Partial atrio-ventricular canal is usually symptomatic and treated surgically in a childhood. In the literature, only eight cases have been operated on over fifty years of age. We experienced two cases of partial atrio-ventricular canal; one was 63-year-old female and the other was 67-year-old male. The female patient showed rapid increase of the pulmonary pressure during the last three years. The male patient had moderate mitral regurgitation with mild pulmonary hypertention. Although the repair of the mitral valve was successful in the female patient, it was difficult in the male patient because of massive calcification along the edges of the mitral cleft. Blood biochemistry data revealed the liver cirrhosis due to congestion in the male patient. Because of poor tolerance of the viscera in aged patients, it is quite important not to raise the central venous pressure more than 15cmH₂O at the cessation of the cardio-pulmonary bypass. Over-hydration may cause congestive heart failure easily, and take into vicious cycle. Of course early operation is better, these two cases, however, had uneventful course and resumed active life early in their postoperative days. Results of them encouraged us to treat aged patient of partial atrio-ventricular canal surgically.

A 52-year-old man suffering from Behçet's disease had undergone 6 operations for recurrent aneurysms of the bilateral iliac and femoral arteries. Thereafter, the patient underwent graft replacement for abdominal aortic aneurysm. Six years later he complained of lower abdominal pain and back pain. Abdominal CT-scan revealed abnormality of the proximal anastomotic site. The proximal suture line was completely dehiscent. The distal edge of infra-renal abdominal aorta was closed with interrupted mattress sutures. A right axillo-iliac bypass using a Dacron graft was performed for arterial reconstruction of the lower extremity. The patient has been free of recurrence for 4 years after the operation.

A total of 183 patients who underwent surgical repair of secundum type atrial septal defect (ASD), were divided into 5 age groups. Hemodynamic parameters, arrhythmia, and abnormality of the atrio-ventricular valve function were compared among the 5 groups. Although the pulmonary to systemic blood flow ratio was not different, the pulmonary to systemic pressure ratio was higher in the sixth decade than in the third (p<0.05) and fourth (p<0.01). Pulmonary to systemic vascular resistance ratio increased with age, although the difference was not statistically significant. The cardiothoracic ratio, atrial fibrillation and tricuspid regurgitation (TR) also increased with age. These data suggest that ASD progresses with age. There were 41 patients who showed more than grade II TR, 10 patients underwent tricuspid annuloplasty (TAP), 1 underwent tricuspid valve replacement, and the other 30 patients had no treatment of the tricuspid valve. TAP with DeVega's (6 cases) or Carpentier-ring (1) method was effective. In 30 untreated TR patients, 9 patients remained with grade II TR after closure of the defect. Because TAP is an easy and very effective procedure, TAP should have been applied to all patient with TR more severe than grade II. There were 10 patients with mitral regurgitation (MR) of more than grade II. Two patients in whom mitral valve prolapse had been detected on ultrasound cardiography (UCG) before operation underwent mitral valve plasty successfully. Although MR decreased in 6 patients after only ASD closure, two patients remained with grade II MR. We now recommend that the mitral valve should be assessed under direct vision, and intraoperative trans-esophageal echo cardiography, and also that the mitral regurgitation test as well as preoperative UCG should be performed. Because ASD is progressive with age, surgical repair should be performed before age 40.