Mediastinitis following pediatric cardiac surgery.

BACKGROUND: Mediastinitis following pediatric cardiac surgery is associated with significantly high morbidity and mortality. METHOD: In our review, 21 studies from 1986 to 2011 (12 retrospective studies, eight prospective studies, and a multi-institutional study) including 44,693 pediatric cardiac patients were analyzed. RESULTS AND CONCLUSION: Younger age, malnutrition, preoperative respiratory tract infection, high American anesthesiology score, longer duration of surgery, prolonged ventilation, and ICU stay were definite risk factors for mediastinitis. Early primary closure over drains, vacuum-assisted closure, muscle flap, and omental flap remain the most frequently performed treatments for post-sternotomy mediastinitis. Vacuum-assisted closure has emerged as the technique of choice in recent years.

Single stage repair of tetralogy of fallot associated with left pulmonary artery sling and tracheal stenosis.

We report a rare case of tetralogy of Fallot (TOF) with left pulmonary artery (LPA) sling with tracheal stenosis. The patient underwent successful surgery in one stage involving intracardiac repair of TOF, LPA reimplantation and resection of tracheal stenosis with end-to-end anastomosis.

Autograft mitral valve replacement: a new technique.

We describe a new technique wherein we have used the Ionescu Ross Wooler stent for housing the pulmonary autograft. We believe that this technique is easy and reproducible and offers many advantages over the previously described techniques.

Left atrial primary B cell lymphoma presenting with mitral regurgitation.

Primary cardiac lymphoma (PCL) is an extremely rare diagnosis. We present a case of a 38-year-old immunocompetent female who presented with dyspnea on exertion and chest pain and the echocardiography revealed a mass in the left atrium (LA) causing moderate mitral regurgitation and mimicking a left atrial myxoma. The patient was managed with excision of the mass and mitral valve replacement followed by chemotherapy. The histopathology revealed B-cell non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL) with tumor cells showing immunoreactivity with CD20 and negative for CD45RO.

Compression of the left main coronary artery by a pulmonary artery aneurysm in a patient with tetralogy of Fallot and an absent pulmonary valve.

A case of a 16-year-old female with tetralogy of Fallot and absent pulmonary valve is presented, who on coronary angiography and computerized tomography (CT) angiography had severe compression of the left main coronary artery by the dilated main pulmonary artery. The patient was successfully managed by surgical correction of the intracardiac defect, with right ventricular outflow tract reconstruction by the Contegra(®) bovine jugular vein conduit.

Cardiac myxomas: experience over one decade.

BACKGROUND: This single-center study reviews our experience with cardiac myxomas over the past decade. METHODS: Sixty-two patients (23 male) with median age 38 years (range: 8 to 69 years) underwent excision of primary or recurrent cardiac myxomas between 2000 and 2009. Patients were evaluated with echocardiography preoperatively and annually postoperatively. Follow-up is current for all survivors (range 13 months to 10 years). RESULTS: Fifty-two patients had left atrial myxomas, seven right atrial, two biatrial, and one right ventricular. Three cases were familial. Maximum number of myxomas in a single patient was four. Symptom duration ranged from two to eight months. Two early deaths were due to low cardiac output and embolic cerebrovascular accident; one late death was due to a noncardiac cause. Actuarial survival was 96.8 ± 1.8% at 10 years. Most patients were asymptomatic following surgery. No sporadic, multiple, or biatrial myxomas recurred. Recurrence occurred in two familial cases, both with single, left atrial myxoma. Freedom from reoperation was 98.4 ± 1.3% at five years and 96.8 ± 1.8% at 10 years. CONCLUSIONS: Biatrial involvement or multiplicity of myxomas does not mandate recurrence. Surgical excision has excellent overall survival and freedom from reoperation rates, but annual follow-up including echocardiographic surveillance is recommended as familial cases tend to recur.

Delayed presentation of iatrogenic left ventricular pseudoaneurysm.

Occurrence of left ventricular aneurysm outside the realm of ischemic heart disease is uncommon and one following an iatrogenic trauma is very rare. We describe one such case of left ventricular pseudoaneurysm developing following pericardiocentesis and presenting one year after the procedure, and its successful surgical management.

Primary intracardiac leiomyoma arising from cardiomyocyte progenitors at the right ventriculoseptal interface: case report with literature review.

Primary cardiac neoplasms are rare and are usually benign myxomas and rhabdomyomas. Cardiac leiomyomas are usually seen as a part of the spectrum of intravenous leiomyomatosis or benign metastasizing leiomyoma. De novo occurrence of primary intracardiac leiomyomas (PICL) is a rarity. Herein we describe a 14-year-old boy presenting with intermittent dyspnea for 2 years, with a large right ventricular mass suggestive of myxoma on transthoracic echocardiography, without any extracardiac lesions. Histology and immunohistochemistry of the tumor excised under cardiopulmonary bypass confirmed a PICL arising at the cardiomyocyte-smooth muscle septal interface. A review of existing literature highlights an increased incidence in young patients and an overwhelming right ventricular anatomical predilection. Abnormalities in the multipotent cardiac progenitor cells of the second heart field may provide a potential microenvironment for the histogenesis of PICL.

Pyramid heart: uncommon sequel of a common disease.

A 40-year-old woman presented 19 years after ring-annuloplastyfor rheumatic mitral regurgitation. Long-standing rheumatic heartdisease resulted in an unusual finding on her chest radiograph.

Management of iatrogenic RV injury - RV packing and CPB through PTFE graft attached to femoral artery.

Cardiac injuries during repeat sternotomy are rare. While undergoing debridement for chronic osteomyelitis (post arterial septal defect closure), a 4-year-old girl sustained significant right ventricular (RV) injury. Bleeding from the RV was controlled by packing the injury site, which helped in maintaining stable hemodynamics till arrangements were made for instituting cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB). Since the femoral artery was very small and unsuitable for direct cannulation, a polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) graft sutured end-to-side to the femoral artery was used for establishing CPB. The injury was successfully repaired.

Dysphagia Lusoria with atrial septal defect: Simultaneous repair through midline.

An aberrant right subclavian artery from the descending aorta is almost always reported as an isolated anomaly. We present the case of a four-year-old child with an anomalous origin of the right subclavian artery from the descending aorta, associated with an ostium secundum atrial septal defect. The patient underwent simultaneous repair of both the anomalies through median sternotomy, with implantation of the subclavian artery into the right common carotid artery. We believe that median sternotomy is the optimal surgical approach for the management of these lesions. Other operative approaches are also discussed.

Right aortic arch with isolation of the left innominate artery in a case of double chamber right ventricle and ventricular septal defect.

Herein, we report an unusual case of right aortic arch with isolation of the left innominate artery in a case of double chamber right ventricle with ventricular septal defect. The blood supply to the innominate artery was by a collateral arising from the descending aorta. The embryological development of this anomaly can be explained by the hypothetical double aortic arch model proposed by Edwards with interruption of the arch at two levels.

Entrapped Catheter across the Fossa Ovalis in an Adult with Pulmonary Stenosis - A Case Report of Surgical Relief.

Percutaneous pulmonary balloon valvuloplasty as a procedure of choice in adults has been established since the last three decades. Even though the complications are rare, they are scarcely reported in the literature. We report such a case in an adult female patient of severe pulmonary valular stenosis in whom, entrapped catheter across the fossa ovalis was noted in chest x-ray and echocardiogram following unsuccessful percutaneous pulmonary balloon valvuloplasty. Our case emphasizes this rare complication and its successful surgical outcome.