Coronary sinus atrial septal defects in adults over the past 20 years at new Tokyo hospital: case series.

BACKGROUND: An isolated coronary sinus (CS) atrial septal defect (ASD) is defined as a CS unroofed in the terminal portion without a persistent left superior vena cava or other anomalies. This defect is rare and part of the wide spectrum of unroofed CS syndrome (URCS). Recently, several reports have described this finding. The database of New Tokyo Hospital was searched to determine the incidence of this defect. Additionally, to raise awareness of this condition, the findings from five patients with CS ASD who underwent surgical repair at New Tokyo Hospital are discussed. CASE PRESENTATION: The patients were three women and two men with an age range of 63-77 years. All patients underwent transthoracic echocardiography and computed tomography, and one underwent magnetic resonance imaging. In two patients, the defect was found unexpectedly intraoperatively; left-to-right shunting was apparent in the other three patients preoperatively. The pulmonary-to-systemic blood flow ratio ranged from 1.42 to 3.1 following cardiac catheterization, and oxygen saturation step-up was seen on the right side of the heart. Valvular regurgitation was seen in 4/5 patients with different combinations and degrees of mitral, tricuspid, and aortic valve involvement. Right atrial and ventricular dilation were seen in 4/5 patients; three patients had left atrial dilation. Three patients experienced atrial fibrillation, and one of these also experienced paroxysmal ventricular contractions. All patients underwent surgical repair, and some underwent multiple procedures. One patient who had previously undergone kidney transplantation died approximately 1 year postoperatively; the remaining four patients are currently experiencing good activities of daily living without symptoms. CONCLUSIONS: CS ASD (Kirklin and Barratt-Boyes type IV URCS) comprised 1.3% of adult congenital heart surgeries and 0.07% of adult open-heart surgeries at New Tokyo Hospital from 1999 to 2019. At New Tokyo Hospital, cardiac surgery is performed mainly for patients with acquired cardiac disease, and CS ASD is rare. Early diagnosis is important, as well as early surgical repair in symptomatic patients, especially those with blood access shunts, which may overload the heart. The case of a poor prognosis in this series is noteworthy, as similar cases have not been reported previously.

Adventitial cystic disease of the popliteal artery treated by bypass graft utilizing the short saphenous vein: A case report.

INTRODUCTION: Adventitial cystic disease is relatively rare vascular disease, frequently occurred in the popliteal artery. No definitive treatment has been established yet. PRENTATION OF CASE: A 53-year-old woman presenting intermittent claudication of the right leg was diagnosed as adventitial cystic disease of popliteal artery. Percutaneous balloon dilation yielded an immediate recurrence. The disease was successfully treated by bypass grafting utilizing the short saphenous vein to replace the part of the popliteal artery containing the adventitial cyst. No postoperative complication was found six months after surgery. DISCUSSION: Comparing to a great saphenous vein, a short saphenous vein as a material of bypass graft has a significant advantage, as only a single surgical field is necessary. CONCLUSION: We propose that bypass graft surgery employing a short saphenous vein is worth considering as a treatment of adventitial cystic disease at the popliteal artery.

[Successful Treatment of Empyema with Bronchial Fistulas by Filling under Thoracoscopic Observation; Report of a Case].

Empyema with fistula usually resists conservative treatment such as thoracic cavity drainage and administration of antibacterial agents, thus it often requires surgeries such as fenestration, omental/muscle filling, and thoracoplasty. However, due to advanced age and poor condition, conducting invasive surgeries is often difficult in elderly patients. We report a case with the improvement of empyema by bronchial filling with endobronchial Watanabe spigot (EWS) under thoracoscopic observation for an 89-year-old patient who had developed chronic empyema with a bronchial fistulas. After filling EWS, air-leakage from bronchial fistula disappeared and the patient could discharged from the hospital successfully.

[Early diagnosis of capecitabine-induced acute leukoencephalopathy by using diffusion-weighted MRI].

A 63-year-old woman with colon cancer who was treated with capecitabine as adjuvant chemotherapy presented with vertigo on day 5, and dysarthria and dysphagia on day 7 of the treatment. Diffusion-weighted magnetic resonance imaging of the brain revealed high signal intensity in the corpus callosum and corona radiata. The patient was diagnosed with acute leukoencephalopathy, and the capecitabine treatment was discontinued. Her symptoms recovered immediately. On the basis of these findings, it can be concluded that diffusion-weighted imaging is useful for the early detection and diagnosis of acute leukoencephalopathy.

Protocol-based strategy for endovascular repair of ruptured abdominal aortic aneurysms.

OBJECTIVE: Compared with conventional open surgery (COS), endovascular aneurysm repair (EVAR) has been reported to decrease the 30-day mortality rate in patients with ruptured abdominal aortic aneurysms (rAAAs). We developed an EVAR-first strategy for rAAAs that incorporates the Shonan ruptured abdominal aortic aneurysm protocol (SRAP). We describe short-term results with this protocol at our institution and compare them with outcomes in patients who underwent COS. METHODS: The records of all 57 patients in whom a rAAA was repaired during a 7-year period were reviewed retrospectively. Patients in the COS group (n = 30) were treated between January 2005 and December 2009; those in the SRAP group (n = 27) were treated between January 2010 and March 2012. The two groups were compared with respect to patient characteristics at admission, including severity of condition; operative and in-hospital variables; and 30-day mortality. RESULTS: The baseline patient characteristics in the COS and SRAP groups were similar except that the SRAP group had a significantly higher rate of cerebrovascular disease. The 30-day mortality rate was significantly higher in the COS group (43% vs. 19%), as were the intraoperative mortality rate (27% vs. 5%) and the in-hospital mortality rate (57% vs. 26%; P < 0.05 for all comparisons). The technical success rate for EVAR was 96%; no conversions to open surgery were required. CONCLUSIONS: Use of the SRAP is a promising strategy for improving initial outcomes in patients with rAAAs.

[Two-staged hybrid surgery for an extended thoracic aortic aneurysm with Komerell's diverticulum].

We have successfully performed 2 staged hybrid operation for an extended thoracic aortic aneurysm with Komerell diverticulum, which lessened surgical stress of the patient with avoidance of postoperative complications. An 82-year-old man who had been under observation for thoracic aortic aneurysm was admitted to the hospital with continuous chest discomfort. The patient initially underwent graft replacement for an ascending and arch aneurysm by using the elephant trunk technique. Thirty-five days later, he underwent endovascular repair for the residual descending thoracic aneurysm. The postoperative course was uneventful, and postoperative computed tomography (CT) revealed no stent migration and just a little type II endoleak. This 2 staged hybrid approach might be less invasive than the conventional approach, and be a potential therapeutic option for high risk patients with an extended thoracic aortic aneurysm.

Single-shot time-frequency imaging spectroscopy using an echelon mirror.

We demonstrate single-shot time-frequency imaging spectroscopy with an echelon mirror for measuring ultrashort laser pulses as well as ultrafast responses of materials using the same optical setup. The echelon mirror produces a spatially encoded time delay for the probe pulse whereby both the probe and pump pulses are focused on samples with small spot size. Using the optical Kerr gate apparatus, we successfully mapped the time-frequency images of ultrashort laser pulses and subsequently evaluated the chirp characteristics with the phase-retrieval procedure on a single-shot basis. By simply replacing the Kerr medium with samples, we could also visualize the phonon-polariton oscillations in ferroelectric LiNbO3.