We report a case of aneurysm located at the right sinus of Valsalva with mild aortic regurgitation (AR). The patient was a 55-year-old man with hypertension. When he consulted a local doctor complaining of back pain, aneurysm of right sinus of Valsalva was unexpectedly diagnosed by detailed examinations. He was transferred to our hospital for surgery. An echocardiogram showed mild aortic regurgitation and enlargement of the right sinus of Valsalva. Computed tomography demonstrated an unruptured and extracardiac aneurysm of the right sinus of Valsalva (diameter, 45 mm) and a right coronary artery (RCA) that originated from just above the ostium of the aneurysm. He underwent a partial aortic root remodeling procedure with trimmed Hemashield graft and the RCA was anastomosed to the Hemashield graft by the Carrel patch technique. The postoperative course was uneventful, and he was discharged on the 12th postoperative day. Postoperative angiography revealed that aneurysm of the right sinus of Valsalva was not enhanced and the RCA was patent. This procedure preserve the patient's own aortic valve and normal sinus of Valsalva and enabled him to have more physiologic hemodynamics than patch closure, although progression of the AR requires careful follow-up.

A 75-year-old man was admitted to our hospital with a pulsatile mass in the bilateral groin. He had received placement of a Y-shaped Cooley double velour knitted Dacron graft 20 years previously for arteriosclerosis obliterans. Computed tomography demonstrated an aneurysm near the distal anastomosis of the graft. Based on a clinical diagnosis of a non-anastomotic aneurysm, an operation was performed. When the right aneurysm was incised, it was found that the anastomosis of the graft to the common femoral artery was intact and that the graft itself had a defect, 1.5 cm in size near the distal anastomosis of the graft. The final diagnosis of the right groin aneurysm was a non-anastomotic false aneurysm due to prosthetic graft failure. The left groin aneurysm was a true aneurysm due to arteriosclerosis. After resection of the bilateral aneurysm, graft interposition with an expanded polytetrafluoroethylene (ePTFE) graft was successfully performed. Generally, arterial grafts below the groin are subject to high levels of mechanical stress, and graft failure is not uncommon. Vascular surgeons should keep in mind that graft failure is not rare in patients with long-standing prosthetic graft.

We report a case of surgical treatment for pseudoaneurysm 19 years after aortic root replacement. The patient was a 57-year-old female who had undergone aortic root replacement (Piehler procedure) in another hospital due to acute Stanford A type aortic dissection in 1988, and was then followed up at another hospital. However, a low density area around the artificial graft was pointed out on computed tomography (CT) in 2001, which increased to 60mm in size by November, 2006. She was then referred to our hospital for a redo operation. Pseudoaneurysm of the anastomosis and mitral regurgitation (MR) was diagnosed by the examination of the CT, angiography, etc., and we performed ascending aorta and aortic arch replacement, and mitral valve replacement (MVR) in April, 2007. A slight hemorrhage were found at the anastomosis of the artificial graft-artificial graft. Deterioration of the artificial graft or deterioration of the suture was suspected as the cause of the slight hemorrhage from the anastomosis a long period after the operation. In this case, loosening of the suture string was revealed, so the latter was more strongly suspected.

A 56-year-old man was admitted to our institution with sudden onset of severe chest pain and ischemia of the lower extremities on February 24, 2007. An enhanced computed tomography scan showed acute Stanford type A aortic dissection. Electrocardiography showed ST segment elevation in leads V_1-4 and a transthoracic echocardiogram revealed antero-septal wall akinesis. The patient was given a diagnosis of acute myocardial infarction (AMI) caused by left main trunk dissection (LMT) due to acute aortic dissection. Coronary angiography (CAG) showed severe stenosis in the LMT with poor distal run-off. For this reason, after we implanted a stent in the left main coronary trunk to maintain coronary blood flow, we performed total aortic arch replacement, coronary artery bypass grafting (SVG-LAD #8), and F-F cross-over bypass. Removal of the implanted stent from the LMT during the operation was simple. Postoperative CAG showed a patent SVG and intact LMT. Because preoperative PCI is still controversial for acute aortic dissection with AMI, either more immediate surgery or preoperative PCI (bridge stent to surgery) in the left main coronary artery is mandatory. Implantation of an LMT stent, as a bridge to surgery, is an effective strategy for acute type A aortic dissection with LMT occlusion before surgical repair.

We report a case of successful surgical treatment for acute aortic dissection in a patient with late pregnancy with Marfan syndrome. The patient was a 32-year-old primipara. She experienced sudden precordial pain and visited on other hospital at 29 weeks' gestation. She was given a diagnosis of acute type A aortic dissection on computed tomography (CT), and was referred to our hospital for surgery. The earliest possible operation was required, but, in view of the risk of massive bleeding following placental separation due to heparin administration for cardiopulmonary bypass, Caesarian section and abdominal total hysterectomy were initially performed, followed 2 days later by the Bentall procedure plus prosthetic graft replacement of the ascending aorta and aortic arch in a two-stage operation. The postoperative course of the mother and infant was uneventful. The treatment strategy for Marfan syndrome complicated by aortic dissection in late pregnancy is very important. We were able to safely perform surgery and perioperative management using a two-stage operation, that is, by performing Caesarian section first, then strictly controlling circulatory dynamics under sedation and artificial ventilation in the ICU, and subsequently performing repair of the heart and aorta after the subsidence of obstetric hemorrhage.

