Aortic dissection detected 40 days after mitral valve replacement.

We report a case of a 61-year-old man with aortic dissection, which was detected after mitral valve replacement. The presenting manifestation was a moderate, dull and steady pain in his right scapular region, which started on the 40th postoperative day and irradiated to the back and lower limbs. The dissection and its extent was diagnosed on transthoracic echocardiography and CT scanning and the patient improved on conservative management with beta blockers.

Coexistent cervical spine fusion and thoracic disc herniations with acute myelitis.

Thoracic disc herniations are commonly found in asymptomatic individuals, sometimes with genetic predisposition. Congenital fusions of cervical vertebrae occur in Klippel-Feil syndrome, which may be asymptomatic or cause compressive myelitis due to cervical instability or associated herniated discs. We report the case of a 72-year-old man with monophasic acute transverse myelitis probably caused by herpes simplex virus, coexistent with fused cervical vertebrae (C4-C5) and thoracic herniated discs.