Simultaneous surgery of the aortic valve and sternal osteomyelitis.

A 64-year-old man was referred for aortic valve replacement due to severe stenosis. He also suffered chronic sternal osteomyelitis with skin fistula subsequent to radiation therapy. Both pathologies were approached simultaneously by sternal resection, omental plasty, and valve replacement, which led to favorable primary and mid-term result.

Carotid artery cannulation in aortic surgery.

Objective: Carotid artery cannulation was initially established at our clinic for surgery of acute aortic dissection, and it became the standard approach for procedures in which circulatory arrest is necessary. The aim of the study was to evaluate this method's efficiency regarding postoperative outcomes after the first 100 procedures.

Methods: Between July 2002 and October 2005, 100 patients underwent aortic surgery using carotid artery cannulation by a side graft for arterial return with a mean flow rate of 4.

Stenosed kinking of the left main coronary artery combined with an aneurysm of the ascending aorta.

Stenosed kinking of the left main coronary artery is described in a 60-year-old man with an aneurysm of the ascending aorta and severe aortic valve insufficiency. An elective complete ascending aorta replacement using a valved composite graft was performed along with a shortening and direct implantation of the left main coronary artery. The right coronary artery was reimplanted as a Carrel-button.