We report a rare case of cardiac metastases of leiomyosarcoma. A 64-year-old woman presented with chest pain. Nineteen years ago, she had undergone resection of uterine leiomyosarcoma 19 years pveviously and 9 years previously, resecting of colon metastases. Echocardiogram and computed tomogram revealed tumor in the right ventricular outflow tract, which moved into the pulmonary artery. Because obstruction of the main pulmonary artery was possible, the tumor was resected. The tumor was leiomyosarcoma, which suggested metastasis from the uterine tumor. No recurrence of the tumor was seen 9 months after surgery despite lack of any treatment.

A 66-year-old man underwent replacement of the ascending aortic arch for acute aortic dissection (Stanford type A). During surgery, an ePTFE synthetic graft was anastomosed to the left axillary artery to transmit blood from the extracorporeal circulation. During arch branch reconstruction, the left axillary artery was anastomosed end-to-end to a Dacron synthetic graft and the ePTFE synthetic graft used to transport blood, and the terminal anastomotic site of the ePTFE synthetic graft was used. At about 3 months postoperatively, a bulge was noted below the left clavicle, and it was diagnosed as seroma based on CT and aspiration biopsy findings. His condition did not improve despite repeated paracentesis and drainage. The ePTFE was resected and replaced with a Dacron synthetic graft, resulting in case of his seroma.

We reviewed the clinical course of 127 patients who underwent treatment for atherosclerotic disease between June 1993 and January 2001. There were 108 men and 19 women. The ages ranged from 49 to 88 years with a median age of 71.2 at the time of the first operation. Major risk factors included ischemic heart disease (21%) and diabetes mellitus (20%). Ninety-five percent of the patients were followed successfully and the follow-up period ranged from 0 to 90 months with a mean of 33 months. Two patients died perioperatively due to myocardial infarction. There were 29 late deaths. The overall actuarial survival rate was 69.7% at 5 years. The 5-year actuarial survival rate and the mean survival time for men and women were 71.6%, 66.1 months and 62.3%, 58.9 months. The 5-year late survival rate and the mean survival time for patients with and without ischemic heart disease were 57.0%, 57.4 months and 74.2%, 68.5 months. The differences were not statistically significant. The 5-year late survival rate and the mean survival time for patients with and without diabetes mellitus were 65.5%, 59.1 months and 70.9%, 67.4 months. The differences were not statistically significant. Amputation was performed in 7 patients, the actuarial survival rate at 1 year and the mean survival time were 42.9%, 7.1 months for patients with amputation, and 93.0%, 69.5 months without amputation (p<0.01).

A 63-year-old man was admitted due to acute congestive heart failure. Transesophageal echocardiography demonstrated quadricuspid aortic valve malformation with concomitant severe aortic regurgitation. The valve was replaced by a 21mm Edward-MIRA and the postoperative course was uneventful. Although quadricuspid aortic valve is a rare anomaly, its potential for severe valve failure in adulthood should not be neglected.

A 47-year-old man suffered an idiopathic esophageal rupture and an emergency operation was performed. Postoperative CT revealed an aortic dissection at the level of the infra-renal aorta and the right common iliac artery. The maximum diameter of the aorta was 3.0cm, and that of the right common iliac artery was 2.5cm with a patent false lumen. The operation was done using the right extra-peritoneal approach. When the infra-renal aorta was clamped and opened, the false lumen was located on the right anterior wall of the aorta. There were 3 communicating holes presumably being the points of entry or re-entry. A bifurcation Dacron graft was put into the aorta and the bilateral iliac artery. His postoperative course was good and he was discharged on the 15th day after surgery. In this case, since the patient had no history of severe pain except for the time of esophageal rupture, the localized abdominal aortic dissection was suspected to have simultaneously occurred with the idiopathic esophageal rupture.

In the last decade, 78 patients received operations for abdominal aortic aneurysms with a transperitoneal approach (TP) while in 82 patients we used an extraperitoneal approach (EP). Forty-two patients in the TP group and 40 in the EP group who required no concurrent repair of the inferior mesenteric artery, renal artery or lower extremity arteries were compared. There was no difference between the two groups in mean operative time, mean amount of intraoperative bleeding or mean amount of required homologous blood transfusion. The mean interval after surgery to beginning peroral alimentation and the mean duration of postoperative fluid therapy were significantly shorter in the EP group than in the TP group. An extraperitoneal approach for abdominal aortic reconstruction is preferable for an early postoperative recovery.

A 73-year-old man who had undergone right common iliac-right femoral-left femoral artery bypass, and left femoral-popliteal artery bypass at 60, and stent graft for abdominal aortic aneurysm at 69, had a pseudoaneurysm repaired at the left femoral artery anastomosis site at 72. Retention of fluid continued around the prosthesis, so drainage and sartorius muscle flap were carried out at 72. Due to the occlusion of the left popliteal bypass, a cross over bypass was performed from the right iliac artery position to the left above knee popliteal artery through the left obturator foramen route. One month later, CT revealed that the prosthesis had penetrated the bladder. In open surgery, the bladder was incised, and the prosthesis was taken out of it. The postoperative course was uneventful. Oral antibiotics were continued for 3 months. Currently, there are no signs of infection. There are very few opportunities to choose an obturator foramen route. It was necessary to identify the bladder wall under direct vision with great care.