Vegetation of Ventriculoatrial Shunt Managed via Multidisciplinary Surgical Approach.

Introduction: The popularity of the ventriculoatrial shunt as a means for cerebrospinal fluid diversion was temporally limited, overcome by the success of the peritoneum as a site for distal drainage. Nevertheless, it remains an important tool for patients for whom ventriculoperitoneal shunting is not an option.

Clinical Presentation: We present the case of a 9-year-old girl with a ventriculoatrial shunt, who had undergone multiple revisions.

Superior vena caval thrombosis after a neonatal arterial switch procedure.

Superior vena cava (SVC) and inferior vena cava obstructions were once well-documented complications from the Mustard repair for D-transposition of the great arteries (TGA), occurring in 10%-40% patients; however, they are rarely documented with the current, more common arterial switch operation (ASO). Similarly, SVC thrombosis is an uncommon, severe complication following neonatal cardiac surgery. We report a case of persistent SVC thrombosis, SVC syndrome, and chylothorax arising after ASO, refractory to thrombolysis and stent placement.

Dysphagia lusoria: a complication following gastric bypass surgery?

A 23-year-old Caucasian female presented with progressive dysphagia beginning 5 months following laparoscopic gastric bypass for morbid obesity. She was diagnosed with an aberrant right subclavian artery and underwent a combined right supraclavicular approach and left thoracotomy for resection, with reimplantation of the vessel to the ipsilateral carotid artery. The patient had complete resolution of symptoms.

Alarming levels of carboxyhemoglobin in a unit of banked blood.

Increased levels of carboxyhemoglobin (COHb) are frequently found in units of packed red blood cells. We report a congenital heart surgery where increased levels of COHb were found in the patient after a blood transfusion and hypothesize that this phenomenon could be dangerous in a cyanotic newborn undergoing open heart surgery.