Mitral Valve Replacement for Enlarged Libman-Sacks Endocarditis in a Patient with Persistent Primary Antiphospholipid Syndrome and Recurrent Stroke: A Case Report.

BACKGROUND Anticardiolipin antibodies in patients with Libman-Sacks endocarditis (LS) are indicative of comorbid antiphospholipid syndrome (APS) and can result in cerebral infarctions. We describe a case of LS and primary APS with recurrent cerebral infarctions despite anticoagulation treatment. The patient underwent surgery for enlarged LS vegetation with high titers of antiphospholipid antibodies.

Improvement in Left Cardiac Function Following Mitral Valve Repair: Analyses Based on Cardiac Magnetic Resonance Imaging.

Aim: This study aimed to evaluate the structural and functional changes of left-sided cardiac chambers by cardiac magnetic resonance imaging (CMRI) in patients with chronic mitral regurgitation after mitral valve repair (MVR).

Patients And Methods: Among 103 patients who underwent MVR, 21 showed normal left ventricular (LV) function; their pre- and postoperative left atrial (LA) and LV functions were examined by CMRI.

Results: LV end-diastolic volume, LV end-systolic volume, and LV mass significantly were reduced postoperatively (p<0.

Protective Effects of Cold Ringer's Solution Perfusion in Abdominal Aortic Surgery Requiring Renal Artery Clamp.

Background/aim: Treating abdominal aortic aneurysms (AAA) of the juxtarenal artery with renal artery clamps burdens the kidneys. We investigated the outcomes of intra-operative renal artery perfusion using the cold Ringer's solution method for renal protection.

Patients And Methods: We enrolled 290 AAA patients who underwent open aortic repair.

Rapid Restoration of Thrombus Formation and High-Molecular-Weight von Willebrand Factor Multimers in Patients with Severe Aortic Stenosis After Valve Replacement.

Aim: Patients with severe aortic stenosis (AS) may have bleeding episodes due to the loss of high-molecular-weight (HMW) von Willebrand factor multimers (VWFMs). The absence of HMW-VWFMs and bleeding tendency are usually corrected after aortic valve replacement (AVR). To investigate the process of VWFM recovery and symptoms in patients with severe AS, we analyzed changes in VWF antigen (VWF:Ag), ADAMTS13 activity (ADAMTS13:AC), and platelet thrombus formation under high shear stress conditions.

Experimental use of crosslinked gelatin glue for arterial hemostasis in cardiovascular surgery.

Background: Anastomotic needle hole bleeding is a frequently encountered problem in cardiovascular surgeries.

Objective: To examine the feasibility of crosslinked gelatin glue as an anastomotic needle hole sealant in comparison with fibrin glue.

Methods: The in vitro burst water pressures were measured for gelatin and fibrin glue sealed needle holes of expanded polytetrafluoroethylene (ePTFE) or collagen coated woven polyester grafts.

[An operative case of a chronic traumatic thoracic aortic aneurysm 16 years after a jet skiing crash; report of a case].

Injury of the thoracic aorta following a major blunt trauma to the chest occurs most frequently at the aortic isthmus and more than 80% of such patients die within 1st 30 minutes. However, less than 5% of patients survive and later develop chronic thoracic aortic aneurysm (TAA). Usually, most cases of chronic traumatic TAA have no symptoms for a long time after an accident.

Aortic root replacement for Valsalva sinus aneurysm with lupus erythematosus.

A 76-year-old man with systemic lupus erythematosus was found to have an aneurysm of the right sinus of Valsalva. Aortic root replacement with a stentless bioprosthesis, using a full root technique, was successfully performed. The pathological findings of the excised aortic valve were not secondary to atherosclerosis, inflammatory or infectious disease, but seemed to be compatible with those previously reported in a case of systemic lupus erythematosus.

Generation of a monoclonal antibody reactive to prefusion myocytes.

We established a novel monoclonal antibody, Yaksa that is specific to a subpopulation of myogenic cells. The Yaksa antigen is not expressed on the surface of growing myoblasts but only on a subpopulation of myogenin-positive myocytes. When Yaksa antigen-positive mononucleated cells were freshly prepared from a murine myogenic cell by a cell sorter, they fused with each other and formed multinucleated myotubes shortly after replating while Yaksa antigen-negative cells scarcely generated myotubes.

Correlations between global clotting function tests, duration of operation, and postoperative chest tube drainage in pediatric cardiac surgery.

Background: Systemic coagulation disorders after cardiac surgery represent serious postoperative complications. There have been few reports, however, identifying preoperative coagulation tests that predict postoperative bleeding. The aim of the present study was to investigate the relationship between postoperative hemorrhage and coagulation parameters determined by global coagulation assays, to define potential predictive markers.

Meta-analysis of Adjuvant Immunochemotherapy Using OK-432 in Patients With Resected Non-Small-Cell Lung Cancer.

SUMMARY: The benefits of immunochemotherapy with a penicillin-treated, lyophilized preparation of Streptococcus pyogenes, OK-432 (Picibanil), were reassessed in patients with resected non-small-cell lung cancer through a meta-analysis based on data from 1,520 patients enrolled in 11 randomized clinical trials. All 11 trials were started before 1991, and the subjects had been followed up for at least 5 years after surgery and randomization. In these trials, standard chemotherapy was compared with the same therapy plus OK-432.