[Total Arch Replacement with Frozen Elephant Trunk for Treatment of Traumatic Aortic Injury with Stanford Type A Aortic Dissection].

An 83-year-old woman was injured in a traffic accident. Enhanced computed tomography (CT) showed aortic injury on the isthmus, Stanford type A aortic dissection and intracranial hemorrhage. Neurological deficit was not noted. We immediately started to lower the blood pressure, and her hemodynamic status remained stable. Although intracranial bleeding had not worsened on the next day, a false lumen of the aortic arch was newly enhanced on CT. Emergency total arch replacement with frozen elephant trunk was performed under deep hypothermia and selective cerebral perfusion. Intraoperative angiography showed no endoleak at the descending aorta. Postoperative course was uneventful, and the patient was discharged on the 21st postoperative day. This procedure is useful for aortic injury involving the ascending aorta and the arch.

[Coronary Artery Bypass Grafting complicated with sternocostoclavicular hyperostosis;Report of a Case].

The patient was 72-year-old man, who had old myocardial infarction, diabetes mellitus, dyslipidemia, hypertension and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. He was complicated with congestive heart failure, and multi-vessel coronary artery disease and moderate aortic valve stenosis and regurgitation were diagnosed. We performed coronary artery bypass grafting(CABG) and aortic valve replacement. Intraoperative findings showed severe adhesions and tissue fibrosis around sternum. It was very difficult to dissect adhesions around left internal thoracic artery (LITA). LITA was injured, and great saphenous vein was anastomosed to left anterior descending coronary artery. Sternocostoclavicular hyperostosis was diagnosed on computed tomography( CT) findings such as remarkably thickened ster-num and adhesion of sternoclavicular joint. Postoperative course was complicated by osteomyelysis and necrosis of left side skin incision, for which omentopexy was needed. Sternocostoclavicular hyperostosis is rare disease, but we should recognize in preoperative evaluation.

A Case of Ruptured Immunoglobulin G4-Related Periaortitis.

An 80-year-old man had high serum immunoglobulin G4 (IgG4) concentration and fibrous thickening of the soft tissue mass surrounding the region from the abdominal aorta to the bilateral iliac arteries, suggestive of IgG4-related periaortitis. He presented to our emergency department with sudden-onset abdominal pain and lumbago. Computed tomography revealed a ruptured abdominal aorta. He was a poor candidate for open surgery due to his hostile abdomen. Therefore, endovascular aneurysm repair was performed. No consensus about the surgical indication for IgG4-related arterial disease has been reached yet. We believe that a novel indicator is needed for this disease.

[Cardiac Surgery in Two Patients with Parkinson's Disease who were Using Deep Brain Stimulation Devices].

For the treatment of Parkinson's disease, deep brain stimulation( DBS) devices are implanted for the control of motor symptoms including tremor. We performed cardiac surgery in 2 patients with Parkinson's disease who were using DBS devices. Coronary artery bypass was performed in one patient, and closure of ventricular septal perforation after acute myocardial infarction was performed in the other. There is a risk of injury and electromagnetic interference of DBS devices. No device failure or aggravation of Parkinson's symptom was observed in these cases. In many cases of cardiac surgery, various devices are concomitantly used, and the potential interference with the devices should be carefully examined in perioperative management.

Reverse graft placement in the Florida sleeve procedure for aortic root aneurysm.

Since August 2009, 22 patients with aortic root aneurysm have been successfully operated on with our new aortic remodeling technique as follows: after placement of the Gelweave (Vascutek, Ltd., Inchinnan, UK) Valsalva vascular graft in the reverse manner to the Florida sleeve procedure, the aortic annulus was fixed with the collar of this prosthesis at the level of the basal ring and the aortic root was wrapped with the prosthesis. Furthermore, the aortic valve commissures were resuspended. The distal end of the graft and the transected aortic wall were sutured together with running sutures when they were anastomosed to the stump of the distal ascending aorta.

A giant neuroendocrine tumor of the thymus gland causing superior vena cava syndrome.

We describe the case of a 37-year-old man with a rare giant thymic neuroendocrine tumor. The patient presented with a swelling of the neck associated with superior vena cava syndrome and underwent stent implantation in the right innominate vein (brachiocephalic vein). Computed tomography imaging revealed a large tumor of the mediastinum, measuring 15 × 10 × 12 cm. CT-guided core-needle biopsy for histology revealed a thymic carcinoid. Surgical resection of the tumor and repair with interposition of a 14-mm Gore-Tex prosthesis between the left innominate vein and the right atrial appendage were performed. Histopathological analysis classified the tumor as an atypical thymic carcinoid. Postoperative course was uneventful. Since complete resection could not be achieved, the patient received two cycles of peptide-receptor radionuclide therapy followed by conventional radiotherapy, and remains symptom-free at 12 months after surgery.

