Thoracic Endovascular Aortic Repair for Blunt Thoracic Aortic Injury: A Report of Three Cases in Which Surgeries Were Performed at Different Timings.

Introduction: Blunt thoracic aortic injury (BTAI) is a critical condition. Thoracic endovascular aortic repair (TEVAR) is considered a surgical treatment for BTAI. Reports reveal that some patients benefit from conservative and delayed operation rather than emergency operative therapy.

Aortic rupture due to radiation injury successfully treated with thoracic endovascular aortic repair.

Thoracic endovascular aortic repair (TEVAR) has been reported to be an effective treatment option for aortic emergencies. However, there are few reports about TEVAR for aortic rupture due to radiation injury. A 54-year-old man presented with haemoptysis.

Acute pancreatitis caused by pancreatic ischemia after TEVAR combined with intentional celiac artery coverage and embolization of the branches of the celiac artery.

Covering and embolizing the celiac artery has been reported to be a relatively safe procedure, owing to the rich collateral pathway between the celiac artery and superior mesenteric artery. A 69-year-old man presented with an aneurysm on the distal descending aorta. The proximity of the aneurysm to the celiac artery origin necessitated covering the artery with a stent graft.

[OMALIZUMAB RESCUED A ASTHMA-COPD OVERLAP SYNDROME PATIENT FROM A STATUS ASTHMATICS UNDER THE ICU MANAGEMENT].

An atopic asthmatic of 65-year-old man who was complicated with COPD and treated with inhaled corticosteroid, long-acting β2 agonist, long-acting muscarinic antagonist, and leukotriene receptor antagonist was hospitalized with a severe asthmatic attack. He was intubated and went onto an artificial respirator. He was gradually relieved by repeated intravenous administration of high-dose corticosteroid, and a respirator was switched over to non-invasive positive pressure ventilation on 24th day.

Thoracic endovascular aortic repair of a severely angulated aorta using a double-wire technique.

When endovascular treatment is performed, angulation of the access route for a device can make the operative procedure difficult. We encountered a case in which we successfully completed thoracic endovascular aortic repair (TEVAR) in a patient with severely angulated aorta by applying 'double-wire technique'. The patient was an 80-year-old woman.

Correlations of perioperative coagulopathy, fluid infusion and blood transfusions with survival prognosis in endovascular aortic repair for ruptured abdominal aortic aneurysm.

Background: Factors associated with survival prognosis among patients who undergo endovascular aortic repair (EVAR) for ruptured abdominal aortic aneurysms (rAAA) have not been sufficiently investigated. In the present study, we examined correlations between perioperative coagulopathy and 24-h and 30-day postoperative survival. Relationships between coagulopathy and the content of blood transfusions, volumes of crystalloid infusion and survival.

Contrast Medium Induced Nephropathy after Endovascular Stent Graft Placement: An Examination of Its Prevalence and Risk Factors.

Endovascular stent graft placement has become a major treatment for thoracic and abdominal aneurysms. While endovascular therapy is less invasive than open surgery, it involves the use of a contrast medium. Contrast media can cause renal impairment, a condition termed as contrast-induced nephropathy (CIN).

A Case Report on the Successful Treatment of Streptococcus pneumoniae-Induced Infectious Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm Initially Presenting with Meningitis.

Infectious abdominal aortic aneurysms often present with abdominal and lower back pain, but prolonged fever may be the only symptom. Infectious abdominal aortic aneurysms initially presenting with meningitis are extremely rare; there are no reports of their successful treatment. Cases with Streptococcus pneumoniae as the causative bacteria are even rarer with a higher mortality rate than those caused by other bacteria.

Treatment with Aortic Stent Graft Placement for Stanford B-Type Aortic Dissection in a Patient with an Aberrant Right Subclavian Artery.

A 71-year-old man visited our hospital with the chief complaint of back pain and was diagnosed with acute aortic dissection (Debakey type III, Stanford type B). He was found to have a variant branching pattern in which the right subclavian artery was the fourth branch of the aorta. We performed conservative management for uncomplicated Stanford type B aortic dissection, and the patient was discharged.

Development of Delirium in the Intensive Care Unit in Patients after Endovascular Aortic Repair: A Retrospective Evaluation of the Prevalence and Risk Factors.

Delirium is an acute form of nervous system dysfunction often observed in patients in the intensive care unit. Endovascular aortic repair (EVAR) is considered a minimally invasive surgical treatment for abdominal aortic aneurysm. Although the operation method is widely used, there are few investigations of the rate and risk factors of delirium development after the operation.

A case of ruptured aortic arch aneurysm successfully treated by thoracic endovascular aneurysm repair with chimney graft.

