ABSTRACT
We report a case of arbitrary delayed surgical repair for left ventricular free wall rupture (LVFWR) after acute myocardial infarction with suspected posterior papillary muscle necrosis. The case was a 67-year-old woman who had chest and back pain in the morning, and relapsed in the evening, and was urgently transported. She had an acute lateral wall myocardial infarction on an electrocardiogram and pericardial effusion on transthoracic echocardiography (TTE). She was found to have an obstruction at the origin of the left circumflex branch on coronary angiography. TTE showed low-intensity findings on the head of the posterior papillary muscle, suggesting necrosis of the papillary muscle. For LVFWR, conservative treatment was prioritized and IABP (intra-aortic balloon pumping) management was performed for the purpose of reducing after load because there was concern about papillary muscle rupture (PMR) due to cardiac manipulation and because it was an oozing type and did not disrupt respiratory of circulatory dynamics. On the 7th day after the onset, TTE showed improvement in echo-luminance of the posterior papillary muscle head and gradual increase in pericardial fluid, and a non-suture procedure was performed. She withdrew from the IABP on the third day after surgery and was discharged home on the 12th day.
ABSTRACT
A 27-year-old woman who suffered loss of consciousness twice after left femoral pain in the 25th week of gestation was referred to the obstetrics and gynecology department of our hospital. A structure with an attachment on the atrial wall was found in both atria on echocardiography, leading us to suspect impending paradoxical embolism (IPE). Judging from the shape of the thrombus in the atria, we thought that there was a high possibility of further embolism although rescue of the baby was feasible via cesarean section, so we decided to carry out emergency surgery. After delivering the infant by cesarean section, we used a heart-lung machine to incise the right atrium under hypothermia and remove the thrombus. As intraoperative esophageal echocardiography showed embolization in the right pulmonary artery, we cut the right pulmonary artery and removed the emboli. After surgery, a femoral vein thrombus was observed on echocardiography of the lower extremity vein, and we inserted an inferior vena cava filter. The patient was discharged on the 16th postoperative day. The situation whereby a thrombus is trapped in the foramen ovale without embolism of the arterial system is the rare pathological condition known as IPE. As no cases of surgical thrombectomy to treat IPE arising from complications of pregnancy have been reported thus far, the case described herein fittingly augments the literature.
ABSTRACT
A 58-year-old man underwent renal transplantation 26 years previously and had been treated with immunosuppressive drugs. He presented at the local hospital with backache symptoms during the waiting period prior to repair of an abdominal aortic aneurysm. Computed tomography revealed a retroperitoneal hematoma around the abdominal aortic aneurysm. He was admitted to our hospital and emergency straight graft replacement was performed. After clamping of the aorta, we performed axillo-common iliac perfusion to protect the transplanted kidney. The patient recovered without transplanted kidney dysfunction.
ABSTRACT
<p>For A 38-year-old male diagnosed a congenital complete atrioventricular block in the neonatal period, epicardial lead and pacemaker was implanted through left thoracotomy. Although we tried to implant a pacemaker through the subclavian vein as an adult, it was unsuccessful because of obstruction of the bilateral subclavian vein. For this reason, we performed a pacemaker implantation with transatrial-endocardial lead through the right thoracotomy due to save the generator electric power. This is one of the useful techniques for cases with obstruction of the upper extremity vein.</p>
ABSTRACT
<p>A 64-year-old man originally underwent Bentall procedure for annulo-aortic ectasia for the first time at the age of 38 years. The surgery was to repair a pseudoaneurysm at the anastomotic site of the left coronary artery by direct closure 11 years after the first Bentall procedure. The anastomosis of the right coronary artery was normal at the time of the first reoperation. However, he had surgery to repair a pseudoaneurysm at the anastomotic site of the right coronary artery 26 years after the first operation ; this was accomplished using the button technique. However, seven months after the second reoperation, he again manifested a pseudoaneurysm at the anastomotic site of the left coronary artery and died of rupture of the pseudoaneurysm. We report the case of pseudoaneurysms at the right and left coronary artery anastomoses that occurred three times after the first Bentall procedure.</p>
ABSTRACT
We describe a case of ruptured coronary artery aneurysm with a coronary artery to a pulmonary artery fistula. An 89-year-old woman with general fatigue and dyspnea was admitted. At the visit she went into shock and was restored by rehydration therapy. Enhanced computed tomography shows a coronary aneurysm (maximum diameter of 50 mm) at the left side of pulmonary artery and mild pericardial effusions. She was scheduled for an emergency operation due to the ruptured coronary artery aneurysm with a coronary artery to pulmonary artery fistula. We performed aneurysmectomy and ligation of the coronary artery to the pulmonary artery fistula under cardiopulmonary bypass. We also reviewed 23 cases of ruptured coronary artery aneurysm with coronary artery extending to a pulmonary artery fistula in Japan. The disease is a rare clinical state and regarded as an indication for emergency surgery.
