[Retrograde Ascending Aortic Dissection during Thoracic Endovascular Stent Graft Repair: A Case Report].

A 66-year-old man (166 cm and 64 kg) with a history of hypertension was diagnosed with a.chronic aortic dissection (DeBakey IIIa type). He underwent thoracic endovascular aortic repair (TEVAR) under general anesthesia (sevoflurane and remifentanil) in an angiography room. After deploying a stent graft (Zenith TX2, Cook Japan, Tokyo) in the descending aorta via the right femoral artery, we checked the condition of the stent by angiography. No remarkable change of vital signs was observed. However, the angiography revealed a decrease in blood flow of both brachiocephalic and left common carotid arteries. The decision was made to operate immediately. The patient was transferred to the operating room under sedation with propofol. Cardiopulmonary bypass commenced 1 hour and 25 minutes after the decision to operate. Exploration of the aortic arch confirmed a retrograde ascending aortic dissection (rAAD). Ascending-arch vascular prosthesis was performed during circulatory arrest. The patient was extubated successfully the day after surgery. The present case demonstrates an intraoperative rAAD following stent placement TEVAR is believed to be less invasive compared to surgical treatment. However, it should be noted that TEVAR could provoke life-threatening complications such as rAAD.

High F-18 fluorodeoxyglucose accumulation in solid pseudo-papillary tumors of the pancreas.

We report two cases of young women with a solid pseudo-papillary tumor of the pancreas which having cystic and hemorrhagic components with marked calcification on computed tomography and magnetic resonance imaging. F-18 fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography revealed abnormally increased accumulation of F- 18 fluorodeoxyglucose in the pancreas tail tumors, especially in the non-calcified solid portion of the tumors. These patients underwent elective resection of the masses and distal pancreatectomy and were diagnosed with solid pseudo-papillary tumors by histopathological analysis. There was no evidence of distant metastasis on follow-up after surgery and they showed no histopathological findings suggesting malignancy. These cases suggest that solid pseudo-papillary tumor may show high uptake of F-18 fluorodeoxyglucose.