Pulmonary Valve Replacement for Isolated Pulmonary Valve Endocarditis / 日本心臓血管外科学会雑誌

<p>A 75-year-old man who presented with fever and cough was given a diagnosis with active pulmonary valve endocarditis and transferred to our institution. Blood cultures were positive for <i>Enterococcus faecalis</i>, and transthoracic echocardiography showed a mobile vegetation attached to the pulmonary valve. Despite an 8-week treatment with antibiotics, a relapse of the infection required surgery. During the surgical procedure, we found that the vegetation had destroyed all of the pulmonary valve leaflets. After excising the pulmonary valve leaflets, we implanted a bioprosthetic valve and closed the pulmonary artery with autologous pericardium. The patient completed a 6-week course of intravenous antibiotics and was discharged on postoperative day 68. Postoperative transthoracic echocardiography demonstrated an adequate effective orifice area index. Our case report of isolated pulmonary valve endocarditis without predisposing factors is rare. The implantation of a bioprosthetic valve and enlargement with an autologous pericardial patch is an effective option for achieving a satisfactory hemodynamic profile.</p>

A Case of Cardiac Angiosarcoma Successfully Treated with Postoperative Conformal Dynamic Arc Radiotherapy / 日本心臓血管外科学会雑誌

Cardiac angiosarcoma is a rare heart malignancy. The prognosis is reported to be very poor. Here, we report a case of cardiac angiosarcoma which was treated by postoperative conformal dynamic arc radiotherapy. The patient has been in good health with no recurrence for 18 months after surgery. The patient was a 71-year-old woman, who presented edema and general malaise. Echocardiography and computed tomography revealed a right atrial mass and massive pericardial effusion, which was thought to be the cause of tamponade. Intraoperatively, we found a large tumor arising from right atrial wall spreading and invading to the inferior vena cava, diaphragm, and right pericardium. We abandoned complete resection of the tumor. We only resected the part of the tumor under cardiopulmonary bypass. The subsequent defect of the right atrial wall was reconstructed with bovine pericardial patch. The pathological diagnosis was consistent with angiosarcoma, and the margin was positive for the tumor. In addition to reduction surgery, we adopted radiotherapy (conformal dynamic arc radiotherapy, 10MV-X-ray, 54 Gy/18 Fr/4.5 week, fractionated radiotherapy). The CT, one month after the radiation, showed a significant reduction in tumor size. Moreover, no tumor could be pointed out by echocardiography 18 months after surgery. Advances in technology and methodology has made tumor control possible without significant side effects. We conclude that reduction surgery accompanied with postoperative radiotherapy is promising in maintaining quality of life and in improving life expectancy.