We report the case of aortic arch aneurysm rupture treated successfully with thoracic endovascular aneurysm repair (TEVAR) accompanied by aortic arch debranching using the chimney graft technique. A 94-year-old man was transported to the hospital after complaining of chest pain for one day. Contrast-enhanced computed tomographic (CT) images revealed an aortic arch aneurysm rupture.

[A case of lung injury induced by long-term administration of mesalazine].

A 52-year-old man was given a diagnosis of ulcerative colitis and treated with mesalazine for 7.5 years. However, the unusually long administration of mesalazine induced lung injury and the patient complained of a dry cough and dyspnea on limited exertion.

Mitral valve repair for 52 patients with severe left ventricular dysfunction.

Background: Mitral valve (MV) repair is considered to provide more favorable results than MV replacement. MV repair in a patient with severe left ventricular (LV) dysfunction could be associated with higher early and late mortality. Surgical indication of MV repair for those with low LV ejection fraction (LVEF) is still controversial.

Automated segmentation and morphometric analysis of the human airway tree from multidetector CT images.

Remarkable advances in computed tomography (CT) technology geared our research toward investigating the integrative function of the lung and the development of a database of the airway tree incorporating anatomical and functional data with computational models. As part of this project, we are developing the algorithm to construct an anatomically realistic geometric model of airways from CT images. The basic concept of the algorithm is to segment as many airway trees as possible from CT images and later correct quantified parameters based on CT values.

A novel needle-type sampling device for flexible ultrathin bronchoscopy.

Diagnosis of suspected cancer in the periphery of the lung is difficult. A flexible ultrathin bronchoscope has been developed for the diagnosis of peripherally located pulmonary lesions that cannot be reached with the sampling devices for standard flexible bronchoscopes. The diagnostic yield with forceps and a brush for ultrathin bronchoscopes, however, is not adequate, especially when a lesion is not exposed to the bronchial lumen.

Early angiographic results of multivessel off-pump coronary artery bypass grafting.

Objectives: Recently off-pump coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) is being widely used for coronary revascularization. However, there is some evidence that off-pump surgery increases the risk of recurrent angina and the need for reintervention, suggesting poor graft quality or incomplete revascularization. We describe our experience to demonstrate the feasibility of multiple coronary revascularization in off-pump CABG (OPCAB).

Noninvasive assessment of off-pump coronary artery bypass surgery by 16-channel multidetector-row computed tomography.

Background: Sixteen-channel multidetector-row computed tomography (MDCT), with higher spatial and temporal resolution, enables noninvasive visualization of images with reduced motion artifact and breath-holding time. We compared images of 16-channel MDCT and selective bypass graft angiography among patients who had off-pump coronary artery bypass graft surgery.

Methods: The study, conducted from April 2003 to March 2004, involved 42 patients who underwent off-pump coronary artery bypass graft surgery.

Single-vessel revascularization with minimally invasive direct coronary artery bypass: minithoracotomy or ministernotomy?

Study Objectives: To compare the early outcome in patients who underwent off-pump single-vessel revascularization of the left anterior descending coronary artery (LAD) using two different approaches of minimally invasive direct coronary artery bypass grafting (MIDCAB): left anterior small thoracotomy (LAST) and lower ministernotomy.

Design: A retrospective analysis of the medical records on length of the skin incision, total operation time, duration of mechanical ventilation, blood transfusion rate, ICU stay, postoperative wound pain, and morbidities.

Patients: Thirty-two patients who underwent MIDCAB with the left internal thoracic artery to the LAD for single-vessel disease were studied.

Starfish heart positioner and harmonic scalpel for redo off-pump coronary bypass.

In a redo off-pump coronary artery bypass operation through a repeat median sternotomy, use of the Starfish Heart Positioner in combination with the Harmonic Scalpel may facilitate dissection of adhesions without hemodynamic impairment.

Long-term results after Starr-Edwards mitral valve replacement in children aged 5 years or younger.

Background: Mitral valve replacement with prosthetic valves in infants and children requires consideration of multiple variables. When we examined our late follow-up, the effect of the growth of the patient relative to the size of the prosthesis placed was the most important variable predicting late successful results. We reviewed our experience with mitral valve replacement using the Starr-Edwards ball valve in children aged 5 years or younger, focusing on the effect of valve prosthesis-patient mismatch on the long-term results in the growing patient.

High-level expression and characterization of fully active recombinant conger eel galectins in Eschericia coli.

An expression system for recombinant conger eel galectins, congerins I and II, were constructed using the pTV 118N plasmid vector and Escherichia coli. Recombinant congerins I and II could be obtained in the soluble active form with high quantitative yield. Mutation of codons for Val and Leu located in the N-terminal region of Con I increased the expression efficiency.