Successful hybrid repair of a giant coronary artery aneurysm after previous coronary artery bypass grafting.

A 64-year-old woman had undergone coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) for right coronary occlusion and the Dor procedure for a left ventricular apex aneurysm 10 years previously. A follow-up computed tomography scan showed the evolution of a giant coronary artery aneurysm (CAA) located on the proximal left circumflex artery (CX). It also revealed a previous saphenous vein graft (SVG) that was patent and located on the midline. Surgical exclusion was regarded as invasive, and isolated percutaneous intervention was unsuitable for a wide-necked CAA. Thus, a hybrid approach was planned. First, CABG (SVG-CX) via left thoracotomy was performed. Following the surgery, stent-assisted coil embolization was performed. A coronary angiogram revealed complete CAA exclusion. Learning objective: Many authors have reported successful repair for coronary artery aneurysm (CAA) with a percutaneous approach or surgery. Although there is no consensus for giant CAA repair, surgical repair including resection, ligation, and coronary artery bypass grafting have been recommended in previous reports. However, every decision should be tailored to suit each condition. In this case with the history of previous cardiovascular surgery, our hybrid approach was thought to be less invasive and feasible than isolated surgical or percutaneous repair.

[Open Surgery after Zone 0 Debranch Thoracic Endovascular Aortic Repair with Fenestrated Stent Graft:Report of a Case].

Thoracic endovascular aortic repair (TEVAR) has been widely used in recent years as a treatment for thoracic aortic aneurysm, but open surgery may be required for various complications that cannot be controlled by endovascular treatment alone. It is often a more challenging operation. A 78-year-old man underwent two debranch TEVAR (zone 1) for thoracic aortic aneurysm eight years before, and he received TEVAR (zone 0) again with the Najuta stent graft for re-expansion of aneurysm due to typeⅠa endoleak two years before. Since the aneurysm continued to expand and the aortic valve stenosis progressed after that, we performed total arch replacement (TAR) and aortic valve replacement (AVR). The Najuta stent graft could be removed manually. As the debranched graft had to be cut off at sternotomy, selective cerebral perfusion (SCP) was initiated at normal body temperature. It should be noted that SCP at normal body temperature may require more perfusion than hypothermic SCP. TAR was performed in combination with frozen elephant trunk, and postoperative computed tomography (CT) confirmed the disappearance of endoleak. One year has passed since the operation, but the aneurysm has not re-expanded.

Recurrent nonbacterial thrombotic endocarditis the day after mitral valve replacement.

Nonbacterial thrombotic endocarditis (NBTE) is relatively rare, with an identification rate of 1.6% at autopsy, and is associated with malignancy and systemic lupus erythematosus. Further, bioprosthetic valve NBTE is extremely rare, with only a few reports in the literature. To ensure appropriate treatment, it is essential to differentiate between NBTE from infective endocarditis (IE) as soon as possible, but this is difficult without information regarding underlying disease and sufficient time for careful investigation. Here, we report a case of recurrent NBTE of a bioprosthetic valve the day following surgery based on an initial diagnosis of IE. .

Right ventricular outflow obstruction with squamous cell carcinoma of unknown origin.

A 60-year-old man was referred to our hospital because of chest tightness. CT scans showed no specific findings except a right ventricular (RV) mass. Echocardiogram revealed that the large cardiac mass was compressing the right ventricular outflow tract, and the patient thus underwent an emergency operation. As the tumour on the inlet side of the right ventricle was tightly adhered to the entire tricuspid chordae, a complete resection was impossible. Pathological findings revealed that the tumour was metastatic squamous cell carcinoma. Four cycles of chemotherapy were administered. Further investigations were conducted to identify the primary cancer focus, but there were no specific findings. Eight months after the operation, the patient returned to the hospital. Echocardiogram showed a severely occupying mass once again, and the patient died as a result. Autopsy revealed no findings relating to the primary origin of the cardiac metastases.

[Aorta-left Main Trunk Interposition for Adult Anomalous Origin of the Left Coronary Artery from the Pulmonary Artery Using a Prosthetic Graft;Report of a Case].

A 70-year-old woman with back pain was diagnosed with adult anomalous origin of the left coronary artery from the pulmonary artery [Bland-White-Garland (BWG) syndrome]. Preoperative transthoracic echocardiography showed diffuse hypokinesia of the left ventricle and mild mitral valve regurgitation. Coronary angiography revealed dilatation of both coronary arteries, but no aneurysms. The left coronary ostium was removed as buttons of the pulmonary arterial wall, and a prosthetic graft (8 mm ePTFE graft) was interposed between the ascending aorta and coronary button. The pulmonary arterial wall was repaired with a bovine pericardium. Postoperative angiography showed good flow of the graft. The antegrade flow provided by this simple technique will allow feasible percutaneous coronary intervention in the future.

Distinct effects of alcohol consumption and smoking on genetic alterations in head and neck carcinoma.

BACKGROUND: Tobacco and alcohol consumption are risk factors for head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC). Recently, whole-exome sequencing clarified that smoking increased TP53 and other mutations in HNSCC; however, the effects of alcohol consumption on these genetic alterations remain unknown. We explored the association between alcohol consumption and somatic copy-number alterations (SCNAs) across the whole genome in human papillomavirus (HPV)-negative HNSCCs, and compared with the effects of smoking on genetic alterations. METHODS: SCNA and TP53 mutations in tumor samples were examined by high-resolution comparative genomic hybridization microarray 180K and by direct sequencing, respectively, and statistically analyzed for associations with alcohol consumption and smoking during the 20 years preceding diagnosis of HNSCC. Probes with a corrected p-value (=q-value) less than 0.05 and fold change greater than 1.2 or less than -1.2 were considered statistically significant. RESULTS: A total of 248 patients with HNSCC were enrolled. In the HPV-negative patients (n=221), heavy alcohol consumption was significantly associated with SCNAs of oncogenes/oncosuppressors that were previously reported to occur frequently in HNSCCs: CDKN2A (q=0.005), FHIT (q=0.005), 11q13 region including CCND1, FADD and CTTN (q=0.005), ERBB2 (HER2) (q=0.009), 3q25-qter including CCNL1, TP63, DCUN1D1 and PIK3CA (q=0.014), and CSMD1 (q=0.019). But, TP53 mutations were not affected. In contrast, smoking was associated with increased risk of TP53 mutations, but did not induce any significant SCNAs of oncogenes/oncosuppressors. CONCLUSION: These results suggest that both alcohol consumption and smoking had distinct effects on genetic alterations in HNSCCs. Heavy alcohol consumption may trigger previously known and unknown SCNAs, but may not induce TP53 mutation. In contrast, smoking may induce TP53 mutation, but may not trigger any SCNAs.