Cardiac surgery for carcinoid heart disease in 12 cases.

PURPOSE: Cardiac involvement is now a major source of morbidity and mortality in patients with carcinoid tumors. We reviewed patients with carcinoid heart disease who underwent valvular surgery in our center. METHODS: Twelve patients with carcinoid heart diseases underwent cardiac surgery between 2000 and 2008. Patients were divided into two groups: group A (n = 6) comprised patients who survived more than 6 months after cardiac surgery, and group D (n = 6) comprised those who died within 6 months. Preoperative factors were compared between the groups. RESULTS: All the 12 patients with carcinoid heart disease underwent tricuspid valve surgery (3 had tricuspid repair and 9 had tricuspid replacement with a bioprosthetic valve). Postoperative 30-day mortality was 16.7% and 2-year actuarial survival was 50.0%. Median survival after the first diagnosis of carcinoid disease was 4.4 years that from first diagnosis of carcinoid heart disease was 2.7 years. Preoperative median left ventricular ejection fraction in group D (52.5%) was significantly lower than that in group A (67.2%, P < 0.05). There were no statistically significant differences between the groups in other parameters. CONCLUSION: Postoperative prognosis may be worse when preoperative left ventricular ejection fraction is borderline, even if it is within the normal limits. Cardiac evaluation is needed in all patients with carcinoid disease from the earliest time of medical and oncological therapy to improve patient outcome.

Surgical experience with right ventricular tumors in 17 patients.

PURPOSE: Resection of cardiac tumors in the right ventricle sometimes requires valve plasty or replacement. We retrospectively studied surgical treatment for right ventricular tumors. METHODS: The study cohort consists of 210 consecutive patients who underwent surgical treatment for a cardiac tumor in our hospital between January 1990 and December 2008. Clinical findings were reviewed retrospectively, and a follow-up study was performed. RESULTS: Of 210 cardiac tumors, 17 were located in the right ventricle. Of these17 right ventricular (RV) tumors, 13 were endocardial or intracavitary tumors, and 4 were epicardial tumors. Of the 17 patients, 5 underwent concomitant tricuspid valve surgery. Three of the five patients had endocardial tumors and underwent Kay annuloplasty; the other two had epicardial tumors, one of whom underwent reconstruction of the tricuspid annulus by suturing of an autologous pericardial strip, and one had tricuspid valve replacement with a 31-mm Hancock valve. Of the five patients with concomitant tricuspid valve surgery, none had an increase to grade 3 tricuspid regurgitation during follow-up. CONCLUSION: Tricuspid valve annuloplasty for resection of RV tumors may be necessary, even for palliative operations, to improve the hemodynamics.

Giant aneurysm of the right coronary artery and fistula to the coronary sinus.

We describe the case of a 67-year-old man with a rare combination of a giant coronary artery aneurysm with a fistula draining into the coronary sinus. The patient presented with a sensation of retrosternal pressure. He was examined by coronary angiography, which revealed a large aneurysm of the right coronary artery (RCA) with a fistula. This fistula originated from the distal RCA shortly beyond the crux and drained into the coronary sinus. The aneurysm was in the proximal portion of the RCA, measuring 4 cm in diameter and 7 cm in length. Surgical repair by closure of the fistula under direct vision, suture closure and plication of the aneurysm, and coronary artery bypass was performed. Postoperative echocardiography and computed tomography confirmed closure of the fistula. The patient remains symptom-free at 4 months after surgery.

Surgical treatment for epicardial metastasis of myxoid liposarcoma involving atrioventricular sulcus.

We report the case of a 52-year-old man who presented with a cardiac metastasis of myxoid liposarcoma invading the atrioventricular sulcus. The tumor was arising from the anterior wall of the right atrium and basal right ventricle. After complete resection of the tumor (14 x 7.5 x 6 cm, 279 g), the annulus had no strong supporting tissue because of invasion of the atrioventricular sulcus. The tricuspid valve was reconstructed with reinforcement of the annulus using an autologous pericardial strip. The defect of the right atrial wall was reconstructed with a pericardial patch. After the reconstruction, echocardiography showed grade 1 tricuspid regurgitation. Although the patient had a small metastasis to the lung after surgery, he is doing well after 31-month follow-up. We believe that it is justified to perform aggressive resection with annuloplasty, when it is feasible, for cardiac metastasis of myxoid liposarcoma.

