Repeated endovascular approaches achieve successful complete remodelling for type IIIb acute aortic dissection.

Thoracic endovascular repair for type IIIb aortic dissection results in the disappearance of false lumen perfusion in the abdominal aorta in only about 20% of cases, with concern for expansion in the long term. Staged endovascular therapy with intervention on all re-entries can lead to complete false lumen thrombosis and remodelling of the entire aorta. This approach could be an option in cases in which long-term expansion is anticipated.

Early Clinical Outcomes of Initial Launch of the Zenith Alpha Abdominal Endovascular Graft in Japan.

PURPOSE: This study retrospectively evaluated the 12-month outcomes of the Zenith Alpha Abdominal Endovascular graft (Zenith Alpha AAA, Cook, Inc, Bloomington, Indiana), which was launched partially in Japan in March 2019, starting with 9 selected sites. METHODS: A retrospective analysis was performed of all endovascular aneurysm repairs (EVAR) for abdominal aortic aneurysms using the Zenith Alpha AAA. Late complications were defined as any aneurysm-related events occurring >30 days after EVAR, including an aneurysm sac enlargement of >5 mm and any reinterventions performed. Endoleaks without sac enlargement or reinterventions were excluded from late complications. RESULTS: During the study period, 79 EVARs using the Zenith Alpha AAA were performed. The mean age was 76.6±6.9 years old, 91.1% of patients were male, and the mean aneurysm diameter was 51.1±7.5 mm. Instructions for use violation was observed in 27 patients (34.2%), most frequently being a severely angulated proximal neck (>60°). There were 4 intraoperative complications, including 2 unintentional partial renal artery coverages caused by the premature anchoring of the exposed suprarenal stent barb to the aortic wall, which was a result of the design change of the top cap deletion. Since it was a partial coverage without flow impairment and since renal stenting was unsuccessful, it was left untreated and had no subsequent renal function impairment. During the mean follow-up of 444±123 days, 74 patients completed 12 months of follow-up. Freedom from late complications at 12 months was 90.8%, which included 2 limb occlusions (2.5%). Of 71 patients with a 12-month computed tomography scan, there was only 1 type 1a endoleak (1.3%), 1 sac enlargement of >5 mm (1.3%), and an aneurysm sac shrinkage of >5 mm was observed in 42.2% of patients. There was no type 3 endoleak during the follow-up. CONCLUSIONS: This study demonstrated that the new generation of low-profile Zenith Alpha AAA has satisfactory early clinical outcomes, comparable to those obtained with the conventional Zenith endovascular graft. Long-term follow-up is needed to determine whether these favorable outcomes persist.

[Emergency Operation for Impending Rupture of Syphilitic Aortic Aneurysm with Left Coronary Ostial Stenosis:Report of a Case].

Syphilis is known as a cause of syphilitic aortitis. Chronic inflammation leads to formation of syphilitic aneurysm which often is found at the ascending aorta. If the inflammation spreads to the aortic root, stenosis of coronary ostium or aortic valve regurgitation are caused. We report a case that impending rupture of syphilitic aneurysm at ascending aorta with stenosis of left coronary ostium. The patient is a 49 years old male, and his chief complaint was chest pain which gradually became stronger. Computed tomography (CT) identified a large ascending aneurysm with a maximum diameter of 66 mm. The serum rapid plasma regain( RPR) test and the fixed Treponema pallidum latex agglutination( TPLA) test were positive. We diagnosed impending rupture of aneurysm, and performed emergency ascending aorta replacement. The aortic aneurysm was strongly adherent to the surrounding tissues. Pathological findings showed mesaortitis, which was consistent with syphilitic aneurysm. We started oral administration of amoxicillin hydrate from postoperative day 8. The patient did well, and was discharged on postoperative day 18. During his hospitalization, we performed enhanced coronary CT, and found stenosis of left coronary ostium. But he had no symptoms, so he got percutaneous coronary intervention after his discharge. Now the number of patients of syphilis is increasing in Japan. So it is important to know its characteristics and proper treatment.

[Multi-stage Operations to Thrombose a False Lumen for Chronic Aortic Dissection:Report of a Case].

