[Blunt Traumatic Aortic Arch Pseudoaneurysm and Literature Review:Report of a Case].

We experienced an extremely rare case of blunt traumatic aortic arch pseudoaneurysm( BTAAPA) and report it with literature review. A 40-year-old asymptomatic man with chest X-ray abnormality visited our hospital. Contrast-enhanced computed tomography( CT) scans revealed saccular aortic-isthmus aneurysm, and BTAAPA was diagnosed because of a history of multiple severe traffic trauma 21 years before. The patient underwent replacement of the distal aortic arch and proximal descending aorta under partial cardiopulmonary bypass through left posterolateral thoracotomy. The postoperative course was uneventful. BTAAPA is exceedingly uncommon, and our comprehensive literature search identified only 9 cases including the present case. The age at diagnosis was 10 to 76 years, 7 cases were males, and most of the traumas were due to traffic accidents. The present case had the longest duration (21 years) from the trauma to the diagnosis. Six patients underwent thoracic endovascular aortic repair with good prognosis.

Recurrent left ventricular thrombus due to essential thrombocythemia complicated by COVID-19.

Essential thrombocythemia is a risk factor for thrombosis and hemorrhage. During the perioperative period of cardiac surgery, the risk of thrombosis and hemorrhage increases. Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is also associated with thrombosis. We present the case of a 69-year-old man with essential thrombocythemia complicated by COVID-19 who developed a left ventricular thrombus. We performed thrombectomy, but the patient developed recurrent left ventricular thrombus 8 days after surgery. Emergency redo thrombectomy was performed followed by aggressive blood-thinning therapy. The postoperative course was complicated by cardiac tamponade requiring surgical drainage 8 days after the second surgery. The patient was discharged home 25 days after the second operation without any complications. Learning objective: Left ventricular thrombus is a rare but fatal complication associated with essential thrombocythemia. COVID-19 has also been reported to cause coagulopathy. This case suggested that after surgery for left ventricular thrombus complicated by multiple risk factors including essential thrombocythemia and COVID-19, aggressive blood-thinning therapy with combination of anticoagulation, antiplatelet, and metabolic antagonist may help prevent recurrent thrombosis.

Coil-in-Plug Method for Left Subclavian Artery Embolization in Thoracic Endovascular Aortic Repair with Arch Vessel Debranching.

Objectives: Since 2018, we have routinely placed an Amplatzer vascular plug (AVP) in the proximal left subclavian artery (LSCA) to prevent embolic events during thoracic endovascular aortic repair with arch vessel debranching (d-TEVAR). Type II endoleaks of LSCA origin were observed in two patients (20%), and the coil-in-plug (CIP) method, i.e., microcatheter insertion through the plug and addition of coil embolization, which has been used since August 2019, was performed. This study aims to evaluate the effectiveness of the CIP method for LSCA embolization. Methods: A total of 26 patients who underwent d-TEVAR for an aortic arch aneurysm between 2018 and 2022 were retrospectively reviewed. Ten patients who underwent d-TEVAR with a simple AVP placement (the control group) and 16 patients who underwent d-TEVAR with the CIP method (the CIP group) were compared. Results: Two patients had type II endoleaks in the control group, whereas none had them in the CIP group. LSCA length was significantly shorter in patients with endoleaks than in those without endoleaks (24.5 vs. 50.3 mm; p<0.01). No perioperative deaths or cerebral infarctions occurred in either group. Conclusions: AVP placement in the LSCA during d-TEVAR effectively prevented perioperative cerebral infarction. d-TEVAR with CIP was especially useful in patients with a short LSCA.