A 59-year-old man was admitted to our hospital with numbness and calf claudication of the right leg. The enhanced CT scan and angiography revealed that the right internal iliac artery was unusually large caliber and distributed laterally, forming an aneurysm about 2.5cm in diameter. The right external iliac and femoral arteries were hypoplastic, and the superficial femoral artery terminated in several small branches, one of which coursed down to the lower leg as a saphenous artery. These findings established the diagnosis of a complete type persistent sciatic artery (PSA) with associated aneurysm. An excision of the sciatic artery with a right femoral-to-above-knee popliteal artery bypass grafting was performed. The PSA aneurysm is a rare vascular condition that can be successfully treated with reconstructive techniques if the diagnosis is correctly established.

A 44-year-old woman with heart murmur was admitted for cardiac examination. Echocardiography and cardiac catheterization including coronary angiography demonstrated atrial septal defect (ASD) and left coronary artery-main pulmonary artery fistula. At operation, the ASD was directly closed, and the proximal portion of coronary fistula was successfully ligated from the epicardial side and the fistula orifice was directly closed from inside the pulmonary trunk under the cardiopulmonary bypass. We report a relatively rare case of adult ASD with coronary-pulmonary artery fistula, with particular emphasis on the importance of consideration of the association of this anomaly in diagnosing congenital heart disease.

Case 1 presented congestive heart failure with atrial fibrillation. Echocardiography and cardiac catheterization demonstrated mitral regurgitation and communications between the right and left coronary arteries and pulmonary artery (PA). The fistula orifice was directly closed and mitral annuloplasty was done at the same time. Case 2 had a history of open mitral commissurotomy for mitral atenosis (MS), and was diagnosed as to be re-MS. Selective coronary angiography (CAG) newly documented an aberrant artery originating from the left coronary artery and draining into the distal right PA. At operation, the origin of the aberrant artery was successfully ligated, and mitral valve was replaced with a prosthetic one. This paper presented relatively rare types of coronary artery fistulae, focusing on the importance of routine CAG before open heart surgery and of consideration on the association of this anomaly in respect to perioperative myocardial protection.

A 53-year-old man underwent aortic and mitral valve replacement, but postoperative cardioangiograms unexpectedly demonstrated aneurysms that had developed right-anteriorly and exactly anteriorly to the ascending aorta. They were initially thought to be pseudoaneurysms formed at the sites of aortotomy for valve replacement and of the aortic hole made by the needle puncture for air-venting. Operative findings, however, strongly suggested that it was a DeBakey type II dissecting aneurysm with two entries at the same sites as described. It was found that almost all distal parts of the aneurysmal cavity, probably a pseudolumen, had been occluded with clots, leaving two round cavities at the entries, which were preoperatively observed as pseudoaneurysms. The entries were successfully closed with approximation of the aortic walls using cardiopulmonary bypass, and the patient survived the operation.

The objective of this study was to test our preliminary in vivo evaluations of central cholinergic abnormalities in schizophrenia patients. Short latency afferent inhibition (SAI) is based on coupling peripheral nerve stimulation with motor cortex Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS), which has been shown to be a putative marker of central cholinergic activity. Methods: We evaluated SAI in 5 patients with schizophrenia and 5 healthy subjects. Results: The level of SAI was significantly lower in the patients with schizophrenia than in the controls (p=0.008). Conclusion: Our findings suggest involvement of central cholinergic neurotransmission in schizophrenia, which indicates a possible approach for treatment of cognitive dysfunction related to the disease.

We performed the thromboexclusion procedure with reconstruction by an axillo-bifemoral bypass for unresectable abdominal aortic aneurysm combined with chronic renal faliure, and obtained satisfactory postoperative result. The patient was a 68-year-old male who suffered from a huge abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) and had a history of hypertension and chronic renal failure. The AAA was accompanied with a saccular portion 10cm in diameter which compressed and eroded the vertebral body. Aortic cross-clamping above the bilateral renal arteries was inevitable for resection in spite of the renal dysfunction. We decided that direct manipulation of the aneurysm was impossible despite it being on the verge of rupture, considering the high operative mortality. We employed the exclusion-bypass method to stabilize the aneurysm, that is, we constructed axillo-bifemoral bypass using a knitted Dacron T-graft 8mm in diameter and then intercepted the bilateral common iliac arteries by suture closure. Postoperative intraaneurysmal thrombosis progressed rapidly from the distal side, then it halted just below the bilateral renal arteries on the 12th postoperative day. Renal arterial flow was maintained and renal function improved. Bleeding from the operative wound occurred suddenly on the 5th postoperative day. Although this appeared to be disseminated intravascular coagulation initially, it had resulted from augmentation of fibrinolysis due do acceleration of coagulation. The markers of fibrinolysis for example α₂ plasmin inhibitor (α₂PI) and plasmin-α₂ plasmin inhibitor complex (PIC) were useful for diagnosis, and tranexam acid and aprotinin were effective for therapy. Although the exclusion-bypass method is technically less invasive and useful for high-risk AAA, the postoperative management is not easy because of the acceleration of the coagulation-fibrinolysis system.

We describe the use of a C1 laminar screw in combination with a C2 laminar screw as a salvage technique to treat two patients, one with persistent first intersegmental artery and the other with vertebral artery occlusion after cervical spine fracture. The combined use of C1 and C2 laminar screws allows for good fixation of the atlantoaxial joint with a lower risk of vertebral artery injury; therefore, it can be an alternative surgical procedure for patients with congenital or traumatic anomalous vertebral artery.
Arteries ; Atlanto-Axial Joint ; Humans ; Spine ; Vertebral Artery

Background: /Aim: The aim of this study was to compare the therapeutic efficacy of ablation and surgery in solitary hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) measuring ≤5 cm with a large HCC cohort database. Methods: The study included consecutive 2,067 patients with solitary HCC who were treated with either ablation (n=1,248) or surgery (n=819). Th e patients were divided into three groups based on the tumor size and compared the outcomes of the two therapies using propensity score matching. Results: No significant difference in recurrence-free survival (RFS) or overall survival (OS) was found between surgery and ablation groups for tumors measuring ≤2 cm or >2 cm but ≤3 cm. For tumors measuring >3 cm but ≤5 cm, RFS was significantly better with surgery than with ablation (3.6 and 2.0 years, respectively, P=0.0297). However, no significant difference in OS was found between surgery and ablation in this group (6.7 and 6.0 years, respectively, P=0.668). Conclusion The study suggests that surgery and ablation can be equally used as a treatment for solitary HCC no more than 3 cm in diameter. For HCCs measuring 3-5 cm, the OS was not different between therapies; thus, ablation and less invasive therapy can be considered a treatment option; however, special caution should be taken to prevent recurrence.