A regular check-up in a 69-year-old man showed normal blood chemistry values, except for elevated value of liver enzymes and inflammatory reactions. A computed tomography scan (CT) of the abdomen revealed a normal appearance of the liver, pancreas and spleen, but incidentally showed a tumor in the right atrium. The tumor (a blood cyst which contained white thrombus) was successfully excised. Blood cysts of the heart are extremely rare in adults. These tumors are incidently found at autopsy on cardiac valves in approximately 50% of infants under 2 months of age. The blood cyst in this case arose from the right atrial wall, which is also quite rare.

Spinal cord injury after successful operation of the thoraco-abdominal aorta is an unpredictable complication which negatively affects the patient's quality of life. The main cause of spinal cord injury has been reported to be peroxidation of lipids. Edaravone, a free radical scavenger, has been used in the acute phase of cerebral infarction to ameliorate the brain damage. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the protective effect of edaravone on the neurological and histological outcome, and to examine the method of its administration so as to obtain the better effect, using animal models with ischemic spinal cord. Three groups of rabbits underwent surgical exposure of the abdominal aorta that was clamped for 20min to achieve spinal cord ischemia. Group A (n=6, control group) was given no medication. In group B (n=6), edaravone (3mg/ml saline/kg body weight) was administered intravenously 30min after reperfusion. In group C (n=6), the same dose of edaravone was administered at 30min, 24h and 48h after reperfusion. Neurological status was clinically assessed, using Tarlov's score, at 24h, 48h and 1week after reperfusion. Somatosensory evoked potential was measured preoperatively, at 20min after ischemia, at 30min after reperfusion, and at 24h, 48h and 1week after operation. Spinal cord sections were examined histologically to determine the degree of neuronal damage given by ischemic-reperfusion. Group A presented paraplegia with marked neuronal necrosis. Groups B and C maintained better neurogical function than Group A (p<0.001), and Group C was much better than Group B (p<0.05). In the model rabbits with 20min of ischemia-reperfusion, systemic repetitious administration of edaravone was found to have a more protective effect than a single administration on the spinal cord neurons and glia cells both neurologically and histologically.

This is a case report of a 40-year-old man with leiomyosarcoma of the inferior vena cava. He had suffered from shortness of breath and edema on lower limbs over several months. Clinical examinations including UCG, CT and MRI revealed the mass in the right atrium. The stalk of mass was located near junction of the right atrium and inferior vena cava by cavography. He was operated upon using extracorporeal circulation. The tumor originated from inferior vena cava, measuring 8.5×5.5×4.8cm in size, 130g in weight, was successfully removed. Partial defect of anterior wall on the inferior vena cava was reconstructed using Gore-Tex patch. Histologically, the tumor was composed of the spindled cells with arranged bundles. Immunohistochemically, they were positive for Dessmin and Vimentin. Seven months after the surgery, he has been followed at OPD. In review of the Japanese literature to our knowledge, only 14 cases were reported including this case.

Ascites is a rare sign of aortic valve disease. Here, we report two cases of refractory ascites that had resulted from aortic stenosis and insufficiency and consequently improved after aortic valve replacement. The first case was a 44-year-old female who had undergone aortic valve repair for aortic stenosis 15 years earlier. She complained of dyspnea and severe abdominal distension due to unimproved massive ascites despite medical therapy. She was diagnosed with aortic stenosis and insufficiency and functional tricuspid insufficiency as well as complete atrioventricular block. She underwent mechanical aortic valve replacement, tricuspid annuloplasty and DDD pacemaker implantation. The second case was a 61-year-old man with a history of alcoholic liver disease who had been hospitalized for massive ascites, progressing rapidly in spite of aggressive medical therapy. Echocardiography revealed severe aortic stenosis and insufficiency; thus, he underwent bioprosthetic aortic valve replacement. Both patients were completely free from ascites about 6 months after surgery.