A 72 years old man underwent hemiarch replacement for acute aortic dissection of Stanford type A at the age of 62 years. Entry remained at the aortic arch, and the false lumen was patent to the terminal aorta. After 10 years, his aortic aneurysm was enlarged to 55 mm. Redo total arch replacement and open stent graft was performed. False lumen of thoracic descending aorta was thrombosed, but thoracoabdominal segment was patent. Two years later, he developed distal stent graft induced neo entry (dSINE). To achieve aortic reconstruction, thoracic endovascular aortic repair (TEVAR) of combined covered stent graft and metal bare stent was performed to the terminal aorta. Three months later, covered stent graft to left renal artery and coil emboli to false lumen, and abdominal endovascular aortic repair( EVAR) was performed. After these procedures, the false lumen was almost thrombosed.

[Concomitant Tricuspid Annuloplasty with Resection of a Giant Right Atrial Myxoma:Report of a Case].

Myxomas account for the vast majority of heart tumors in adults. About 70% originate in the left atrium, while about 10% of these are reported to originate in the right atrium. A 70-year-old man with dyspnea, was found to have a giant right atrial mass by echocardiography, and tumor resection was performed under cardiopulmonary bypass( CPB) through a median sternotomy. At weaning from CPB the patient was hemodynamically unstable. Intraoperative echocardiography showed severe tricuspid regurgitation( TR), and tricuspid annuloplasty was performed. The postoperative course was uneventful and histopathological examination confirmed that the tumor was a myxoma. It is important to keep in mind that regurgitation of the atrio-ventricular valve might occur after resection of atrial myxoma.

[Surgical Treatment of Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm with Ectopic Kidney with Stanford Type A Acute Aortic Dissection;Report of a Case].

We experienced a surgical case of Stanford type A acute aortic dissection with abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) associated with ectopic kidney. Computerized tomography did not detect any ulcer-like projections, but 3 days later, it appeared, and emergency surgery was performed. Second-stage surgery was selected and done later to repair AAA. The right kidney was an ectopic pelvic kidney. The renal arteries had branched off from the left common iliac artery, and the renal artery lumen narrowed. With a 4 Fr catheter, cold Ringer's solution was given to protect the kidneys during surgery. The patient showed no deterioration of kidney function and made good progress. After rehabilitation, the patient had no complications and was discharged from the hospital.

[Treatment Strategy for Stanford Type A Acute Aortic Dissection].

The fundamental treatment of Stanford type A acute aortic dissection is a lifesaving emergency surgery in our hospital. We perform hemiarch replacement with a focus on entry tear, but an extended surgery is also performed only when resection of the entry tear is difficult. The outcomes of current therapeutic policy, along with the short-term and the long-term outcomes of different sites of entry tear, were examined retrospectively. Three hundred and twenty surgery of Stanford type A acute aortic dissection were performed between 1991 and 2015 at our hospital. Their short-term and long-term outcomes were examined after dividing them into 7 groups according to their entry sites. We also investigated surgical methods and effects of presence/absence of residual entry tear. As a result, overall hospital mortality was 13.1%. There was no significant difference in either shortterm or long-term outcome among the groups. Likewise, no significant difference was observed in the surgical methods or the presence/absence of residual entry tear. Recently, minimally invasive procedures, such as stent-grafting, have been applied to manage the residual entry tear. Therefore, an aggressive extended surgery is no longer inevitable and our current therapeutic policy is considered reasonable.

[Gradual Enlargement of Saphenous Vein Graft Aneurysm Causing Chest Symptom after Coronary Artery Bypass Grafting;Report of a Case].

A 70-year-old man was admitted to our hospital because of shortness of breath. He had undergone coronary artery bypass grafting at another hospital 18 years before. We had detected his saphenous vein graft to the right coronary artery being aneurysmal 3 years before. The aneurysm had grown from 23 mm to 42 mm during the follow-up. Because of an angina-like symptom and the possibility of rupture, we performed resection of the aneurysm and redo coronary artery bypass grafting to the right coronary artery using another saphenous vein. His symptom has disappeared since then. Saphenous vein graft aneurysm needs close follow-up even when conservative therapy is selected.

[Ruptured Left Ventricular Pseudoaneurysm Representing Cardiac Tamponade;Report of a Case].

A 64-year-old woman was followed by the other hospital because of left ventricular false aneurysm after percutaneous coronary intervention for acute myocardial infarction of which culprit lesion was left circumflex artery. She admitted to the hospital suffering from nausea and dyspnea. Echocardiography showed huge pericardial effusion and cardiac tamponade due to ruptured left ventricular false aneurysm and transferred to our hospital under pericardial drainage. She presented with symptoms such as shock, so we performed emergent left ventricular reconstruction. She uneventfully left our hospital on 18 post-operative day.

