The current surgical perspective to repair of atrioventricular septal defect with common atrioventricular junction.

Atrioventricular septal defect with common atrioventricular junction is a relatively common congenital cardiac malformation. It sometimes presents challenging surgical problems, especially when seen in combination with tetralogy of Fallot. We describe herein our current concepts regarding surgical repair of atrioventricular septal defect with and without tetralogy, discussing indications for surgery, timing, technical aspects, and outcomes.

Anomalous aortic origin of a coronary artery: a universally applicable surgical strategy.

The most commonly reported coronary arterial malformation, in accounts of sudden deaths, is anomalous aortic origin of a coronary artery. Anomalous coronary arteries may arise from the left, right, or non-coronary sinuses of Valsalva. Importantly, although the left coronary artery from the right sinus has the worst prognosis, sudden death has been reported in all variants of origin from the various sinuses of Valsalva.

Idiopathic pulmonary trunk aneurysm causing airway obstruction in an infant.

We report a case of idiopathic pulmonary trunk aneurysm in an infant, in which the main clinical picture was airway obstruction. Aneurysmorraphy was the chosen surgical approach and showed to be successful on 13 months follow-up.

Synovial sarcoma of the heart.

We report a case of synovial sarcoma of the heart in a 14-year-old boy, who presented with signs of mild generalized illness and rapidly progressed to haemodynamic collapse. On operation the tumour was attached to the tricuspid valve, away from the atrioventricular node. He was considered to have incomplete resection due to extensive adhesions to the atrioventricular junction, and was offered chemotherapy.

A simple system to deliver blood cardioplegia.

We describe a simple and inexpensive system designed to deliver blood cardioplegia either diluted or at the patient's hematocrit, with controlled temperature and additive concentration. This system can be applied to any pump set, and suits any strategy for clinical myocardial preservation.