Endovascular Aortic Repair for Thoracic Aortic Compression Resulting From Chance Fracture of the Thoracic Spine.

Blunt aortic injury is a serious condition with a high mortality rate. Although rare, blunt aortic injury associated with spinal fracture has also been reported, and appropriate management of aortic disease is key to a good outcome. This report is a case of a 78-year-old man who was found to have a transverse fracture (Chance fracture) in the ninth thoracic vertebra, with a sharp bone fragment compressing the thoracic aorta.

Pleural Approach to Aberrant Right Subclavian Artery in Aortic Surgery.

An aberrant right subclavian artery usually arises from the aortic arch just distal to the left subclavian artery and crosses behind the esophagus on its way to the right axillary artery. Several reconstructive techniques of this artery in aortic surgery have been reported but mostly resulted in troublesome procedures. Here, we describe an alternative strategy presenting the occlusion of the aberrant right subclavian artery through the right pleural approach followed via extraanatomical axillary artery bypass.

Surgery for Bacterial Endocarditis Complicated by Diffuse Alveolar Hemorrhage.

Diffuse alveolar hemorrhage is a very rare but potentially lethal condition resulting from various disorders. We report the case of a patient who suffered diffuse alveolar hemorrhage subsequent to bacterial endocarditis and survived aortic valve replacement, which was applied after improvement in respiratory distress. We believe that the strategy of respiratory functional recovery by aggressive rehabilitation is essential for the achievement of a successful surgical outcome in patients with alveolar hemorrhage.

Adjunctive Ischemic Lower-Limb Perfusion during Aortic Repair with Cardiopulmonary Bypass Prevents Fatal Reperfusion Injury.

Acute aortic dissection can be complicated by malperfusion syndromes, including ischemia of the lower limbs. In some cases, delayed correction of leg ischemia leads to reperfusion injury, potentially resulting in renal failure. We describe the case of a 64-year-old woman who presented with acute aortic dissection manifesting itself as lower-limb ischemia.

Concealed Left Ventricle to Right Atrium Fistula Complicating Infective Endocarditis.

We report a case of aortic prosthetic valve endocarditis presenting with subaortic stenosis without perivalvular leakage and vegetations in the left ventricular outflow and right atrium, the latter being attached to the atrioventricular septum. Intraoperatively, an abscess that had formed on the aortic annulus and perforated to the right atrium was unexpectedly found, the fistula being occluded by vegetations. Even when no left-to-right shunts are detected by imaging, vegetations adjacent to the atrioventricular septum may conceal a left ventricle-right atrium fistula, resulting in prosthetic valve endocarditis presenting clinically as subaortic stenosis without perivalvular leakage.

Successful Treatment of Iatrogenic Subclavian Artery Pseudoaneurysm by Ultrasound-Guided Thrombin Injection.

Ultrasound-guided thrombin injection has been well described as a safe and effective treatment for pseudoaneurysms of the femoral artery. However, cases for subclavian artery pseudoaneurysm are rare. An 82-year-old man developed an iatrogenic right subclavian artery pseudoaneurysm.

Successful resection of a huge metastatic liposarcoma in the pericardium resulting in improvement of diastolic heart failure: a case report.

Although liposarcoma often metastasizes to various organs, cardiac metastasis, including to the pericardium, is rare. We present a case of a third recurrence of pericardial metastasis from the thigh, which required surgical resection because of cardiac failure. Surgery was effective for improving cardiac function and reintroducing chemotherapy.

Early and Long-term Effects of the Autologous Peripheral Stem Cell Implantation for Critical Limb Ischemia.

Objective: Therapeutic angiogenesis by peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PB-MNCs) implantation has been shown to be a safe and effective treating for critical limb ischemia (CLI). We herein report our investigation of the long-term efficacy of implantation of granulocyte-colony stimulating factor (G-CSF)-induced PB-MNCs to treat patients with CLI for which surgical bypass and/or percutaneous transluminal angioplasty are not possible. Methods and Methods : Eleven cases were enrolled in this study.

Sharp rib fragment threatening to lacerate the aorta in a patient with flail chest.

A 50-year-old man who was the victim of an accident during work was taken to the hospital. His chest radiograph and computed tomography (CT) scan showed pulmonary contusion, multiple rib fractures (left 5th to 1lth ribs), hemopneumothorax, and splenic rupture. On the fourth posttrauma day, CT showed bone particles of the ninth rib migrating to the thoracic aorta.

Cardiac tamponade due to spontaneous rupture of large coronary artery aneurysm.

A 70-year-old woman admitted with chest pain went into shock due to cardiac tamponade; 1000 mL of blood was drained from her pericardium. Enhanced computed tomography showed massive pericardial effusion and a coronary artery aneurysm in front of the main pulmonary artery. Coronary angiography revealed a coronary artery-pulmonary artery fistula and 3 giant saccular coronary artery aneurysms.

Long-term effectiveness of total arch replacement for type A aortic dissection.

Background: With recent improvements in cerebral protection during aortic arch repair, total aortic arch replacement has become an accepted surgical method for acute type A aortic dissection involving the aortic arch. Our surgical strategy is to perform total arch replacement with a branched graft using antegrade selective cerebral perfusion for the patients with type A aortic dissection involving the aortic arch. The objective of this study is to evaluate the effectiveness of this strategy on late outcome.

Haemostatic profile of small children during and following cardiopulmonary bypass.

Objective: We evaluated changes of the haemostatic system during pediatric cardiac surgery during and after cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB).

Method: Twenty-five children under 15 kg of body weight undergoing open-heart surgery were divided into three groups; 9 patients (Group A), no bank blood was used throughout the surgery; 8 patients (Group B), packed red cells were used in the priming of CPB circuit; 8 patients (Group C) in cyanotic condition, for whom surgery was performed without bank blood. CPB caused a significant decrease of platelet counts in all three groups, the levels of which remained similar next morning.

Evidence-based infection control in thoracic surgery.

Objectives: Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) continues to pose a major threat to the lung and cardiovascular surgery patients. We propose evidence-based infection control (EBIC) against MRSA.

Methods: We conducted a basic study comparing genotyping to cluster analysis using minimal inhibition concentration on 17 drugs for 21 MRSA strains.