ABSTRACT
A 73-year-old man who underwent redo aortic valve replacement due to dysfunction of tissue heart valve developed hypoxemia with bilateral infiltrates on frontal chest radiograph and hypotension shortly after his operation. Due to the presence of progressive hypotension and hypoxemia, we inserted an intra-aortic balloon pump and, furthermore, provided percutaneous cardiopulmonary support. We ruled out cardiogenic pulmonary edema based on information from various examinations, including echocardiography, and subsequently diagnosed possible transfusion-related acute lung injury (possible TRALI). The patient was treated by mechanical ventilation and circulatory support under close supervision, showing a trend of improvement from postoperative day 2 and discontinuing mechanical ventilation on postoperative day 11. The patient made an uneventful recovery and was discharged on postoperative day 50. Cardiac surgery patients are at particular risk for TRALI, so physicians should consider TRALI whenever a patient develops hypoxemia during or shortly after transfusion. Rapid diagnosis and appropriate treatment of TRALI are especially important in cardiac surgery patients.
ABSTRACT
We describe a case of an intracardiac foreign body that was treated by surgery. A 27-year-old man sustained a neck injury by a nail fired from a pneumatic nail gun, and was admitted to a hospital. Chest radiography did not show any abnormality, and his injury healed after 1week. A radiography performed during a routine medical checkup after 2 months indicated that a nail was located within the heart. He was subsequently admitted to our hospital for further examinations. Chest computed tomography (CT) revealed the presence of a nail-like foreign body in the right ventricle. We diagnosed the patient with an intracardiac foreign body that was related to the injury sustained 2 months previously, although the underlying mechanism was unknown. He underwent emergency surgery, and the foreign body was removed under cardiopulmonary bypass without any complications. When a rigid substance impacts the body at high speeds, we should consider that some fragments could remain embedded in the body. CT scans are very useful for the diagnosis and identification of foreign bodies.
ABSTRACT
We clinically reviewed 4 cases of redo cardiac surgery after previous CABG with functioning internal thoracic artery grafts. The patients consisted of 1 man and 3 women (76.8±8.3 years old). Internal thoracic artery (ITA) grafts were used in all patients. Furthermore, 2 mitral valve replacements, 1 aortic valve replacement and 1 replacement of the ascending aorta were performed as redo cardiac surgery. The heart was approached via a anterolateral right thoracotomy in 3 cases. Femoral artery cannulation was used for cardiopulmonary bypass, and the right superior pulmonary vein was exposed to vent the left ventricle in all patients. The functioning ITA grafts were not dissected and were clamped in all cases of the 4 patients, 2 underwent cardioplegic arrest under moderate hypothermia. We could not achieve cardioplegic arrest in 1 patient, and therefore we also performed deep hypothermic fibrillatory arrest. Another patient underwent deep hypothermic circulatory arrest. Serum CK-MB values were elevated in all cases (111.7±89.0 IU/<i>l</i>). However, these elevations did not correlate with intraoperative arrest duration or type of operative procedure performed. Operative mortality was 0%, and all patients were discharged with out any evidence of sequelae. Hypothermic fibrillatory arrest had an effective additional cardioprotective effect for incomplete cardioplegia in these 4 cases. Functioning ITA grafting was not necessary in dissection and clamping for cardioprotection. An anterolateral right thoracotomy provided a safe approach to the heart, avoiding functioning ITA graft injury.
