Early Basal Cuspal Tear of a Porcine Bioprosthetic Mitral Valve Causing Massive Mitral Regurgitation.

Although porcine mitral bioprostheses provide predictably good long-term outcomes, unexpected leaflet tears leading to abrupt haemodynamic changes may occur. Here, we report on a patient who was presented with acute dyspnea due to a cuspal tear of a porcine bioprosthetic mitral valve causing severe mitral regurgitation. Her condition was subsequently complicated by a systemic infection, probably pneumonia, and was successfully managed with an urgent redo-mitral valve replacement.

Removal of unusual multiple aortic valve fibroelastoma using right mini-thoracotomy.

Papillary Fibroelastomas are rare, primary cardiac tumors. They are typically diagnosed as an incidental finding but can also present as thrombo-embolic events. We present the case of 78-years- old man who presented to emergency room with a cerebrovascular event (CVE).

Prospective randomized trial of endoscopic vs open radial artery harvest for CABG: Clinical outcome, patient satisfaction, and midterm RA graft patency.

Background And Aim: Endoscopic radial artery (RA) harvest (ERAH) is an alternative to open RA harvest (ORAH) technique. Our aim was to ascertain clinical outcomes, patent satisfaction, and 1-year angiographic patency rates after ERAH and ORAH.

Patients And Methods: A total of 50 patients undergoing coronary artery bypass grafting were prospectively randomized to two groups.

Giant coronary artery fistula.

Giant coronary artery fistula is rare. We describe the diagnostic work-up and surgical management of a 55-year-old woman who presented with congestive heart failure caused by a giant coronary artery fistula from the left circumflex artery to the coronary sinus.

Intraoperative coronary artery spasm after off-pump coronary surgery.

Coronary artery spasm is rare after coronary artery bypass surgery. We describe a case of intraoperative severe native coronary artery and graft spasm after successful off-pump coronary bypass surgery in a 55-year-old man, which was detected by suspicious electrocardiographic changes, and documented postoperatively by coronary angiography.

Carbon dioxide embolism during endoscopic vein harvesting.

Endoscopic vein harvesting (EVH) is becoming common for the patients undergoing coronary artery bypass grafting. Using carbon dioxide insufflations during the vein harvest can produce rare but catastrophic CO(2) embolism. We report a case of massive right atrial CO(2) embolism due to femoral vein injury which occurred during the performance of a routine EVH procedure.

Aortic valve replacement with Toronto SPV in elderly patients: 10-year results.

A retrospective assessment of clinical and echocardiographic variables was performed in 145 patients who received a Toronto SPV aortic valve replacement. The majority (90%) of these elderly patients (mean age, 75.5 +/- 7.

Stentless vs. stented aortic valve replacement: left ventricular mass regression.

The aim of this retrospective study was to evaluate the time-related regression of left ventricular hypertrophy after stentless vs. stented aortic valve replacement. From January 1992 to December 2002, 145 patients had a Toronto stentless porcine valve and 106 had a stented Carpentier-Edwards aortic valve replacement.