General Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery

We describe a case of severely calcified posterior mitral annulus associated with grade IV mitral re-gurgitation in addition to significant hypertrophic obstructive cardiomyopathy. A 70-year-old woman underwent successfully annular reconstruction with anterior mitral leaflet flip-over and mitral valve replacement with a bileaflet mechanical prosthesis combined with left ventricular septal myectomy. This technique can serve not only to cover the debrided posterior annulus, but also to eliminate left ventricular outflow tract obstruction and to keep left ventricular function by virtue of not severing ventricular-annular continuity.

A 37-year-old male was transferred to our hospital with a diagnosis of acute myocardial infarction and a mass in the ascending aorta. Echocardiography revealed dyskinesia on the left ventricular apex and a floating mass lesion just above the aortic valve. Acute myocardial infarction was considered to be caused by embolism from the floating mass in the ascending aorta. Emergency surgery was successfully performed and histological examination showed the extirpated mass in the ascending aorta was thrombus. The patient has been well on oral anticoagulant and no recurrence has been seen on echocardiogram 4 years after the operation.

We report a case of isolated pulmonary valve endocarditis in a 47-year-old woman without predisposing factors. She had episodes of low-grade fever and non-productive cough and was initially diagnosed with bacterial pneumonia. With antibiotic treatment, her condition improved transiently, but she had repeated respiratory events. Forty days after her first visit, she complained of severe dyspnea. Echocardiography revealed a large vegetation adhering to the pulmonary valve and she was diagnosed with isolated pulmonary valve endocarditis. Surgical treatment was selected because antibiotic treatment was not effective. The main pulmonary artery was transected above the annulus and the infected valve was excised. To avoid contact of the prosthetic valve with the infected pulmonary annulus, a stentless bioprosthesis was interposed between the transected parts of the pulmonary trunk. Two years after the surgery, the patient is stable with no sign of infection.

In this report, we describe a case of a thymic carcinoma that developed in a thymic cyst, which was resected by video-assisted thoracic surgery (VATS). Chest radiography of a 68-year-old Japanese woman revealed an abnormal shadow. She was asymptomatic with normal physical examination findings. Chest computed tomography demonstrated a well-confined cystic mass that measured 4 cm in diameter occupying the anterior mediastinum. Based on these findings, a thymic cyst was suspected. It was completely resected by VATS. The excised cyst was multiloculated with a partially thick wall. Microscopic examination revealed that the nodular excrescence of the wall to be limited to papillary adenocarcinoma and the cyst wall to be lined by cuboidal cells. On the basis of this diagnosis, we performed multidrug adjuvant chemotherapy. The patient was alive without any sign of recurrence 15 months after the operation.

The right internal thoracic artery to the right coronary artery bypass with ligation of the proximal native vessel is a simple and reliable option for the treatment of an anomalous aortic origin of the right coronary artery arising from the left sinus of Valsalva without an intramural course. Coronary artery bypass grafting is an uncomplicated option for elderly patients, those with connective tissue diseases, and those for whom combined aortic valve procedures are planned. Herein, we present four cases of this anomaly that underwent right internal thoracic artery anastomosis to the distal right coronary artery along with proximal right coronary artery ligation using a surgical clip. There was no occurrence of complications such as hypoperfusion syndrome, graft occlusion, recurrent symptoms, or late cardiac events.

Conventional coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) using cardiopulmonary bypass and cardiac arrest is associated with higher mortality and morbidity rates in acute coronary syndrome (ACS) patients undergoing surgery. Although off-pump CABG (OPCAB) is beneficial for high-risk patients, its efficacy for ACS is unknown, with on-pump beating CABG an adjunctive method. We investigated the effects of OPCAB and on-pump beating CABG for ACS. We evaluated 121 consecutive patients with ACS (91 males, 30 females; mean age 69.5 ± 10.3 years) who underwent CABG since 2000. Seventy-five had unstable angina (UA) and 46 acute myocardial infarction (AMI) [non-ST elevation (NSTEMI): 22, ST elevation (STEMI): 24]. We assessed CABG for acute coronary syndrome under our primary OPCAB strategy, and compared perioperative status between UA and AMI patients. (1) Sixty-five (87 %) with UA underwent OPCAB, 8 on-pump beating CABG, and 2 conventional CABG. Conversion from OPCAB was seen in 4 patients. In-hospital mortality was 1.3 %. (2) All UA patients who had intra-aortic balloon pumping (IABP) underwent OPCAB. No patients with preoperative IABP experienced conversion from OPCAB. (3) In AMI patients, hospital mortality was higher (8.9 %) and the ratios for OPCAB, on-pump beating CABG, and conventional CABG were 39, 57, and 4 %, respectively. Mortality was exclusively seen in patients with STEMI who underwent conventional CABG. OPCAB might have beneficial effects for ACS patients with UA, while IABP was found essential for completing OPCAB. In AMI patients, on-pump beating CABG might be reasonable for avoiding conversion from OPCAB and ischemic perfusion injury.

We present the case of a 39-year-old male who had complaints of dysphagia and throat pain. Computed tomography (CT), 3 dimensional CT and aortography revealed a double aortic arch (Edwards type IA). The patient underwent exploration through a left-sided thoracotomy and the left arch was divided at the distal site of the left subclavian artery, which completely relieved the esophageal compression.