In cases of hemostasis of the femoral artery where the sheath is removed after percutaneous catheterization, there is greater improvement in patient condition and shorter duration of hospital stay when arterial puncture closing devices are used rather than standard manual compression because the use of these devices results in shorter hemostasis and rest times. However, some complications due to these devices have also been reported. Here, we report a case of femoral artery stenosis due to Angio-Seal^® use in a 67-year-old woman. Embolization of the basilar artery aneurysm by endovascular treatment was performed at another institution ; the percutaneous puncture site was the right femoral artery. When this treatment was provided, hemostasis of the artery was performed with the Angio-Seal^®. About one month after the embolization, right intermittent claudication occurred after a 300-m walk. Echography and computed tomography (CT) angiogram showed 75% stenosis of the right common femoral artery, and therefore endoarterectomy of the artery was performed. The postoperative course was favorable and the ankle brachial index score improved from 0.82 to 1.15. In addition, CT angiogram showed resolution of the stenosis of the right common femoral artery and right intermittent claudication ameliorated. Based on the intraoperative views, it was suggested that the arteriosclerotic lesion had existed at the common femoral artery before the endovascular treatment and it might be the cause of the complication mentioned above. In order to prevent complications due to Angio-Seal^® use, it is important to examine the indications of the use of this device by evaluating the puncture site of the artery with echography and other diagnostic techniques before the insertion of a sheath.

1）To learn the techniques required immediately after the start of clinical practice, new residents were introduced to the skills laboratory during their orientation period.
2）We attempted to establish the Yanegawara style, which is an overlapping teaching style in which the second–year residents plan the entire training schedule and simultaneously teach the first–year residents while being supported in their teaching by more senior physicians.
3）Training with the new system resulted in greater rapport among all residents as well as a greater feeling of security among first–year residents.

A 71-year-old female, who had diabetes mellitus and chronic renal failure on dialysis, had undergone mitral valve repair and tricuspid valve annuloplasty. Five months after the operation, she suffered from infectious endocarditis and underwent mitral valve replacement. Postoperatively, a total fluid volume of 300 to 600 ml/day was drained from the pericardial tube, and its appearance became milky after the start of oral intake of food. She was diagnosed with chylomediastinum. Despite fasting and total parenteral nutrition for 2 weeks and subcutaneous octreotide administration, the volume of fluid drainage was not reduced. Therefore, we planned lymphangiography treatment with Lipiodol on postoperative day 37. On operation, under local anesthesia, the left inguinal lymph node was punctured under ultrasound guidance, and Lipiodol was injected at a rate of 12 ml/h for 1h. On the next day, the volume of fluid drainage was reduced, and the pericardial tube could be removed 9 days after lymphangiography.

The patient is a 39-year-old-man who had rheumatic heart disease and had undergone mitral and aortic valve replacements with mechanical St. Jude prostheses as well as tricuspid valve repair and a MAZE procedure 17 years previously. He was admitted with ventricular tachycardia (VT) and an implantable cardioverter-defibrillator (ICD) was implanted. Four months later, he was admitted again with VT, and attempts to manage the VT with drugs were not successful. We performed electro-anatomical mapping and ablation for VT by re-median sternotomy. His postoperative course was uneventful. At 15 months after surgery, no recurrence of VT was recognized.

A 76-year-old female was admitted with complaints of dyspnea on exertion and lower leg edema. She had undergone an aortic valve replacement thirty-nine years before and a redo aortic valve replacement and mitral valve replacement twenty-eight years before. She also had hemolytic anemia with jaundice. Echocardiography showed severe paravalvular leakage in the aortic and mitral valves, and a blood flow in the aortic annulus that flows from the aortic side into the left atrium. We diagnosed heart failure and hemolytic anemia due to paravalvular leakage and decided to perform a double-valve replacement for the third time. On operation, after removing the aortic valve through aortotomy, aorto- mitral fibrous continuity was extensively calcified and perforated, and its strength was not enough to sew the prosthetic valve to it. Therefore, we decided to perform the Commando procedure. Aortotomy was extended between the noncoronary aortic sinus and the left coronary aortic sinus until it reached the dome of the left atrium. After the prosthetic mitral valve was excised, annuloplasty of the posterior mitral annulus was performed using a bovine pericardial patch, and the new prosthesis mitral valve was implanted. The anterior part of the annulus corresponding to the aorto-mitral fibrous continuity was reconstructed by sewing the base of a two-tongued triangular bovine pericardial patch to the sewing cuff of the mitral prosthesis. After closing the left atrial ceiling with the posterior patch, the aortic prosthesis was secured to the aortic annulus and the pericardial patch. The anterior patch was used to close the right side of the aortotomy. The postoperative course was uneventful, and postoperative echocardiography revealed no paravalvular leakage.