A 37-year-old man with protein-losing gastroenteropathy underwent surgery for mitral and tricuspid regurgitation. Serum protein level and serum albumin level were normalized after surgery. Gastrointestinal scintigraphy images using ^99mTc-labeled albumin also showed no collection of tracer in gastrointestinal tract.

A 29-year-old female with aortic regurgitation associated with aortitis syndrome and severe stenosis of bilateral carotid arteries was reported. She had no symptom of brain ischemia, although an aortogram revealed complete occlusion of the left common carotid artery and the left subclavian artery, and severe stenosis of the right common carotid artery. The intracranial major arteries were perfused totally by the right vertebral artery via collaterals. The transcranial Doppler method and perfusion cintigraphy revealed normal cerebral perfusion. Therefore, we performed conventional aortic valve replacement without reconstruction of carotid arteries. During cardiopulmonary bypass, the mean systemic blood pressure was kept higher than 60mmHg under moderate-hypothermic (tympanic temperature: 25°C) pulsatile perfusion with monitoring of the left middle cerebral artery flow velocity. The patient did not develop any cerebral complications during or after the operation.

We encountered a case of aortic valvuloplasty for aortic regurgitation due to congenital bicuspid valve. A 31-year-old man was found to have aortic regurgitation due to prolapse of a leaflet of the bicuspid valve by echocardiography. Under cardiopulmonary bypass, the right and left coronary cusps were conjoined and that conjoined cusp was larger than that of the opposing leaflet and had a longer free edge. A raphe was present in the conjoined leaflet. At first, we shortened the elongated free edge of the prolapsing leaflet by means of a triangular resection, and placed horizontal mattress sutures at each commissure. Furthermore, we performed subcommissular annuloplasty at each commissure, resulting in good coaptation of cusps. The patient survived and has shown an uneventful recovery. It is likely that this method of aortic valvuloplasty can be used for aortic regurgitation due to congenital bicuspid valve.

A 68-year-old man with a right common iliac artery aneurysm perforating the inferior vena cava showed cardiomegaly and pulmonary congestion with left leg edema and dyspnea on exertion. The patient demonstrated a hyperdynamic circulation characterized by increased filling pressure, low systemic resistance, and high cardiac output (9.81l/min/m²) before surgery with a pulmonary-to-systemic blood flow ratio of 1.36. At operation, the right iliac artery to the inferior vena cava fistula, 5×10mm across, was closed along with resection and replacement of the aneurysm with a woven dacron graft of 10mm in diameter. The procedure caused acute and dramatic changes both in pre- and after-loads associated with aortic clamping as well as with elimination of A-V shunt through the fistula. Diligent attention was required both by surgeons and anesthesiologists to cope with these rather dramatic hemodynamic shifts during and after surgery. The patient did well and was discharged with normal hemodynamic parameters.