Severe Regurgitant Bicuspid Aortic Valve in a Patient with Overlapping Left Ventricular Noncompaction and Asymmetrical Septal Hypertrophy.

Overlapping of left ventricular noncompaction (LVNC) and hypertrophic cardiomyopathy in the same patient is rare and is associated with a more severe clinical course and unfavorable prognosis. The present report describes the case of a severely regurgitant bicuspid aortic valve in a 68-year-old man with overlapping LVNC and asymmetrical septal hypertrophy. Aortic valve replacement controlled the left ventricular dilatation that occurred secondary to the volume overload induced by the valvular disease. However, even 3 years postoperatively, severe systolic dysfunction persisted due to the preexisting myocardial disease, requiring close and lifelong follow-up with special attention to life-threatening arrhythmias and thromboembolism.

[Surgical Treatment of Papillary Fibroelastoma Developed in the Left Ventricle].

Papillary fibroelastomas are rare benign cardiac tumors, which generally arise from the valvular endocardium. Although they have little hemodynamics effects, they can cause some life threatening events such as cerebral embolization. We herein report a case of 68-year-old female with a mobile left ventricular mass of 10 mm in diameter. It was accidentally found on the anterior papillary muscle by echocardiography under evaluation of the angina pectoris. Resection of the left ventricular mass was performed through the mitral valve. Coronary artery bypass grafting to left anterior descending artery was also performed using the left intra-thoracic artery. Pathological finding of the tumor was papillary fibroelastoma. Post-operative course was uneventful, with no recurrence about a year.

Small right vertical infra-axillary incision for minimally invasive port-access cardiac surgery: a moving window method.

Port-access cardiac surgery has been developed to minimize skin incision and improve cosmetic outcomes. Using this method, a skin incision is generally made just above where the thoracotomy will be placed, horizontally along the intercostal space at the anterolateral submammary position. However, this type of incision can affect the frontal view and shape of the breast. Here, we report our experience with minimally invasive cardiac surgery using a port-access approach via a small vertical right infra-axillary incision and a moving window method. Twenty patients underwent surgical procedures with this approach from December 2010 to January 2012. Thirteen patients underwent mitral valvuloplasty, four mitral valve replacement, one mitral and tricuspid valve replacement and atrial septal defect closure and two atrial septal defect closure. All surgical procedures were completed using this minimally invasive method. All patients had an uneventful recovery and indicated that they were satisfied with the cosmetic results during the follow-up. Our experience suggests that this technique can effectively minimize skin incision and improve cosmetic outcomes.

[Acute aortic dissection with anomalous coronary artery].

A 38-year-old man was diagnosed with acute type A aortic dissection and severe aortic regurgitation, and taken immediately to the operating room for repair of the ascending aorta using the Bentall procedure. The presence of the anomalous right coronary artery was revealed at the time of the procedure, and was repaired with single coronary button technique. Some case reports have described anomalous coronary artery in association with acute myocardiac infarction or angina pectoris. This report describes a case of anomalous coronary artery diagnosed during an emergency operation for aortic dissection.

Early and late results of surgical treatment for ventricular septal rupture with and without use of the infarction exclusion technique--experience with two- and three-sheet modification.

BACKGROUND: Ventricular septal rupture (VSR) is an infrequent but life-threatening situation. Although outcomes have improved with the introduction of infarction exclusion, we have experienced difficulty in determining the optimal patch size and shape for obtaining good outcomes. Therefore, we modified the infarction exclusion technique. Herein, we review our experience on the basis of early closure of VSR with and without use of the infarction exclusion technique. METHODS: We retrospectively analyzed the hospital records of 33 patients who underwent surgical treatment for VSR. We employed Dagget's method from 1982 to 1995, and then introduced the infarction exclusion technique in 1995. We have developed two modifications: the two-sheet single-patch technique and the three-sheet double-patch technique. RESULTS: Overall hospital mortality was 41.9% and that of the infarction exclusion group was significantly lower than the hospital mortality rate of the noninfarction exclusion group (21% and 63%, respectively, p = 0.0266). Late mortality of survivors was low in all groups during the observation period. The three-sheet double-patch group showed no residual shunt. This difference in outcomes between the single-patch and double-patch groups was statistically significant (p = 0.0174). CONCLUSIONS: The two-sheet method facilitates the restoration of ventricular geometry. A double-patch using the three-sheet method may be useful for reducing residual shunt.

Ruptured saphenous vein graft aneurysm after aortocoronary bypass grafting.

