Predictors of Outcomes After Surgery for Chronic Thromboembolic Pulmonary Hypertension.

Background: Pulmonary endarterectomy (PEA) for chronic thromboembolic pulmonary hypertension (CTEPH) is technically demanding. We tried to identify the predictors for short- and long-term outcomes after PEA for CTEPH with aggressive use of pulmonary vasodilators, including epoprostenol sodium.

Methods: From 2005 to 2013, 122 CTEPH patients, whose preoperative mean pulmonary artery pressure (mPAP) was 47 ± 10 mm Hg and pulmonary vascular resistance was 847 ± 373 dynes/s/cm, underwent PEA with hypothermic circulatory arrest.

Correction to: Aortic remodeling with frozen elephant trunk technique for Stanford type A aortic dissection using Japanese J-graft open stent graft.

The article Aortic remodeling with frozen elephant trunk technique for Stanford type A aortic dissection using Japanese J-graft open stent graft, written by Masato Tochii, Yoshiyuki Takami, Hiroshi Ishikawa, Michiko Ishida, Yoshiro Higuchi, Yusuke Sakurai, Kentaro Amano and Yasushi Takagi was originally published electronically on the publisher's internet portal (currently SpringerLink) on 06 September 2018 without open access. With the author(s)' decision to opt for Open Choice the copyright of the article changed on 26 September 2018 to © The Author(s) 2018 and the article is forthwith distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License ( http://creativecommons.

Aortic remodeling with frozen elephant trunk technique for Stanford type A aortic dissection using Japanese J-graft open stent graft.

The frozen elephant trunk (FET) technique allows single-stage extended surgical repair of Stanford type A aortic dissection and has shown promotion of aortic remodeling by maintaining the true lumen flow and facilitating its expansion and by promoting false lumen thrombosis. However, few studies have compared the effectiveness of FET technique, in terms of the downstream aortic remodeling. Between 2005 and 2017, 50 patients underwent total arch replacement for Stanford type A aortic dissection, including that with (n = 22) and without FET technique (n = 28).

Recovery from anthracycline-induced cardiomyopathy with biventricular assist and valve repairs: A case report and literature review.

Introduction: Ventricular assist device is used in the patients with severe heart failure due to cardiotoxicity of anthracyclines, which are widely used chemotherapeutic agents for a wide range of malignant tumors. However, recovery of cardiac function is rare.

Methods: We present the clinical course of a 43-year-old woman in remission from diffuse large B-cell lymphoma after the chemotherapy including anthracyclines, who presented in cardiogenic shock 8 months after the end of chemotherapy.

Retrograde Ascending Aortic Dissection after Stent Grafting for Stanford Type B Aortic Dissection with Severe Limb Ischemia.

We report a rare case of retrograde Stanford type A aortic dissection after endovascular repair for complicated Stanford type B aortic dissection. A 45-year-old man presented with a sudden onset of back pain and was transferred to our hospital. Computed tomography demonstrated acute Stanford type B aortic dissection with lower limb ischemia.

Recurrence of Aneurysm of the Ascending Aorta after Patch Repair: The Fate of an Aortic Patch.

Pseudoaneurysm of the ascending aorta is a rare but life- threatening complication after aortic cannulation and cardiovascular surgery, and it has the potential to rupture. We experienced a rare case of recurrence of aneurysm of the ascending aorta 7 years after patch repair of a small aneurysm at an aortic cannulation site. The repaired aorta had been wrapped with a Teflon felt strip during the previous surgery, and the wrapped aorta had become thin with deterioration of the normal structure of the aortic wall.

Early and Late Outcomes of Surgical Repair for Stanford A Acute Aortic Dissection in Octogenarians.

Background: Because increased age is a strong independent predictor of mortality and morbidity, surgery for octogenarians with Stanford type A aortic dissection (AAD) may be avoided.

Methods and results: From 2005 to 2015, 158 patients underwent surgical repair for AAD via a median sternotomy. We compared 24 (15.

Additional percutaneous transluminal pulmonary angioplasty for residual or recurrent pulmonary hypertension after pulmonary endarterectomy.

Background: Pulmonary endarterectomy (PEA) has been the most effective therapy for chronic thromboembolic pulmonary hypertension (CTEPH). However, residual or recurrent pulmonary hypertension often persists after PEA. Recently, catheter-based angioplasty, called percutaneous transluminal pulmonary angioplasty (PTPA) or balloon pulmonary angioplasty, has been developed as a promising strategy for CTEPH.

Mid-term outcomes of cardiovascular surgery for patients with Marfan syndrome.

Objectives: Cardiovascular manifestations determine the prognosis and survival of patients with Marfan syndrome (MFS). We assessed the early and mid-term outcomes of cardiovascular surgery for this patient population.

Patients And Methods: We conducted a retrospective evaluation of patients with MFS who underwent surgery in our department.

