An 80-year-old woman presented with dilatation of the distal aortic arch due to chronic type B aortic dissection. She underwent thoracic endovascular aortic repair (TEVAR) in zone 2 with GORE TAG thoracic endoprostheses (40 mm-15 cm and 34 mm-20 cm) for closure of the entry site at the proximal descending aorta. TEVAR was successfully performed and blood flow in the false lumen stopped. Two months after TEVAR, she was admitted to our hospital owing to syncope. A CT scan revealed type A aortic dissection, and emergency surgery was performed. The entry was proximal to the stent graft, and we performed total arch replacement with preservation of the stent graft. Retrograde type A aortic dissection is a rare but lethal complication of TEVAR. Careful consideration of the device selection is needed, and attention should be paid to the placement of the stent graft.

In our hospital, laboratory technicians have taught diabetic patients the self-monitoring of blood glucose (SMBG) levels with compact glucose analyzers.
We have introduced compact biosensor-type glucose analyzers in addition to conventional compact colorimetric-type glucose analyzers. As a result, the number of the patients doing SMBG have been increasing.
The biosensor type glucose analyzer was proved to have advantages as follows. It was easier to handle, so even elder patients could operate it. A small amount of capillary blood was enough to determine blood glucose levels, so the blood could be collected from other parts of the body than fingertips.The values obtained with this method showed a good correlation to those determined in our laboratory, suggesting their accuracy. Because of these advantages, many patients have switched from the colorimetric-type to the biosensor-type analyzers.
On the other hand, there remain several problems such as inaccurate installation of the sensors and dilution of blood with residual disinfectant.

Objectives: The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between preoperative 10m gait speed and ADL disability in patients undergoing cardiovascular surgery. Methods: There were 131 patients who underwent scheduled cardiovascular surgery and pre and postoperative ADL evaluation from June 2014 to December 2017 in our hospital. A total of 19 patients, including 13 whose Barthel Index (BI) was lower than before surgery at discharge and 6 who had a long-term hospital stay of 6 weeks or more after surgery, was defined as the ADL disability group. The other 119 patients were defined as the control group. We retrospectively compared the two groups and searched for predictors of postoperative ADL disability. Results and Conclusions: An independent predictor of postoperative ADL disability was identified: more than 7.04seconds for walking 10m.