A Case of Stanford Type A Acute Aortic Dissection With Preoperative Extensive Cerebral Infarction Successfully Treated Surgically.

Patients with organ malperfusion from acute aortic dissection (AAD) have poor outcomes, and the surgical indications for patients with AAD complicated by extensive cerebral infarction have not been established. Here, we report a successfully treated surgical case of a patient with cerebral infarction and Stanford type A, AAD. A 77-year-old man was admitted to the hospital with a chief complaint of left paresis. After confirming that there was no cerebral hemorrhage with a head computed tomography and an incision in the right neck, and the right internal carotid artery was ligated and closed, emergency surgery was performed with a 24 mm Triplex® raft. The ascending aorta was replaced, and a bypass was performed with a prosthetic graft from the right axillary artery. No cerebral hemorrhage or neurological issues were observed postoperatively, which indicates the possibility of surgical intervention as a treatment strategy for this disease.

Prevention of surgical adhesions with gelatine sealing sheet in a canine adhesion model.

OBJECTIVES: Although reoperation has been increasingly performed in cardiovascular surgery in recent years, preventing surgical adhesions remains an unsolved complication. Therefore, this study aimed to investigate whether gelatine sealing sheets are more effective than fibrin sealing sheets in preventing surgical adhesions. METHODS: Bilateral femoral arteries of 20 beagle dogs under general anaesthesia were pricked with syringe needles, and gelatine and fibrin sealing sheets were applied on the bleeding points to make canine adhesion models. The femoral artery was harvested after 4 and 12 weeks to evaluate adhesion formations. The adhesive grade was quantified by scoring the area and strength of adhesion tissues. Histological staining was performed to examine the structural features of surgical adhesions. RESULTS: Significantly fewer macroscopic adhesions were observed with gelatine sealing sheets than those with fibrin sealing sheets at 4 and 12 weeks postoperatively. Microscopically, CD3+ T lymphocytes at 4 and 12 weeks postoperatively in gelatine sealing sheets were significantly lower than those in fibrin sealing sheets. Microvessel density determined by CD34 at 4 and 12 weeks postoperatively in gelatine sealing sheets was also significantly lower than those in fibrin sealing sheets. CONCLUSIONS: The gelatine sealing sheets are more effective than the fibrin sealing sheets in preventing surgical adhesions. These findings suggest that the gelatine sealing sheet may help prevent adhesions and thus be a therapeutically effective biomaterial in vascular surgery.

Copeptin concentration following cardiac surgery as a prognostic marker of postoperative acute kidney injury: a prospective cohort study.

BACKGROUND: Copeptin, the C-terminal portion of the arginine vasopressin precursor, is a novel candidate biomarker. This study investigated the prognostic value of copeptin levels following cardiac surgery for the occurrence of postoperative acute kidney injury. METHODS: We studied 23 patients who underwent cardiac surgery between January 2018 and December 2019. The primary endpoint was postoperative acute kidney injury onset. Copeptin levels were measured before, right after, and daily for 7 days. The patients were divided into two groups according to the copeptin levels: low (values <43.7 pmol/L) and high (values ≥43.7 pmol/L). Correlations between copeptin levels and variables, such as central venous pressure, were assessed by bivariate analysis. RESULTS: The high copeptin group exhibited significantly higher levels of arginine vasopressin and cortisol following surgery, compared to those of the low copeptin group. The copeptin concentration following surgery was correlated to central venous pressure (P=0.03) and norepinephrine administered dose (P=0.008). Also, the copeptin levels right after surgery robustly predicted the onset of postoperative acute kidney injury (area under the receiver operating characteristic curve of 0.83, P=0.004). CONCLUSIONS: Elevated copeptin levels in patients following cardiac surgery predicted postoperative acute kidney injury development. Therefore, the copeptin concentration after surgery could represent a promising clinical biomarker of the postoperative cardiac outcome.

Improvement in Left Cardiac Function Following Mitral Valve Repair: Analyses Based on Cardiac Magnetic Resonance Imaging.

