Cardiovascular reoperations involve high-risk because of adhesions. We examined the strategies and clinical outcomes of the reoperations in our institute. From January 2003 to December 2008, 52 patients underwent reoperations, accounting for 4.5% of all adult patients. The duration from the previous surgery was 10.1±9.3 years. Reoperations were performed due to infection (n=10), after valve surgery (n=16), after coronary surgery (n=9), due to Marfan syndrome (n=3), after aortic surgery (n=7), after congenital surgery (n=4), and for other reasons. In the reoperations, the same surgical site was exposed in 65%, the femoral vessels were exposed before re-sternotomy in 77%, the inflow was on the ascending aorta in 35%, and cardiopulmonary bypass was initiated before re-sternotomy in 37%. Systemic cooling was needed in 4 patients and some maneuvers for patent internal thoracic artery grafts in 6 patients. The operation time of 9.6±2.5 h and the cardiopulmonary bypass time of 295±111 min, respectively. We experienced intraoperative injuries in 16 patients (31%). Platelet transfusion was needed in 90% and a second CPB in 15%. Postoperative complications included hemorrhage (14%), infection (13%), stroke (4%), respiratory failure (44%), and renal failure (1%). The hospital mortality was 7.7% (4/52) due to uncontrolled infection, liver failure, pulmonary hemorrhage, and left ventricular rapture. The 2-year survival rate was 83.1% with the mean follow-up of 24±18 months. In conclusion, although the risk of injuries at re-sternotomy was not high, limited surgical field due to adhesions resulted in fatal injuries and in the cardiac reoperations we experienced. We need to improve our strategies for further reduction in mortality and morbidities in reoperations.

A 60-year-old man with type 2 diabetes mellitus and severe obesity (height 170 cm, weight 160 kg, BMI 55) was admitted to our hospital because of acute inferior wall myocardial infarction due to acute thromboembolism of the right coronary artery (RCA). Because of three-vessel coronary diseases, we planned coronary artery bypass grafting after the medical therapy. The patient was intubated, then suffered congestive heart failure and pneumonia, and had a tracheotomy because of obesity hypoventilation syndrome. When his general condition improved after 14 months of medical therapy, we performed the operation. At that time, his weight had decreased to 107.5 kg, and BMI decreased to 37.2. We decided that tracheotomy was necessary to avoid respiratory complications. We chose a thoracoabdominal spiral incision for 2 reasons. Firstly we needed to avoid wound contamination by the tracheotomy stoma. Secondly we decided that the left internal thoracic artery (LITA) and the right gastroepiploic artery (RGEA) were sufficient for bypass grafts to the left anterior descending artery (LAD), the diagonal branches (D1), the posterolateral artery (PL) and the posterior descending artery (PD). Before the operation, epidural anesthesia was performed for postoperative analgesia to prevent respiratory dysfunction. In the right semi-lateral position at 30°, a 4th intercostal space thoracotomy was performed, and the LITA was harvested. The skin incision was extended to the midline of the abdomen and the RGEA was harvested. The end of the LITA was anastomosed with the free RGEA as I composite and the composite was anastomosed to the LAD, the D1, the 14 PL and the 4 PL without cardiopulmonary bypass. Without any perioperative blood transfusion, the patient was discharged with no perioperative complication, including mediastinitis. With this incision, we achieved secure prevention of wound contamination by the tracheotomy stoma, harvesting of a sufficient length of the LITA and RGEA and good visualization of the anastomotic sites with less cardiac displacement than median sternotomy.

Objectives : Many reports have investigated the work environment of physicians and reported the association between work environment, burnout, and the quality of medical care. We aimed to determine the key to improving the work environment by analyzing the results of a Japanese survey for young cardiovascular surgeons. Methods : A survey on work environment was performed among the young members of The Japanese Society for Cardiovascular Surgery (≤40 years of age) to measure their job satisfaction for 9 items : operation, perioperative work, number of hours working or sleeping, board affairs (application or renewal of board certification), motivation, salary, days off, quality of life, and mental status. Univariate and multivariate analyses using 16 factors for the work environment (age, number of years in practice, gender, subspecialty, board certification in surgery, board certification in cardiovascular surgery, primary practice hospital, workdays and nights on duty in a primary practice setting, workdays and nights on duty outside primary practice, total annual income, overtime work hours, overtime entitlement, gap in overtime work and entitlement, and presence of an intensive care unit [ICU] managed by ICU physicians) were performed to identify the risk factors for dissatisfaction. Results : The survey was completed by 327 of 1,304 (25.1% response rate) young members of the Japanese Society for Cardiovascular Surgery. The respondents had an average of 8.5±3.5 years in practice, and 292 (89.3%) respondents were male. Only 14.2% of the responding young surgeons reported no dissatisfaction in any items. In all items, the young surgeons were most satisfied with operation (34.6% of all responders). Age, years in practice, female gender, board certification in surgery, working at a university hospital, workdays in a primary practice setting, and workdays outside a primary practice setting were identified as significant factors for dissatisfaction, while a subspecialty in vascular surgery, total annual income, board certification in cardiovascular surgery, and the presence of an ICU managed by ICU physicians were identified as significant factors against dissatisfaction in the work environment. Conclusions : Our analyses of the survey results identified a number of risk factors for dissatisfaction in the work environment among young cardiovascular surgeons. Regarding the quality of medical care, respondents hoped for a reduced burden on surgeons and the establishment of a work-shift system in the cardiovascular department and an interdisciplinary team including an ICU physician. Multidimensional analyses including job satisfaction, rewards as training, and a quantitative evaluation of the quality of medical care will be necessary to clarify the corresponding relationship between consumers and providers of cardiovascular surgery in the work environment.