term outcome among the groups. Likewise, no significant difference was observed in the surgical methods or the presence/absence of residual entry tear. Recently, minimally invasive procedures, such as stent-grafting, have been applied to manage the residual entry tear. Therefore, an aggressive extended surgery is no longer inevitable and our current therapeutic policy is considered reasonable.

[Ruptured Left Ventricular Pseudoaneurysm Representing Cardiac Tamponade;Report of a Case].

A 64-year-old woman was followed by the other hospital because of left ventricular false aneurysm after percutaneous coronary intervention for acute myocardial infarction of which culprit lesion was left circumflex artery. She admitted to the hospital suffering from nausea and dyspnea. Echocardiography showed huge pericardial effusion and cardiac tamponade due to ruptured left ventricular false aneurysm and transferred to our hospital under pericardial drainage. She presented with symptoms such as shock, so we performed emergent left ventricular reconstruction. She uneventfully left our hospital on 18 post-operative day.

[Retrograde Stanford type A aortic dissection treated by thoracic endo-vascular aortic repair (TEVAR) after ascending aortic replacement].

A 77-year-old woman was admitted to a hospital with complaints of back pain, nausea and vomiting for 4 days. She underwent enhanced aortic computed tomography (CT) and was diagnosed with Stanford type A acute aortic dissection. Then she was transferred to our hospital. CT showed aortic dissection spreading from the ascending aorta up to the abdominal aorta and an intimal tear located at the descending thoracic aorta. Although the false lumen of the ascending aorta was thrombosed, emergency ascending aorta replacement and aortic valve replacement were performed, because pericardial effusion and severe aortic regurgitation were found by echocardiography. Postoperative enhanced CT showed an intimal tear and residual flow in the false lumen from the distal arch to the descending aorta. So an additional thoracic endo-vascular aortic repair (TEVAR) procedure was performed to close the entry tear 20 days after the 1st operation. She uneventfully left our hospital on the 15th postoperative day.

Complete surgical repair for enlarging coronary aneurysm with coronary-pulmonary artery fistula.

A 46-year-old male patient was referred to our hospital due to the presence of a coronary aneurysm showing a tendency to enlarge. Subsequent coronary angiography revealed a diagnosis of coronary aneurysm with a concomitant coronary-pulmonary artery fistula. The patient underwent a successful surgical repair, and postoperatively, experienced an uneventful recovery with no residual shunt or aneurysm.

A case report of concurrent management of acute myocardial infarction complicated by left ventricular thrombus and ischaemic stroke.

Background: Left ventricular thrombus (LVT) formation is a serious complication of acute myocardial infarction (AMI) requiring complicated management strategies and collaboration among cardiologists, cardiovascular surgeons, and neurosurgeons. Case summary: We present the case of an 83-year-old female patient with AMI. Emergency coronary angiography revealed subtotal occlusion of the proximal left anterior descending artery, and the patient was successfully treated with a drug-eluting stent. The following day, she suddenly developed loss of consciousness, global aphasia, and right hemiplegia. Brain magnetic resonance imaging revealed acute ischaemic cerebral infarction caused by multiple mobile LVT, as demonstrated by echocardiography. After a heart-brain team discussion, we decided to perform percutaneous mechanical thrombectomy. Successful recanalization was achieved with mechanical thrombectomy 2 h after presentation, which resulted in significant neurological recovery. Immediately after the thrombectomy, she was transferred to a cardiovascular surgery centre for surgical removal of multiple LV apical thrombi. Two weeks after the operation, the patient was discharged with the recovery of LV systolic function. Discussion: Although AMI complicated by acute stroke caused by LVT remains a clinical challenge, a multidisciplinary approach is critically important for optimal care. Based on an urgent team discussion, we decided to perform endovascular thrombectomy for ischaemic stroke, followed by surgical removal of the LVT, requiring patient transportation to the cardiovascular surgery centre. Given that the heart and brain team-based approach remains confined to large, specialized centres, it might be beneficial to establish a community-based integrated heart-brain team that can address the growing needs of complex patients.

[Intraoperative aortic dissection].

Intraoperative aortic dissection is a rare complication of open heart operations. Once dissection has occurred, great caution is required because of high mortality rate. We reported 4 cases of intraoperative aortic dissection. The incident rate was 0.08%, and the most common site of aortic injury was the aortic cannulation site( 3/4 patients). Intraoperative epiaortic echography is effective in diagnosis. All cases underwent graft replacement of the ascending aorta. The postoperative course was uneventful. Both prompt recognition and appropriate surgical management are mondatory to improve operative outcome.

[Vascular Behçet disease presenting large right coronary artery pseudoaneurysm after percutaneous coronary intervention( PCI): report of a case].

A 37-year-old man was diagnosed with angina pectoris and underwent percutaneous coronary intervention(PCI) procedure for right coronary artery in other hospital. Five months after PCI procedure, he was admitted to the hospital because of fever, chest pain and respiratory discomfort. He was diagnosed as having a large right coronary artery pseudoaneurysm which was about 40 mm in diameter. He was transfered to our hospital. We did coronary artery bypass grafting(CABG)[ saphenous vein graft (SVG)-#3] and pseudoaneurysm closure, and he left our hospital on 37 post-operative day. After discharge from our hospital, he developed iliocecal ulcer, oral aphtha, folliculitis and arthralgia and was diagnosed with Behçet disease. Seven months after the 1st surgery, proximal anastomosis site of SVG was ruptured and presented huge ascending aorta pseudoaneurysm. We performed autologous pericardial patch plasty on ascending aorta, and covered there with omentum flap. He uneventfully left our hospital on 19 post-operative day.

[Thoracic and cardiovascular surgery in Jehovah's Witness].

A Jehovah's Witness who requires thoracic and cardiovascular surgery represents a challenge to both the surgeon and the patient because of the patient's refusal to accept blood transfusion. We reported 15 cases of Jehovah's Witness patients from 43 to 80 years of age who underwent cardiac operations or thoracic vascular operations. There was 1 emergency operation case and 2 re-do operation cases. Erythropoietin and serum albumin injections were allowed to be used in some cases. The mean pre-operative haemoglobin level in these patients was 12.3 g/dl. The mean postoperative lowest haemoglobin level was 9.2 g/dl. The mean haemoglobin level at the point of leaving hospital was 11.4 g/dl. There were no postoperative complications and no operative deaths. We successfully performed the thoracic and cardiovascular operations on Jehovah's Witnesses, including emergency cases, safely without blood transfusion. The most important thing is a careful and safe operative technique which reduces perioperative bleeding as much as possible.

Hybrid endovascular repair for an arch aneurysm combined with aberrant right subclavian artery.

This report describes a hybrid endovascular approach to a 9.3-cm saccular aneurysm of the left sided aortic arch combined with an aberrant right subclavian artery. The two-step procedure consisted of a bilateral carotid-subclavian bypass, followed by an ascending aorta-bicarotid bypass and completed by an endovascular exclusion of the aneurysm by covering the whole aortic arch and its branches. The patient had no postoperative complications and was discharged 10 postoperative day. Hybrid procedures may be useful in complex aortic arch pathologies and may reduce postoperative complications in comparison with conventional open surgery.