Congenital Aneurysm of the Right Atrium: Two Cases Report.

Congenital aneurysm or enlargement of the right atrium is a rare condition. Two children operated on at the age of 14 months and 11 years old for congenital aneurysm of the right atrium are reported. Both presented cardiomegaly and symptoms of paroxysmal supraventricular tachycardia.

Lipoma resection of the interventricular septum.

We report the case of an asymptomatic 43-year-old-man with a lipoma of the interventricular septum. Diagnosis was established during routine medical examination by 2-dimensional echocardiography and confirmed by computed tomography and magnetic resonance imaging. The patient underwent successful resection of the tumor.

Risk factors for mortality in octogenarians undergoing myocardial revascularization surgery.

Background: Age over 80 years, by itself, is not the only risk factor for mortality in coronary artery bypass grafting.

Objective: To identify risk factors for mortality in octogenarian patients undergoing CABG.

Methods: We studied 164 patients aged 80 years and over.

Assesment of the EuroSCORE as a predictor for mortality in valve cardiac surgery at the Heart Institute of Pernambuco.

Objective: To assess the applicability of the European Risk System in Cardiac Operations (EuroSCORE) in patients undergoing cardiac valve surgery at the Heart Institute of Pernambuco.

Method: 840 patients operated on between 2001 and 2009, who medical records contained all the informations to calculate the EuroSCORE were included in the study. Hospital death was the end-point of the study.

Experience with the posterior leaflet extension technique for correction of rheumatic mitral insufficiency in children.

Objective: To describe the experience with the technique of posterior leaflet extension in children suffering of rheumatic mitral regurgitation.

Methods: Between April 2002, and October 2007, 30 children, mean age 11.3 years, underwent correction of mitral insufficiency with the technique of posterior leaflet extension with a pericardial patch.

Should the diabetics have the internal thoracic artery skeletonized? Assessment of sternal perfusion by scintillography.

Objective: To assess, by scintillography, the effect of using bilateral internal thoracic arteries (BITAs) - prepared by two different techniques - on the sternal perfusion.

Methods: 35 patients undergone coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) were divided into two groups: Group A (18) had both ITA's dissected using skeletonization technique and group B (17) as pedicle preparation. There was no difference in the two groups relating gender, age and demographic characteristics.

Intracardiac correction of tetralogy of fallot in the first year of life: short-term and mid-term results.

Objective: To evaluate short-term and medium-term results of intracardiac correction of tetralogy of fallot in the first year of life.

Methods: From January 1996 to October 2004, 67 consecutive infants ranging in age from 1 to 11 months (mean: 7.2 months) and weighing from 4 to 10 kilograms (mean: 7.

Left thoracotomy for reoperations in myocardium revascularization.

Objective: To describe patient selection criteria, surgical technique and early outcomes in patients undergoing reoperative coronary artery bypass surgery (RECABG) through a left thoracotomy without cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB).

Methods: Eight patients with patent grafts to the anterior interventricular branch of left coronary artery (four of which had also patent grafts to the right coronary artery) requiring revascularization of the circumflex coronary system had redo-CABG without CPB through a left posterolateral thoracotomy.

Results: There was no in-hospital mortality or serious postoperative complications.

[Ophthalmologic findings in cardiac transplant recipients].

Purpose: To evaluate findings of ophthalmologic examinations in cardiac transplant recipients, searching especially for changes in the retinal nerve fiber layer by means of Scanning Laser Polarimetry.

Methods: Fifteen cardiac transplant recipients were examined from September 2003 to July 2004. All of them underwent ophthalmologic examination, which consisted of visual acuity (VA), biomicroscopy, tonometry and fundoscopy.

Aortic-right atrial tunnel.

We describe an asymptomatic 1-year-old boy who presented a continuous murmur, and was found to have a tunnel between the right atrium and the aorta. The definitive diagnosis was established by both echocardiography and aortography, and surgical interruption of the tunnel was successful. We emphasise the rarity of this condition, and discuss its major features.

Correction of coarctation of the aorta with simultaneous off-pump myocardial revascularization.

We describe the single-stage surgical management of aortic coarctation and coronary artery disease in a 48-year-old man. Through a left thoracotomy, patch aortoplasty with a preserved bovine pericardial patch, and off-pump grafting of the circumflex and left anterior descending coronary arteries with a saphenous vein were performed. The patient had an uneventful recovery.

Supravalvular congenital mitral stenosis.

Congenital supravalvular mitral stenosis is a rare malformation characterized by the presence of a shelf-like fibrous membrane, with 1 or 2 small orifices, covering and obstructing the mitral valve. The membrane is positioned closely to the mitral valve (and sometimes it is attached to it); therefore, a preoperative diagnosis is inevitably difficult, even with the use of biplane echocardiography. Two patients with supravalvular mitral stenosis aged 3 years and 3 months are described.