Surgical treatment of the aberrant retroesophageal right subclavian artery in adults (dysphagia lusoria). Report of two new cases and review of the literature.

Two cases of an aberrant right subclavian artery causing dysphagia lusoria in the adult are presented. The first patient was treated by dividing the aberrant vessel through a right posterolateral thoracotomy and anastomosing the divided subclavian artery to the ascending aorta with a Dacron graft. The second patient, had a simple division of the anomalous vessel through a left posterolateral thoracotomy, but developed a subclavian steal syndrome. These symptoms were relieved by anastomosing the stump of the artery to the ascending aorta with the use of a graft. The world literature is reviewed with reference to the operative treatment of the dysphagia lusoria in adults. A total of twenty surgically treated patients have been recorded. The mechanisms involved in the production of symptoms and the surgical approaches are reviewed and discussed.

Mycotic tuberculous aneurysm of the descending thoracic aorta.

Tuberculous aneurysm of the aorta is a rare and dangerous condition. Despite modern diagnostic and surgical techniques, it remains a challenge to recognize and treat. A successful resection of a false aneurysm of the descending aorta that ruptured into the lung of a 55-year-old woman is reported. A history of the patient and microscopic examination of the specimen indicated a diagnosis of tuberculosis. Antituberculosis chemotherapy was immediately implemented. The patient appears to be in good condition 8 months after operation; however, she remains under treatment for tuberculosis.

Combined open-heart valve surgery and elective abdominal operations.

From January 1970 to December 1984, at the "A. De Gasperis" Division of cardiac surgery in 73 patients an open-heart valvular operation and an elective abdominal surgical procedure were simultaneously performed. Abdominal surgery was indicated for: cholelithiasis (41 cases), hernia (22 cases), uterine fibroleiomyomas (7 cases), pregnancy (1 case), marginal ulcer after gastric resection (1 case), association of cholelithiasis and hernia (1 case). The etiology of valvular disease was: previous rheumatic fever (69 cases) and acute bacterial endocarditis (1 case); there were 3 cases of periprosthetic leak. All patients were classified in NYHA class III or IV. In all patients the abdominal procedure was carried out first. No significant differences were noted between this group of patients and patients with isolated open-heart operations regarding: postoperative bleeding, stay in Postoperative Intensive Care Unit, overall postoperative hospital stay. There were 5 hospital deaths, all related to cardiac causes. There were no infectious complications, nor early or late abdominal wound complications. The rationale for the combined approach to abdominal and cardiac diseases includes: risk of non cardiac surgery in patients with critical heart disease, risk of non cardiac surgery in patients with previous cardiac valve operations and anticoagulant therapy and risk of abdominal complications after cardiopulmonary bypass surgery. Simultaneous abdominal and cardiac surgery is suggested on clinical, psychological and social grounds.

Intrapericardial hydatid cyst. Report of a case successfully operated.

Hydatid disease of the pericardium is rarely observed. The case of a 42-year-old man with intrapericardial hydatid cyst is presented. The first symptom of the disease was severe chest pain with electrocardiographic evidence of Q waves and T negative waves suggestive of myocardial necrosis. The two-dimensional echocardiography revealed large cystic image localized in the lateral-inferior wall of the left ventricle. Surgical treatment was carried out without the aid of cardiopulmonary by-pass, although this had been contemplated. The patient is asymptomatic and all electrocardiographic abnormalities regressed three months after the operation. The development, natural history, complications, diagnosis and surgical therapy of intrapericardial echinococcosis are discussed.

[Defects of the interatrial septum: surgical correction without the hemodynamic test. Analysis of 145 cases operated on]. / Difetti del setto interatriale: correzione chirurgica senza esame emodinamico. Analisi su 145 casi operati.

Surgical correction of ostium secundum atrial septal defects may be performed, in most cases, without cardiac catheterization, on the ground of clinical and two-dimensional echocardiographic (2D echo) findings. Consequently it's useful to identify the reliability of 2D echo and the indications for angiography in these patients (pts). One hundred forty-five patients operated in "A. De Gasperis" Division of Cardiac Surgery in Milan from January 1982 to December 1986 are reviewed. Patients with ostium primum atrial septal defects or subjected to cardiac catheterization and angiography in other institutions are excluded. Altogether two-dimensional echocardiography was performed in 131 pts, cardiac catheterization in 78. Sixty-four pts were studied with both 2D echo and angiography. In 35 pts (with only 2D echo examination) radionuclide angiocardiography was performed. The results of the different techniques were compared with intra-operative findings, defining sensitivity and specificity in relation to detection of the site of the defect and of the pulmonary venous return. There were no statistically significative differences between echo 2D and cardiac catheterization (Figs. 1 and 2). Two-dimensional echocardiography confirms its cost effective and psychological advantages, especially in younger patients. Hemodynamic and angiographic assessment should be performed as follows: 1) when associated anomalies are suspected; 2) in cases of non-satisfying quality of the 2D echo examination; 3) when diagnostic incoherence between clinical and instrumental data is present; 4) in patients with pulmonary hypertension.

[Stenosis of the left coronary trunk. Results of aorto-coronary bypass in a series of 46 patients]. / Stenosi del tronco comune della coronaria di sinistra. Risultati del by-pass aorto-coronarico in una serie di 46 pazienti.

Forty-six patients were operated on from 1979 to 1980 in the Department of Cardiovascular Surgery "A. De Gasperis" in Milan, to relieve left main coronary artery stenosis. There was only one death (2,1%) in a patient with "untractable angina". Three patients had per-operative infarction. No other complication were noted. The follow-up varies from 4 to 30 months: 40 patients are asymptomatic, 2 are improved, 1 patient had a recurrence of angina after 15 months. There were no deaths nor myocardial infarctions in the long-term follow-up.

Aortic and coronary atheromatosis in a woman with severe hypercholesterolaemia without LDL receptor alterations.

Familial hypercholesterolaemia (FH) is a monogenic disorder, with a strong family history, characterized by a deficiency in functional receptors for low density lipoproteins (LDL). The case of a patient with all the clinical traits of FH, including elevated cholesterol, xanthomas and early coronary and peripheral arterial lesions, but with a normal LDL receptor function, is described. In the patient the molecular weight and immunological properties of apolipoprotein (apo) B were normal; furthermore, autoantibodies to either LDL or to their receptor were also absent. The increased apo B/cholesterol ratio in LDL was compatible with the diagnosis of hyperapobetalipoproteinaemia. With the help of a turnover study using 131I homologous and 125I autologous LDL, it could be established that the patient had an almost three-fold increase in LDL-apo B biosynthesis, with, however, a fractional catabolic rate within normal limits. These findings pointed to the possibility of a genomic alteration in the region responsible for the control of apo B biosynthesis. However, extensive studies both at the cDNA level and in the 5' region of the apo B gene, failed to detect any significant alteration vs published nucleotide sequences. Although the exact mechanism for this unusual clinical presentation of an FH-like syndrome could not be uncovered, this case provides an extreme example of hypercholesterolaemia, with early and severe arterial disease, solely explained by an increased LDL biosynthesis.