[Posterior Mitral Leaflet Patch Augmentation with Autologous Pericardium in a Neurofibromatosis Typeâ Patient:Report of a Case].

The patient was a 61-year-old man with neurofibromatosis typeⅠ, who had several papules in a whole body. Medical history included atrial fibrillation and cerebral embolism. Transthoracic and transesophageal echocardiogram revealed severe mitral valve regurgitation and tricuspid valve regurgitation due to annular dilation with atrial enlargement, tethering of the posterior mitral leaflet, the anterior mitral leaflet prolapse with chordal rupture. Mitral valve repair and tricuspid annuloplasty, maze procedure were performed via median sternotomy. Mitral valve repair was performed by chorda reconstruction with artificial chordae to A2, patch-augmentation of the posterior leaflet with 0.6% glutaraldehyde-treated autologous pericardial patch and ring annuloplasty. There was no abnormal bleeding during surgery, and surgical site infection was not observed. Postoperative echocardiogram showed the augmented posterior leaflet created a deep and tightly uniform coaptation to the anterior leaflet and mitral regurgitation was well controlled.

Internal thoracic artery patch repair of a saccular left main coronary artery aneurysm.

BACKGROUND: A saccular aneurysm located at the bifurcation of the left main coronary artery (LMCA) is an extremely rare condition. A major cause of left main coronary aneurysm is atherosclerosis, and common complications include thrombosis, embolism, and rupture. Despite the serious nature of this condition, the ideal operative approach to LMCA aneurysm (LMCAA) has not been established. Furthermore, little is known about resection of the saccular aneurysm and closure using a small internal thoracic artery patch. CASE PRESENTATION: Here, we present the case of a 66-year-old woman who had significant stenosis in the left anterior descending artery and a saccular aneurysm at the bifurcation of the LMCAA, which was repaired using a small internal thoracic artery patch during coronary artery bypass grafting. Postoperative multislice computed tomography revealed the complete disappearance of the aneurysm and a successful repair with no luminal stenosis of the internal thoracic artery patch. In addition, the left internal thoracic artery graft was found to be patent. CONCLUSIONS: Resection of the saccular LMCA aneurysm and closure using a small internal thoracic artery patch is safe and offer excellent results.

Quantitative assessment of manual and robotic microcannulation for eye surgery using new eye model.

BACKGROUND: Microcannulation, a surgical procedure for the eye that requires drug injection into a 60-90 µm retinal vein, is difficult to perform manually. Robotic assistance has been proposed; however, its effectiveness in comparison to manual operation has not been quantified. METHODS: An eye model has been developed to quantify the performance of manual and robotic microcannulation. The eye model, which is implemented with a force sensor and microchannels, also simulates the mechanical constraints of the instrument's movement. Ten subjects performed microcannulation using the model, with and without robotic assistance. RESULTS: The results showed that the robotic assistance was useful for motion stability when the drug was injected, whereas its positioning accuracy offered no advantage. CONCLUSIONS: An eye model was used to quantitatively assess the robotic microcannulation performance in comparison to manual operation. This approach could be valid for a better evaluation of surgical robotic assistance.

Brachiocephalic venous aneurysm with unusual clinical observations.

Thoracic venous aneurysm is an extremely rare condition. This report describes the case of a 70-year-old woman with a left brachiocephalic venous aneurysm that caused recurrent nerve paralysis. Contrast-enhanced computed tomography and venography revealed a venous aneurysm, 4 cm in size, located adjacent to the venous angle. Anticoagulation therapy was started, and 1-1/2 months later, the aneurysm greatly decreased in size and showed marked calcification along its periphery. Venous aneurysms that shrink after anticoagulation therapy are exceptionally rare. The clinical features of this condition have been briefly reviewed.

Outcome after concomitant unilateral embolization of the internal iliac artery and contralateral external-to-internal iliac artery bypass grafting during endovascular aneurysm repair.

