ABSTRACT
The frozen elephant trunk technique (FET) for the treatment of acute aortic dissection is associated with more favorable remodeling in the descending aorta compared to those patients without FET, but it may also be associated with postoperative spinal cord injury (SCI) and actually,some postoperative SCI cases after FET are reported. Several risk factors for SCI are known and one of them is due to the occlusion of intercostal arteries from false lumen. A 71-year-old woman underwent total arch replacement with FET, but after surgery, she noticed decreased movement in both lower extremities and was suspected of postoperative paraplegia. She went through cerebrospinal fluid drainage but didn't get better at all. According to the preoperative contrast computed tomography images, seven out of ten intercostal arteries were originating from the false lumen and six of them were occluded after surgery. When most of intercostal arteries are originating from the false lumen and there is no entry inside the descending and abdominal aorta, the intercostal arteries may be occluded due to thrombosis of the false lumen and it may cause spinal cord ischemia after surgery.
ABSTRACT
Anomalous aortic origin of a coronary artery is a rare congenital anomaly that can cause myocardial ischemia and ventricular arrhythmia. This disease initially manifests as cardiac arrest in half of patients. The indications and surgical strategy remain unclear, especially in patients who are asymptomatic and have poor ischemic findings. We report a surgical strategy to treat anomalous aortic origin of the right coronary artery. A 47-year-old man with a chief complaint of chest tightness was diagnosed with anomalous aortic origin of the right coronary artery, which branches from the left sinus of Valsalva and runs an inter-arterial course. Although no objective myocardial ischemia was identified with blood tests, electrocardiography, or cardiac catheterization, we suspected that the cause of the thoracic symptoms was sharp branching of the right coronary artery, which was compressed between the ascending aorta and the pulmonary artery. To reduce the risk of sudden death in the future, we performed reimplantation of the right coronary artery. Good imaging results were obtained, and the patient is currently undergoing outpatient follow up and has not experienced recurrence of chest symptoms. We conclude that our surgical strategy to treat anomalous aortic origin of a coronary artery may be useful in the clinic.
ABSTRACT
Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy with apical aneurysm is known to have high risk of a sudden death due to ventricular arrhythmias or thromboembolisms. We report a surgical case of surgical case of this disease. A 67-year-old man was found to have abnormality in an electrocardiogram during his checkup, and subsequent careful examinations revealed his disease. He had no symptoms and the pressure gradient at the obstruction was about 30 mmHg, but there was thrombus in the apical aneurysm. After anticoagulant therapy, the thrombus dissolved. We scheduled an operation on him because he was judged to have high risk of a sudden death. In the operation, excision of the apical aneurysm, and hypertrophic midventricular myocardium were performed, concomitant with cryoablation to the border between the aneurysm and normal myocardium. Although complete atrioventricular block occurred postoperatively and he needed permanent pacemaker implantation, he was discharged from the hospital 21 days postoperatively without any other complications. He is doing well at two years and six months, postoperatively.
ABSTRACT
A 51-year-old woman presented with a high fever and weakness and was diagnosed with mitral valve infective endocarditis. Medical treatment was unsuccessful, and the patient developed disseminated intravascular coagulation syndrome, multiple cerebral infarctions, and massive cerebral hemorrhage. She was transferred to our hospital for surgical treatment. On admission, she had motor aphasia and right-sided hemiplegia. Echocardiography showed mild mitral regurgitation with a huge mobile vegetation measuring greater than 20 mm on the anterior leaflets. Head CT showed a huge cerebral hemorrhage in the left frontal lobe. Chest radiography revealed severe pulmonary congestion, and laboratory data showed disseminated intravascular coagulation syndrome. Despite medical treatment, the pulmonary congestion worsened. There were concerns that a fatal cerebral infarction would develop, and so urgent open-heart surgery was performed. On the day after the cerebral hemorrhage had occurred, hematoma removal and decompressive craniotomy were performed to reduce the risks associated with cardiopulmonary bypass. Four days after the craniotomy, mitral valve plasty was performed following the complete excision of the infected tissue. Heparin was administered at our normal dosage as an anticoagulant during cardiopulmonary bypass. Postoperative head CT showed no aggravation of the preoperative cerebral lesion. The patient still had symptomatic epilepsy and difficulty performing exact movements with her right hand, but she was able to walk unaided after 1 year of rehabilitation. Generally, early surgery for infective endocarditis is not recommended if the patient has concomitant cerebral hemorrhage ; our strategy may be the safest option for patients in such a serious condition.