Vasa vasorum of the failed aorto-coronary venous grafts.

Purpose: This study was designed to investigate the distribution of vasa vasorum in walls of failed aorto-coronary venous grafts.

Methods: Fifty-one diseased venous grafts harvested from 39 patients underwent qualitative histological evaluation. The morphology of the grade of the pathological changes and the extent of the vascularisation were examined, and related to the length of the interval between the primary surgery and the explantation.

[Tricuspid valve infective endocarditis in intravenous drug abuser].

Infective endocarditis can be divided from practical point of view into native valve endocarditis and prosthetic valve endocarditis. With regard to aquired endocarditis, endocarditis in intravenous drug abusers can be separetly differentiated. Echocardiography and microbio-logical cultures are essential for dia-gnosis.

Relapsing endocarditis caused by Enterococcus faecalis forming small colony variants.

Small colony variants (SCVs) are subpopulations of a bacterial strain that differ in morphology, growth rate, metabolism, and antibiotic sensitivity from the parent line. They are associated with chronic and difficult-to-treat infections. SCV endocarditis is very rare and usually associated with intracardiac devices.

[Simultaneous carotid endarterectomy and coronary revascularization: indications and results].

Aim: Evaluation of operative results and complications in high-risk patients who underwent combined carotid and coronary revascularization.

Patients And Methods: Combined operation--carotid endarterectomy (CEA) and coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) was performed in the period 2000-2009 in 68 patients. Simultaneous operation was indicated in patients with unstable angina pectoris and 1.