OBJECTIVE: Despite improvement of devices, endovascular aneurysm repair (EVAR) is still challenging in cases with associated aneurysmal involvement of the iliac arteries. This study examined the safety and efficacy of EVAR with concomitant unilateral embolization of the internal iliac artery (IIA) and contralateral external-to-internal iliac artery bypass grafting, with bilateral endograft limbs extended into the external iliac arteries (EIAs). METHODS: The study included 22 consecutive patients (mean age, 74 years) who underwent elective endovascular repair of aortoiliac or iliac aneurysms, with concomitant coil embolization of the unilateral IIA and contralateral EIA-to-IIA bypass in the same operative setting. Five patients had a unilateral IIA aneurysm, and eight had bilateral IIA aneurysms. EIA-to-IIA bypass grafting was performed through the retroperitoneal approach. The perioperative and midterm outcome of the procedure was assessed. RESULTS: The procedure was successfully performed in all cases. Eleven patients underwent IIA embolization at the main trunk, and the other 11 cases required IIA occlusion at distal branches. There was no perioperative death or severe complication. The mean follow-up period was 15.7 ± 7.8 months, ranging from 2 to 32 months. The bypass remained patent in all cases, and there was no occurrence of graft-related complication. Enlargement of aneurysms or development of type I endoleak was not observed. Persistent mild buttock claudication occurred in two patients (9%) ipsilaterally to the occluded IIA; one patient after IIA occlusion at the main trunk and the other at distal branches. No other pelvic ischemic manifestation was observed. CONCLUSIONS: EVAR with simultaneous unilateral IIA embolization and contralateral EIA-to-IIA bypass grafting is feasible, with a relatively low risk of complications. It can be a useful treatment option in cases with complex aortoiliac aneurysms, including those with bilateral IIA aneurysms.

[Our methods and techniques of thoracic endovascular aneurysm repair].

Thoracic endovascular aneurysm repair (TEVAR) is acquiring an established role as treatment for thoracic aortic aneurysm. It may be no exaggeration that TEVAR is a standard procedure, especially for decending aortic aneurysm. Furthermore we consider that aortic debranching with TEVAR for aortic arch or thoracoabdominal aortic aneurysm is very useful, and we aggressively perform TEVAR for them. We describe our methods and techniques of TEVAR.

Usefulness of one-stage coronary artery bypass grafting on the beating heart and abdominal aortic aneurysm repair.

Abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) is commonly associated with coronary artery disease (CAD). Simultaneous coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) with cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB) under cardiac arrest and AAA repair may be considerably invasive. Recently CABG under the beating heart without CPB has been reported as a less invasive method. We report the combined operation of CABG on a beating heart and AAA repair for AAA patients with CAD, and compare it with a separate operation. A retrospective review of the records of consecutive patients who underwent elective combined procedure or single operation for CABG on a beating heart and/or repair of the AAA between May 1999 and October 2001 was carried out. Ten patients underwent combined procedures. A single operation, CABG on a beating heart or repair of AAA, were performed in 27 or 19 patients. There were no significant differences with regard to intraoperative blood loss, transfusion and postoperative intubation time among the three groups. There was no operative mortality for any of the three groups. All cases were discharged without severe complications and with patent coronary bypass grafts. There was a decrease in mean total hospital costs for the combined operation group compared with the CABG group plus AAA repair group (3.34 million versus 5.87 million yen). Combined CABG on a beating heart and AAA repair on a one-step approach appears to be a safe and useful therapeutic strategy for AAA patients with CAD.

Infarction exclusion technique with transmural sutures for postinfarction ventricular septal rupture.

We present a case of postinfarction ventricular septal rupture (VSR) who underwent successful repair using a modified infarction exclusion technique. In our procedure a heterologous pericardial patch is sutured to healthy endocardium in the free wall and septum all around the infarcted area. Interrupted circular mattress sutures were placed through the ventricular wall in such a way as to exclude the VSR and the infarcted muscle of the left ventricle. We describe herein a novel procedure for repairing postinfarction VSR, by the transmural infarction exclusion technique.