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 60-year-old man on chronic hemodialysis was found to have severe aortic stenosis causing refractory atrial fibrillation elected to undergo aortic valve replacement. However, chest CT scan revealed a severely calcified ascending aorta which prevented safe aortic cross-clamping. At operation, arterial cannulation of the systemic circulation was performed to a graft anastomosed to the right axillary artery and venous cannulation to the right atrium. Cardiopulmonary bypass was started and the body was cooled. When a rectal temperature of 25°C was achieved, cardioplegic solution was administered retrogradely to achieve cardiac arrest and circulatory arrest was performed. Immediately, brachiocephalic artery was clamped and a single selective cerebral perfusion (SCP) was started with right axillary perfusion. In addition, a selective cerebral perfusion was added via the left common carotid artery to maintain adequate flow. After anastomosing the tube graft to the distal ascending aorta, cardiopulmonary bypass was restarted, a clamp was placed on the tube graft, and the patient was rewarmed. The aortic valve was excised and a 21-mm SJM-Regent valve was placed in the intra-annular position. The systemic circulatory arrest time was 18 min. The patient was weaned from cardiopulmonary bypass without difficulty and had an unremarkable recovery without complications. The ascending aorta replacement described here for the treatment of aortic valve disease in a patient with a severely calcified aorta is safer than deep hypothermic circulatory arrest alone, allowing a shorter circulatory arrest period. In addition, selective cerebral perfusion by right axillary artery anastomosed graft is advantageous in that we can start selective cerebral perfusion promptly by clamping the brachiocephalic artery.

Aortic dissection during cardiac operation is a rare but serious complication. Early detection and adequate repair is essential in this situation. A 69-year-old man in whom an aortic valve sparing operation for aortic root dilatation with aortic regurgitation had been begun, had an intraoperative aortic dissection 10min after the start of right axillary artery perfusion. Intraoperative transesophageal echocardiography and direct epi-aortic echo revealed acute aortic dissection extending from the aortic root to at least the descending aorta. The dissection was successfully repaired by a Bentall operation and hemiarch replacement using hypothermic circulatory arrest, selective cerebral perfusion, and antegrade perfusion from an anastomosed graft.

This paper reports on a case in which a heavily-calcified so-called “porcelain aorta” (including the ductus arteriosus) was observed, together with a patent ductus arteriosus and aortic stenosis associated with a bicuspid aortic valve. A 76-year-old man had been referred to our hospital on a diagnosis of aortic stenosis. Since angiography revealed slight contrast in an area on the right side of the heart, echocardiography was performed and revealed patent ductus arteriosus. Severe circumferential calcification of the ascending aorta and aortic arch was observed on CT scans. Almost no calcification was observed in other areas. Aortic valve replacement and closure of the ductus arteriosus (transpulmonary approach) were performed by means of a balloon to temporarily occlude the aorta, as surgical clamping was impossible due to calcification. Hypothermic systemic perfusion and antegrade selective cerebral perfusion were used. The postoperative progress of the patient was good. Bicuspid aortic valve and patent ductus arteriosus are highly likely to be present in combination in cases of congenital cardiac anomaly, and it is therefore necessary to be particularly attentive when diagnosing such cases. It was considered that our patient, an adult suffering patent ductus arteriosus, was a rare case in which the calcified ductus arteriosus was observed and the calcification had spread to the ascending aorta.

We performed endovascular stent-graft placement on 39 patients with abdominal aortic aneurysms between 1996 and March 2002-a period of approximately 5 years (first half: until the end of June 1998, second half: July 1998 onward). Three patients in the first half of the period and 8 patients in the second half were 80 years or older. Two cases of mycotic aneurysm were observed. During the second half, we encountered high-risk cases in which the patients had complications such as coronary artery disease (5 patients), COPD (1 patient) and thoracic aortic aneurysm (4 patients). Although we had to switch to surgery in 3 patients during the first half of the period, we successfully placed stent-grafts in the other 36 cases (92%). Endoleaks were observed in 6 patients, and dissection of the iliac artery was observed in 5 patients (stents had been placed in all patients). In 50% of all cases in the first half of the period and 89% of all cases in the second half, stent-graft placement was successful and no endoleak was observed. During the follow-up period, 3 cases required additional treatment, and another 4 cases required surgery. Four patients died in hospital during the first half of the period, and 3 patients died during the following 3 years. The 3-year survival rate was 82%. It was considered that stent-graft placement for abdominal aortic aneurysms is particularly effective for high-risk patients, and that the results of this type of therapy will improve in the future.