ABSTRACT
A 37-year-old man who had suffered right chest pain while mowing weeds was transferred to our hospital. A chest roentgenogram revealed a needle-like foreign body overlying the cardiac silhouette and chest CT confirmed an intracardiac foreign body. The patient underwent emergency operation, and a foreign body was removed under cardiopulmonary bypass and performed cardiac repair. A foreign body penetrated right lung and reached it in the left atrial cavity. The patient recovered uneventfully without any symptoms of infections.
ABSTRACT
We performed entry closure for the chronic type B dissecting aneurysms by open surgical procedure or endovascular stent-graft placement. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the mid-term results of these patients with respect to mortality, morbidity, change of aneurysm diameter and outcome of the false lumen. From 1996 to 2003, entry closure was performed on 8 patients with chronic dissecting aortic aneurysm with an entry site in the descending aorta and visceral arteries that originated from the true lumen. The study population consisted of 4 men and 4 women with a mean age of 63.8±10.9 years. One patient had a DeBakey type III a and 7 patients had a DeBakey type III b dissecting aneurysm. Five patients underwent surgical entry closure and 3 patients underwent endovascular stent-graft placement. The mean follow-up period was 40±29 months. No operative mortalities, complications of paraplegia or visceral ischemia occurred. A leak was identified in 3 patients, 1 patient underwent an open repair with descending aortic replacement and 1 patient required additional stent-grafting. In the follow-up period, 1 patient died of cancer, but there were no dissection-related mortalities or re-operations for increase in size. With the exception of 1 case with a graft replacement, complete thrombosis of the thoracic aortic false lumen was achieved in 6 cases. There were no significant differences in the pre- and postoperative aortic diameter. Overall, complete thrombosis of the thoracic aortic false lumen was achieved with a high rate of success without a dissection-related mortality. Long-term follow-up, however, is necessary because a reduction in size did not occur in some cases.
ABSTRACT
Although the pressure gradient (PG) and the effective orifice area (EOA) have been used as indices of prosthetic valve function, these values show correctly neither energy loss, nor increased workload. This study aimed to evaluate the prosthetic valve function using echocardiography and PG, EOA and energy loss index, a new index advocated by Garcia et al. These were calculated for 40 patients with aortic prosthetic valve replacement by SJM valve (19HP, 6 cases; 21mm, 16 cases; 23mm, 14 cases; 25mm, 4 cases). Preoperative and postoperative echocardiographic measurements and their variations were analyzed and compared according to the size of implanted valve. In the comparison before and after aortic valve replacement, left ventricular mass (383±151g vs 288±113g, <i>p</i><0.01), SV1+RV5 on ECG (5.07±1.73mV vs 3.83±1.5mV, <i>p</i><0.01), and diastolic left ventricular posterior wall thickness (14.4±3.7mm vs 12.9±2.8mm, <i>p</i><0.05) decreased significantly after the operation. However, there was no significant difference according to the size of the prosthetic valve in these reduction rates caluculated by (preoperative value-postoperative value)/preoperative value. Small size prosthetic valves were used for patients with small diameter of left ventricular outflow tract (LVOT) (19HP, 18±2mm; 21mm, 21±2mm; 23mm, 23±4mm; 25mm, 27±3mm; <i>p</i><0.01) and small body surface area (19HP, 1.5±0.2m<sup>2</sup>; 21mm, 1.5±0.2m<sup>2</sup>; 23mm, 1.7±0.1m<sup>2</sup>; 25mm, 1.8±0.1m<sup>2</sup>; <i>p</i><0.01) in our study. There was a signifcant difference in EOA (19HP, 1.2±0.4cm<sup>2</sup>; 21mm, 1.9±0.7cm<sup>2</sup>; 23mm, 2.2±0.9cm<sup>2</sup>; 25mm, 3.5±1.1cm<sup>2</sup>; <i>p</i><0.01), but not in ELI (19HP, 1.01±0.41cm<sup>2</sup>/m<sup>2</sup>; 21mm, 1.87±1.03cm<sup>2</sup>/m<sup>2</sup>; 23mm, 1.83±1.09cm<sup>2</sup>/m<sup>2</sup>; 25mm, 3.08±1.21cm<sup>2</sup>/m<sup>2</sup>; <i>p</i>=0.055) according to the size of the prosthetic valve. Small size prosthetic valves had small EOA, but showed satisfactory valve function in decreasing left ventricular hypertrophy and reducing LVM and ELI of small size was similar to that of large size.
