Operative Results of Mitral Valve Repair and Replacement in Chronic Ischaemic Mitral Valve Regurgitation.

Background: Ischaemic mitral regurgitation (IMR) carries significant morbidity and mortality. Surgical management includes coronary artery bypass surgery alone or concomitant with mitral valve repair or replacement. There is ongoing debate regarding the appropriate approach to the mitral valve in relation to long-term outcomes.

Preoperative embolization of a massive solitary fibrous tumor of the pleura.

We report the case of a 69-year-old woman with a massive fibrous tumor of the left hemithorax. Initial attempted removal by median sternotomy was abandoned due to the extremely vascular appearance of the tumor and the inability to gain safe control of the pedicle. Subsequent percutaneous embolization before removal through a left thoracotomy was successful, with little intraoperative blood loss.