Hybrid endovascular repair for an arch aneurysm combined with aberrant right subclavian artery.

This report describes a hybrid endovascular approach to a 9.3-cm saccular aneurysm of the left sided aortic arch combined with an aberrant right subclavian artery. The two-step procedure consisted of a bilateral carotid-subclavian bypass, followed by an ascending aorta-bicarotid bypass and completed by an endovascular exclusion of the aneurysm by covering the whole aortic arch and its branches. The patient had no postoperative complications and was discharged 10 postoperative day. Hybrid procedures may be useful in complex aortic arch pathologies and may reduce postoperative complications in comparison with conventional open surgery.

[Retrograde Stanford type A aortic dissection treated by thoracic endo-vascular aortic repair (TEVAR) after ascending aortic replacement].

A 77-year-old woman was admitted to a hospital with complaints of back pain, nausea and vomiting for 4 days. She underwent enhanced aortic computed tomography (CT) and was diagnosed with Stanford type A acute aortic dissection. Then she was transferred to our hospital. CT showed aortic dissection spreading from the ascending aorta up to the abdominal aorta and an intimal tear located at the descending thoracic aorta. Although the false lumen of the ascending aorta was thrombosed, emergency ascending aorta replacement and aortic valve replacement were performed, because pericardial effusion and severe aortic regurgitation were found by echocardiography. Postoperative enhanced CT showed an intimal tear and residual flow in the false lumen from the distal arch to the descending aorta. So an additional thoracic endo-vascular aortic repair (TEVAR) procedure was performed to close the entry tear 20 days after the 1st operation. She uneventfully left our hospital on the 15th postoperative day.

[Intraoperative aortic dissection].

Intraoperative aortic dissection is a rare complication of open heart operations. Once dissection has occurred, great caution is required because of high mortality rate. We reported 4 cases of intraoperative aortic dissection. The incident rate was 0.08%, and the most common site of aortic injury was the aortic cannulation site( 3/4 patients). Intraoperative epiaortic echography is effective in diagnosis. All cases underwent graft replacement of the ascending aorta. The postoperative course was uneventful. Both prompt recognition and appropriate surgical management are mondatory to improve operative outcome.

[Vascular Behçet disease presenting large right coronary artery pseudoaneurysm after percutaneous coronary intervention( PCI): report of a case].

A 37-year-old man was diagnosed with angina pectoris and underwent percutaneous coronary intervention(PCI) procedure for right coronary artery in other hospital. Five months after PCI procedure, he was admitted to the hospital because of fever, chest pain and respiratory discomfort. He was diagnosed as having a large right coronary artery pseudoaneurysm which was about 40 mm in diameter. He was transfered to our hospital. We did coronary artery bypass grafting(CABG)[ saphenous vein graft (SVG)-#3] and pseudoaneurysm closure, and he left our hospital on 37 post-operative day. After discharge from our hospital, he developed iliocecal ulcer, oral aphtha, folliculitis and arthralgia and was diagnosed with Behçet disease. Seven months after the 1st surgery, proximal anastomosis site of SVG was ruptured and presented huge ascending aorta pseudoaneurysm. We performed autologous pericardial patch plasty on ascending aorta, and covered there with omentum flap. He uneventfully left our hospital on 19 post-operative day.

[Thoracic and cardiovascular surgery in Jehovah's Witness].

A Jehovah's Witness who requires thoracic and cardiovascular surgery represents a challenge to both the surgeon and the patient because of the patient's refusal to accept blood transfusion. We reported 15 cases of Jehovah's Witness patients from 43 to 80 years of age who underwent cardiac operations or thoracic vascular operations. There was 1 emergency operation case and 2 re-do operation cases. Erythropoietin and serum albumin injections were allowed to be used in some cases. The mean pre-operative haemoglobin level in these patients was 12.3 g/dl. The mean postoperative lowest haemoglobin level was 9.2 g/dl. The mean haemoglobin level at the point of leaving hospital was 11.4 g/dl. There were no postoperative complications and no operative deaths. We successfully performed the thoracic and cardiovascular operations on Jehovah's Witnesses, including emergency cases, safely without blood transfusion. The most important thing is a careful and safe operative technique which reduces perioperative bleeding as much as possible.