ABSTRACT
A 52-year-old woman who had been treated for miliary pulmonary tuber culosis complained of left flank pain. Abdominal aortic angiography revealed a saccular type aneurysm in the supra-renal abdominal aorta. We resected the aneurysm and reconstructed the aorta by arificial graft patch under partial extracorporeal circulation. The left renal artery was reconstructed by an artificial graft. During the operation, the superior mesenteric artery and the bilateral renal arteries were perfused by blood from the extracorporeal circuit. On pathological examination, it was shown that the aneurysm was caused by tuberculosis.
ABSTRACT
There are few reports on the long term efficacy of surgery for endocardial cushion defect (ECD) in elderly patients. We report a case with a successful course after ECD operation. A 70-year-old man was admitted with incomplete ECD, grade III mitral and tricuspid regurgitation, pulmonary hypertension and atrial fibrillation. The operative procedures included direct closure of the mitral cleft, pericardial patch closure for the ostium primum defect, direct closure of the tricuspid cleft and tricuspid annuloplasty. Pulmonary hypertension was improved after the operation, and he was discharged on the 41st day after the operation. Now, 3 years and 6 months after the operation, he has maintained an improved quality of life (QOL) with an uneventful postoperative course. The present report may suggest one solution for the long term effective treatment by operation for elderly patients who suffer from ECD, especially to achieve better QOL.
ABSTRACT
DeBakey IIIb aortic dissection associated with thoracic aneurysm was successfully operated upon in a 59-year-old man. The patient had sudden onset of severe back pain and pain in the left lower extremity and dissection associated with thoracic aneurysm was diagnosed. During the operation, we used partial cardiopulmonary bypass support with cannulation of the pulmonary and femoral artery. The entry of the dissection was in a true aneurysm of the descending aorta, and it was replaced with a 22mm Hemashield prosthetic graft. Aortic dissection, with entry in the true aneurysm is rare and is of high risk for rupture.
ABSTRACT
Renal function, hemolysis and hematologic parameters after transfusion using a cell-separation (CS) device were retrospectively evaluated during abdominal aortic aneurysm repair. Fifty-eight patients were divided into two groups, that is, the CS group (<i>n</i>=39) who received autologous retransfusion using the CS device and the non-CS group (<i>n</i>=19) who were operated before 1989, when we started to use CS device in our operating theater. Hematologic parameters and levels of GOT, GPT, LDH, BUN and creatinine were assessed before and 1, 2, 3, 4 and 7 days after the operation. Mean transfused homologous blood was 1.3±1.8 units in the CS groups and 4.9±3.1 units in the non-CS group (<i>p</i><0.05). Peak levels of LDH and GPT were significantly higher in the CS group than the non-CS group (<i>p</i><0.05) after the operation (GOT, CS group: 60.4±29.1IU/<i>l</i> vs non-CS group: 34.8±12.3IU/<i>l</i>, LDH, CS group: 643±324IU/<i>l</i> vs non-CS group: 446±108IU/l). There was no significant difference in the levels of BUN and creatinine levels between the two groups. Hemoglobin levels decreased gradually after the operation in CS group patients who did not receive a homologous blood transfusion. These data suggested that mild hemolysis occurred after retransfusion of autologous blood, but that the hemolysis due to the CS device had no effect on the renal function of the patients.
ABSTRACT
We evaluated the efficacy of evoked spinal potential (ESP) monitoring during thoracoabdominal aortic replacement to prevent intra-operative spinal ischemia. Nine patients underwent intraoperative ESP monitoring. The ESP was unchanged in 5 patients and decreased in 4 patients. However, ESP recovered in 2 of them by the following techniques: (1) perfusion of intercostal arteries, (2) elevation of distal bypass perfusion pressure, (3) slight hypothermia. Postoperative paraplegia occurred only 1 patient of the 2 whose ESP was not restored. The sensitivity and specificity of the efficacy of ESP monitoring were 100% and 87.5%, respectively. We concluded that ESP is the most useful monitoring for prevention of operative spinal ischemia during thoracoabdominal aortic replacement.