Preintervention Wait Time and Survival in People With Rheumatic Heart Disease in Uganda.

Background: There is an unmet surgical burden among people living with rheumatic heart disease (RHD) in Uganda. Nevertheless, risk factors associated with time to first intervention and preoperative mortality are poorly understood.

Methods: Individuals with RHD who met indications for valve surgery were identified using the Uganda National RHD Registry (January 2010-August 2022).

An unusual occurrence of penetrating aortic arch injury by a ball-point pen: a case report and review of the literature.

Background: Aortic arch injuries account for about 8% of thoracic aortic injuries. Penetrating zone I neck injuries account for 18% of vascular injuries in the neck and have great potential to traverse to involve thoracic vascular structures as well. The hard and soft signs of vascular injury facilitate triage of patients on an individual basis.

Tricuspid reoperation after left-sided rheumatic valve operations.

Background: The management of late tricuspid regurgitation after left-sided valve operations in rheumatic patients remains controversial. The aim of this study was to analyze clinical and echocardiographic outcomes of tricuspid valve procedures after left-sided valve operations in rheumatic patients.

Methods: This study enrolled 106 rheumatic patients with a history of left-sided valve operations who were undergoing tricuspid valve procedures (53 replacements, 53 repairs).

Destructive rib lesions in an HIV sero-negative male: an unusual presentation of tuberculosis in a high tuberculosis prevalence setting.

Tuberculosis (TB) of the rib is a very rare form of skeletal TB and its diagnosis may be difficult because of a low index of suspicion by clinicians. The presentation often mimics malignant disease clinically and radiologically and diagnosis may only be confirmed by tissue biopsy. We present a 32-year-old HIV-negative man who presented with a three-month history of progressively worsening pleuritic chest pain, weight loss, fatigue, anorexia and low-grade fever with night sweats.

Reimplantation of the two coronary ostia as a single button in Ross procedure.

A 10-year-old boy presented with severe aortic regurgitation due to a dysplastic aortic valve. He underwent a Ross procedure employing a mini-root replacement technique. At surgery, he was found to have eccentrically located coronary ostia which were both reimplanted as a single button into the pulmonary autograft.