AIM: This study aimed to evaluate the structural and functional changes of left-sided cardiac chambers by cardiac magnetic resonance imaging (CMRI) in patients with chronic mitral regurgitation after mitral valve repair (MVR). PATIENTS AND METHODS: Among 103 patients who underwent MVR, 21 showed normal left ventricular (LV) function; their pre- and postoperative left atrial (LA) and LV functions were examined by CMRI. RESULTS: LV end-diastolic volume, LV end-systolic volume, and LV mass significantly were reduced postoperatively (p<0.01) and postoperative LV ejection fraction tended to decrease. LA volume parameters also significantly decreased postoperatively (p<0.01). The conduit function positively affected the LV filling volume postoperatively (p<0.01); however, no effect on the booster pump function was noted (p=0.01). CONCLUSION: Restoration of LA and LV functions after a successful MVR was not associated with structural improvement in LA and LV.

Experimental use of crosslinked gelatin glue for arterial hemostasis in cardiovascular surgery.

BACKGROUND: Anastomotic needle hole bleeding is a frequently encountered problem in cardiovascular surgeries. OBJECTIVE: To examine the feasibility of crosslinked gelatin glue as an anastomotic needle hole sealant in comparison with fibrin glue. METHODS: The in vitro burst water pressures were measured for gelatin and fibrin glue sealed needle holes of expanded polytetrafluoroethylene (ePTFE) or collagen coated woven polyester grafts. For in vivo investigations, abdominal aorta-ePTFE graft anastomoses of heparinized beagle dogs were sealed by gelatin or fibrin glue and hemostatic efficacy was judged. The implanted sites were re-examined 4 weeks postoperatively. RESULTS: The in vitro burst water pressures of gelatin glue sealed needle holes of both grafts were higher than those sealed by fibrin glue. For in vivo canine studies, hemostasis was successful for all gelatin glue applied suture lines, but not two out of three fibrin glue treated sites when 3-0 polypropylene suture was employed. Although adhesions of surrounding tissues were intense for all sites 4 weeks postoperatively, inflammation was more severe for the fibrin glue group compared to those of gelatin glue. CONCLUSIONS: Gelatin glue was found to be an effective and safe sealant for accomplishing hemostasis of anastomotic needle holes of vascular grafts.

Gelatin sealing sheet for arterial hemostasis and anti-adhesion in vascular surgery: a dog model study.

BACKGROUND: The bilayer gelatin sealing sheet was developed as a safe, effective, easy-to-handle and low-cost hemostatic agent. OBJECTIVE: To examine the feasibility of gelatin sealing sheets using a canine arterial hemorrhage model. METHODS: In vivo degradation of gelatin sealing sheets was examined by implanting subcutaneously in rats. For the hemostatic and anti-adhesion efficacy investigations, femoral arteries of dogs were pricked with syringe needle to make a small hole and a gelatin (i.e. experimental group) or fibrin glue sealing sheet (i.e. control group) was applied on the hole to stop bleeding (n=8). After discontinuation of the bleeding, the skin incisions were closed and re-examined 4 weeks postoperatively. RESULTS: From the degradation study, 4 h thermally treated gelatin sheet which degraded within 3 weeks in vivo was chosen for the further hemostatic study. In all cases of gelatin and fibrin glue sealing sheets, bleeding from the needle hole on canine femoral arteries was effectively stopped. Postoperative adhesions and inflammation at the site in the experimental group were significantly less than those in the control group (P<0.01 for adhesion scores). CONCLUSIONS: The gelatin sealing sheet was found to be as effective as the fibrin glue sealing sheet as a surgical hemostatic agent, and more effective in preventing postoperative adhesions.

[An operative case of a chronic traumatic thoracic aortic aneurysm 16 years after a jet skiing crash; report of a case].

Injury of the thoracic aorta following a major blunt trauma to the chest occurs most frequently at the aortic isthmus and more than 80% of such patients die within 1st 30 minutes. However, less than 5% of patients survive and later develop chronic thoracic aortic aneurysm (TAA). Usually, most cases of chronic traumatic TAA have no symptoms for a long time after an accident. We report a case of successful repair for a chronic traumatic TAA 16 years after a jet skiing crash. A 37-year-old woman complained of left chest pain, back pain, and cough. A computed tomography showed a descending TAA, which was 5 cm in a maximum diameter. The final diagnosis was chronic traumatic TAA. Thoracic endovascular aortic repair (TEVAR) or graft replacement was considered as an operative procedure. We performed graft replacement to avoid complications of TEVAR, considering her small external iliac arteries.