A 70-year-old man had undergone prosthetic graft replacement for aneurysm of the descending aorta. Postoperatively he suffered methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus infection. Infection was controlled by antibiotics, and he was followed up in the outpatient clinic. However, he was readmitted due to high fever on the 192nd postoperative day. CT scan revealed abscess formation around the prosthetic graft. The wound was re-explored, and drainage, irrigation and packing with sponges soaked with povidoneiodine solution was performed for 3 days. After that, the prosthetic graft was replaced with a cryopreserved aortic homograft. The postoperative course was uneventful, and he showed no signs of recurrent infection for over 14 months.

A 67-year-old woman was admitted to our hospital for examination of a chest X-ray abnormality. Chest computed tomography and coronary angiography revealed a giant aneurysm and coronary-pulmonary artery fistula originating from both the proximal left anterior descending and the right coronary artery. The fistula was ligated and the aneurysm was resected by means of extracorporeal circulation. The postoperative course was uneventful. Computed tomography and coronary angiography showed that the aneurysm and coronary-pulmonary artery fistula had completely disappeared.

Cor triatriatum is a rare congenital cardiac anomaly in which the accessory chamber is separated from the left atrium by an anomalous septum. We report a rare case of cor triatriatum with severe mitral regurgitation and atrial fibrillation in an adult. The patient was a 65-year old woman who developed congestive heart failure 3 years previously, and received medical follow-up with mitral regurgitation, atrial fibrillation and cor triatriatum since then. She developed congestive heart failure again and was referred to our hospital for operation for progressed mitral regurgitation, tricuspid regurgitation and atrial fibrillation. Mitral valve plasty (Physio ring II 28 mm, cleft closure, edge to edge repair for PMC), tricuspid annuloplasty (Physio tricuspid ring 28 mm), resection of the anomalous septum and maze procedure was performed. All of the pulmonary veins were connected to the accessory chamber. There was only one hole on the anomalous septum, and the hole was large, about 3.0 cm in diameter. The patient regained sinus rhythm without mitral and tricuspid regurgitation after the operation. Even though the duration of atrial fibrillation was long and left atrium diameter was large, complete excision of the anomalous septum and maze procedure were effective for the patient diagnosed cor triatriatum.

A 70-year-old man with severe chest pain was transferred to our hospital by ambulance. Computed tomography revealed a ruptured thoracic aortic aneurysm and massive bleeding into the posterior mediastinum. Emergency total aortic arch replacement was performed through median sternotomy. However sternal closure induced severe hypotension because the heart was elevated anteriorly by the posterior mediastinal hematoma. The hematoma could not be eliminated fully so the sternum was kept open at the first operation followed by delayed sternal closure 3 days after the operation. After that, the postoperative course was uneventful and the patient was discharged on postoperative day 43.

A 92 year-old-female with melena was admitted to our hospital. She underwent Y-graft replacement of the abdominal aorta at the age of 65. Gastroduodenal fiberscopic examination and computed tomography (CT) confirmed the diagnosis of aortoduodenal fistula. The fistula in the proximal anastomotic site was occluded with a suture ligature and omentopexy was performed. On the 15th post-operative day she developed high-grade fever. CT revealed a pseudoaneurysm formation at the proximal anastomosis site. She underwent emergency endovascular aneurysmal repair (EVAR). Her postoperative course was uneventful. She is doing well without symptoms of recurrent infection.

A 55-year-old man was brought to our hospital with a knife penetrating his left anterior chest wall following a suicide attempt. Massive left hemothorax was identified on echocardiography ; however, there was no evidence of cardiac tamponade. After draining blood from the left thorax, computed tomography (CT) revealed that the tip of the knife had penetrated the left lung and reached the left pulmonary vein. In preparation for cardiopulmonary bypass, an emergency thoracotomy was scheduled with a plan to access the left lung and left pulmonary vein. The patient was transferred to the operating room, and the procedure was started with the patient in the supine position. During dissection of the femoral vessels, the patient suddenly developed hypotension. After surgical access to the heart was achieved via median sternotomy, a pericardiotomy was performed and cardiopulmonary bypass was established. A 50-mm stab wound was identified at the lateral wall of the left ventricle. The knife was removed, and the left ventricular wound was repaired. The lingular segment of the left lung was partially resected. The patient had no postoperative complications and was transferred to the referral hospital on postoperative day 25. This case report emphasizes the importance of taking appropriate measures for thoracotomy and cardiopulmonary bypass in patients with penetrating thoracic trauma with massive hemothorax, even in the absence of cardiac tamponade on imaging. We were able to successfully manage a life-threatening condition by taking appropriate measures.