Surgical treatment of infective aortic valve endocarditis.

Fifty-eight adult patients treated with aortic valve replacement for infective endocarditis were retrospectively reviewed. The operation was performed during antibiotic therapy (group I, n = 25) or after completion of such therapy, on average 17 months after diagnosis (group II, n = 33). Preoperatively 68% of group I and 24% of group II were in NYHA class IV.

Pseudoaneurysm of the left ventricle following mitral valve replacement. Report of two cases and review of the literature.

Two cases of left ventricular (LV) pseudoaneurysm following mitral valve replacement (MVR) are presented. In one patient the false aneurysm developed after an initially successful correction of intraoperative left ventricular wall rupture while the other case resulted from an apparently uncomplicated MVR performed because of staphylococcal endocarditis. Both cases were detected by combined 2-dimensional and Doppler echocardiography.

Primary cardiac tumours--operative treatment of 20 patients.

This report describes a series of 20 patients operated on for a primary cardiac tumour. The majority of the tumours (16) were benign myxomas; 12 of them were located in the left atrium, two in the right atrium and two were biatrial. Two lipomas were found; one was epicardial and the other was located in the left atrium.

Early and late results of surgery for atrial septal defect in patients aged over 60 years.

To assess the risks and benefits attending the surgical repair of atrial septal defect in the elderly the case histories of all patients operated on at the age of 60 years or more were reviewed and follow-up study, including cardiac catheterization, was performed. A total of 17 patients (12 females and 5 males) were identified. The left-to-right shunt ratio averaged 2.