Computed tomography demonstrated a giant saphenous vein graft aneurysm that compressed the right atrium of a 72-year-old woman 20 years after undergoing coronary artery bypass grafting. Angiography revealed contrast medium leakage in the mid-portion of the graft aneurysm. Aneurysmectomy was performed without repeat grafting. Postoperative myocardial scintigraphy demonstrated no significant myocardial ischemia. The ischemic effect of non-revascularization should be considered preoperatively because of the difficulties with repeat grafting.

Congestive heart failure due to coral reef thoracoabdominal aorta.

Acquired coarctation due to coral reefs is a rare and unique entity characterized by extensively calcified thrombus of the entire aorta. There are few reports of coral reef aorta resulting in severely congestive heart failure in the literature. We describe a 60-year-old female with acute heart failure. Computed tomography (CT)-scan and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) revealed that the cause of the heart failure was cardiac after-load mismatch due to serious stenosis of the aorta. In order to prevent cardio-respiratory failure, an axillofemoral bypass was performed to release the cardiac after-load mismatch. This diminished the pressure gradient between upper and lower blood pressure that caused cardiac dysfunction.

[Infective endocarditis complicated with ruptured mycotic intracranial aneurysms].

A 38-year-old man was hospitalized complaining of an episode of syncope. He was diagnosed with acute infective endocarditis (IE) of the aortic and the mitral valves with mobile and large vegetations, complicated with mycotic cerebral emboli related to the left anterior and the middle cerebral arteries. Double valve replacement with mechanical prosthesis was performed within 24 hours after cerebral accident occurred. On the 36 postoperative day, emergency cerebrovascular surgery was done due to rupture of a mycotic intracranial aneurysm. He was discharged on foot without any neurological abnormal finding. The optimum treatment of IE complicated with cerebral embolism is a controversial theme. Management should be considered carefully in individual cases.

Vacuum-assisted wound closure for pacemaker infection.

BACKGROUND: Although infection is a serious complication of pacemaker implantation, optimal treatment of infections related to pacemaker systems is poorly defined. METHODS: We describe a man in his 60s, an octogenarian, and two nonagenarian females who were treated for an infected permanent pacemaker. All of these patients developed inflammation that presented as local symptoms and purulent collection in the pockets of their implanted pacemakers. After fenestration of the pacemaker pockets, they were treated with vacuum-assisted wound closure (VAC). RESULTS: Infection was eradicated in all the patients without the need for aggressive surgery. The open wound was re-sutured without complete removal of the pacemaker system in two patients. After removing the infected generator from the other two patients, the open wounds healed with or without re-suture. The mean duration of VAC was 19.5 days. The postoperative course of all of the patients was uneventful, and they remained completely asymptomatic after VAC, with no evidence of recurrent infection for 5- 15 months after discharge. CONCLUSIONS: When the risk of total system explantation is high, less-invasive VAC might serve as the option for treating an infected pacemaker. (PACE 2010; 426-430).

A case of right atrial angiosarcoma: The utility of PET and CT fusion imaging in detecting a malignant cardiac tumor.

A 49-year-old woman was admitted to the hospital because of cardiac tamponade. The hemorrhagic pericardial effusion was cytologically negative for malignant cells. Cardiac magnetic resonance imaging showed two masses in the anterior and lateral right atrium; however, positron emission tomography (PET) image using 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose revealed strong uptake in the anterior right atrium, without other tumors or metastasis. Intraoperatively, the lateral mass was confirmed as a thrombus, whereas the anterior mass was removed surgically and was diagnosed as an angiosarcoma with histopathological examination. However, she was re-admitted to the hospital 1 month after the operation because of cerebral hemorrhage, suspicious of distant metastasis. PET is useful for the detection of cardiac angiosarcoma.

Retrosternal friction-induced late disruption of the anastomotic site between Bentall's valved conduit and an aortic arch graft: report of a case.

We report a case of late mediastinal false aneurysm originating from disruption of the suture line between synthetic vascular grafts for aortic root and total aortic arch replacements. This aneurysm developed without any infection in a patient with Marfan's syndrome. To our knowledge, this event has never been reported before. The only possible cause of this disruption was that the monofilament suture was broken by continuous friction between the pointed anastomotic line and the sternum since the operation. The treatment options for this unusual event after extended synthetic graft replacement are discussed.

Isolated cerebral perfusion for intraoperative cerebral malperfusion in type A aortic dissection.

Cerebral malperfusion due to expansion of a false lumen can occur acutely during aortic repair when retrograde femoral perfusion is initiated. We detected this catastrophe by a rapid decrease in regional cerebral oxygenation and successfully treated it by immediate isolation of the cerebral circulation from the systemic circulation. The surgical management, including the above technique, for this rare event is described.