Explantation of INCOR left ventricular assist device after myocardial recovery.

OBJECTIVES: Myocardial recovery in patients supported by the INCOR left ventricular assist device (LVAD; Berlin Heart GmbH, Berlin, Germany) is seen in 5% of patients on this device worldwide. We describe improved surgical techniques for INCOR LVAD explantation. METHODS: The outcome of INCOR LVAD implantation at our center and the operative techniques of device explantation were studied. The patients weaned from the device were followed up. RESULTS: Out of 121 patients supported by the device, five (4.1 %) were weaned from the device, whereas 34 patients (28.1 %) underwent heart transplantation. In explantation surgery, the inflow cannula was removed (one case) or remained in the left ventricle after occlusion with an inflow cannula plug, with transection of the inflow cannula at its curve (two cases) or without transection (two cases). When the inflow cannula was occluded without the support of cardiopulmonary bypass (two cases), operative time (180 min and 210 min) was shorter than that with other explantation procedures. After mean follow-up of 2.4 years (range two months-four years) after device explantation, all five patients are alive, have not required heart transplantation and are in New York Heart Association class I (one case) or class II (four cases). After weaning from the device, no cerebrovascular complication was observed in any of the five patients. CONCLUSIONS: There is a possibility of weaning after INCOR implantation and surgical techniques for the removal of the INCOR LVAD should be further developed.

Remodeling of aortic root by annular reconstruction and plication of sinuses of Valsalva.

We describe a successful new surgical technique for aortic root aneurysm, combined aortic valve repair by annular stabilization and externally reinforced reduction aortoplasty. The aortic valve annulus is defined in size at the level of the basal ring using a prosthetic ring made of the collar of a Gelweave Valsalva vascular graft. Dilated sinuses of Valsalva are plicated from outside the aorta. The aortic root is wrapped with the Valsalva vascular graft, the distal aortic root is sutured to the vascular graft, and the aortic annulus is thus stabilized at the sinotubular junction.

Combination of a Hetzer operation and a Sebening stitch for Ebstein's anomaly.

OBJECTIVE: In order to improve the function of the anterior leaflet as a monocusp valve in tricuspid valve repair for Ebstein's anomaly, a single-stitch technique after Sebening, creating a hinge point of the anterior leaflet on the ventricular septum on the opposite side, was newly incorporated into the Hetzer operation (either posterior annulorrhaphy or the double-orifice technique). We describe the operative technique of the modified operation and present the initial results. METHODS: Eleven patients who underwent the modified operation were involved in the study. Tricuspid valve function was assessed by echocardiography preoperatively and 3 months after the operation. Its improvement was studied, and compared with that after the conventional Hetzer operation (n=15). RESULTS: After a mean follow-up period of 18.4 months (range 8.2-32.6 months), there were no early deaths and no cases of reoperation on the tricuspid valve in patients who had undergone the modified operation. At the last follow-up, 7 patients were in New York Heart Association class I, and 4 patients were in class II. The function of the tricuspid valve was significantly improved 3 months after the modified operation (P < 0.01, Wilcoxon signed-ranks test). Among the patients with Carpentier's classification type A or B, 85.7% of patients showed a tricuspid valve regurgitation (TR) grade of less than 2 after the modified operation, and this rate was significantly higher than that of 30.0% of patients in the group who underwent the conventional operation, (P < 0.05, Fisher's exact test). CONCLUSION: The initial results of the new modification are satisfactory. However, a further follow-up and an accumulation of operative cases are necessary.

Contrast magnetic resonance imaging diagnosis of periaortic bronchogenic cyst.

A 39-year-old woman who had suffered from intermittent left back pain for 7 months was diagnosed as having a tumor in the posterior mediastinum to the left of the seventh thoracic vertebra. It was attached to the descending aorta and to a rib. Preoperative contrast magnetic resonance imaging strongly suggested that the tumor was a cystic lesion. We resected the tumor, and it was revealed to be a bronchogenic cyst. After 7 months' follow-up, the patient is asymptomatic and without complications. Bronchogenic cysts are rare developmental abnormalities of the primitive foregut and seldom arise in the posterior mediastinum, especially in a periaortic position. The preoperative diagnosis is difficult because of the diverse nature of a cyst's contents. We were able to predict preoperatively the nature of the tumor and its relation to other structures. Contrast magnetic resonance imaging is helpful in elucidating these cysts.