Histopathological examination by lung biopsy for the evaluation of operability and postoperative prognosis in patients with chronic thromboembolic pulmonary hypertension.

Background: To evaluate the prognosis after pulmonary thromboendarterectomy (PTE) in patients with chronic thromboembolic pulmonary hypertension (CTEPH), a lung biopsy was performed in 34 patients with central CTEPH and in 7 patients with peripheral CTEPH during PTE.

Methods And Results: Postoperative prognosis was classified from A to E based on the postoperative hemodynamic parameters and clinical condition, and was compared with the index of occlusion (IOCTEPH), which indicates the degree of occlusion in the small pulmonary arteries. Criteria of (A-E) were established only for central CTEPH.

Respiratory and hemodynamic changes in patients with chronic thromboembolic pulmonary hypertension 1 year after pulmonary endarterectomy.

We reviewed the results of thromboembolectomy, which was performed for the treatment of chronic thromboembolic pulmonary hypertension (CTEPH), 1 year after the operation. We obtained hemodynamic and respiratory data of 60 patients from the 112 patients who were operated at our institute. The hemodynamic parameters such as mean pulmonary arterial pressure (PAP), pulmonary vascular resistance (PVR), and cardiac index (CI) were significantly improved after the operation, and this improvement of pulmonary hemodynamics persisted even a year after the operation.

Excellent durability of Starr-Edwards ball valves implanted in the aortic and mitral positions for 27 years: report of a rare surgical case.

A 59-year-old male who had undergone aortic and mitral valve replacement with Starr-Edwards ball valves 27 years ago was admitted to our hospital for hemolytic anemia and heart failure. Echocardiography revealed prosthetic valve failure with a high-pressure gradient and small effective orifice area. The Starr-Edwards ball valves were successfully replaced with bileaflet mechanical valves.

The importance of preoperative magnetic resonance imaging in valve surgery for active infective endocarditis.

Purpose: Valve surgery for active infective endocarditis (IE) can cause fatal brain hemorrhage. Our current study aimed to evaluate the incidence of septic cerebral lesions in active IE patients by performing preoperative magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) including T(2)*- weighted sequences and magnetic resonance angiography (MRA) before urgent valve surgery, and to investigate whether such preoperative evaluation affects postoperative outcomes.

Methods: Eighteen patients were referred to our department for native valve IE during 2006-2010.

Pseudoaneurysm of ascending aorta 16 years after coronary artery bypass grafting.

Pseudoaneurysm of the ascending aorta after cardiac surgery is a rare but life threatening complication, which can result in rupture. Pseudoaneurysms are usually related to the aortic cannulation, the proximal site of graft anastomosis, or the suture line of aortotomy, and often occur after mediastinal infection. We report a case of pseudoaneurysm of the ascending aorta associated with aortic cannulation and the proximal anastomosis of a saphenous vein graft without an obvious history of mediastinal infection.

Iatrogenic type A aortic dissection after catheter intervention for the left subclavian artery.

Cardiac surgical procedure and catheter intervention of the aorta or its major branches have a potential risk for iatrogenic aortic dissection. This case demonstrates an iatrogenic type A aortic dissection after the elective balloon angioplasty for severe stenosis of the left subclavian artery orifice. The dissection retrospectively extended to the ascending aorta, and intramural hematoma was observed in the false lumen of the aorta.

Recent outcomes of surgery for chronic type B aortic dissection.

Objective: Chronic type B dissection though optimal is still considered to be a controversial procedure, even in the advent of stent grafts. Recently, we used a novel surgical technique involving left axillary perfusion to analyze the results of our surgical strategy and compare them with those reported in the literature.

Materials And Methods: Between August 2004 and July 2009, 39 patients underwent graft replacement for chronic type B aortic dissection.

Paraplegia following the emergency surgical repair of a nonruptured symptomatic abdominal aortic aneurysm: report of a case.

This report presents an extremely rare case of paraplegia following emergency surgery for a nonruptured symptomatic abdominal aortic aneurysm. A 62-year-old man underwent an emergency surgical repair for a symptomatic nonruptured infrarenal abdominal aortic aneurysm. On postoperative day 2 paraplegia following spinal cord ischemia occurred at the T8 level.

Ultraviolet ray induces chromosomal giant DNA fragmentation followed by internucleosomal DNA fragmentation associated with apoptosis in rat glioma cells.

Giant DNA fragments (1-2 Mbp) were found in C6 rat glioma cells irradiated by a lethal dose of ultraviolet-C (UV-C, 254 nm) at 50 J/m(2). After irradiation, the fragments mutated into high-molecular-weight (100-800 kbp) DNA fragments and then into ladder-formed internucleosomal DNA fragments. Poly-ADP-ribose polymerase (PARP) activity and NAD levels were reduced during DNA fragmentation.