Delayed hemothorax following blunt chest trauma is classified as a late presentation of hemothorax after a nearly normal chest X-ray on admission. Here, we present a case of delayed hemothorax 5 days after blunt chest trauma with ribs and sternal fracture.

Aortic dissection with multiple familial members is rare. It is commonly associated with Marfan syndrome. Several authors have reported familial aortic dissection without Marfan syndrome. We encountered 4 cases of aortic dissection in a family. The aortic dissection occurred in the mother and all of her children. No case had clinical manifestations of Marfan syndrome or other connective tissue disease. Histopathological examination of the aorta did not show cystic medial necrosis in 2 operated cases. Many members in the family had systemic arterial hypertension. The presence of multiple incidence of aortic dissection in one family suggests underlying connective tissue disease, irrespective of the absence of typical features of Marfan syndrome. Therefore we propose that other close relatives as well as the members with aortic dissection should be followed-up in the same way used for families with typical connective tissue disease like Marfan syndrome.

The patient was a 4-year-old boy, with no indication of heart disease at birth. When he was 4 years and 3 months old, he underwent surgery for cryptorchidism, and persistent changes after crying, consisting of ST-segment depression, were noted on the ECG. Therefore, it was decided that a detailed examination would be carried out. Aortography revealed that a small left coronary cusp had formed a pouch and that there was a delayed washout of the contrast material in the left coronary artery compared with the right coronary artery. Right coronary angiography showed retrograde flow to the left coronary artery. There was no significant aortic regurgitation, and no stenosis in the left coronary artery. Intraoperative findings demonstrated that the hypoplastic left coronary cusp had adhered to the aortic wall and covered the left sinus of Valsalva. Enlargement of the Valsalva was performed by placing a patch from the aortic transection site to an area directly above the coronary artery ostium. Postoperatively, the patient recovered satisfactorily and was discharged on the eleventh postoperative day. Cardiac catheterization performed 6 months after surgery showed no aortic regurgitation, no significant stenosis in the left coronary artery, and no retrograde flow from the right coronary artery. We report our experience with the rare case described above.

The patient was an 8-years- and 4-months old girl. At the age of one, she visited a previous doctor with hepatomegaly and liver dysfunction. As a result of the examination, she was diagnosed with geleophysic dysplasia. Other than the heart, she was followed in genetics, ophthalmology, orthopedics, endocrinology, and otolaryngology. At 3 years and 5 months, she was first examined by the cardiology department and was found to have mild mitral regurgitation and aortic valve stenosis, and was followed up once a year. The patient was referred to our hospital at 7 years and 11 months, and the cardiac catheterization performed at 8 years and 2 months showed mild mitral valve regurgitation, but the mean pressure gradient was 16 mmHg and the mitral valve area was 0.60 cm2 (MVAi 0.97 cm2/m2), and mitral valve stenosis was observed. The left atrial pressure was as high as 25 mmHg and the average pulmonary artery pressure was as high as 36 mmHg, and pulmonary hypertension was also observed. Intraoperative findings demonstrated that the mitral valve had a marked thickening of the leaflet, the papillary muscles and chordae were also thickened, and the effective valve opening area was narrowed. The leaflet and subvalvular tissue were resected as much as possible and mechanical valve replacement was performed. Postoperatively, the patient recovered satisfactorily and was discharged on the 16th postoperative day. Pathological findings showed no major disturbance in the layered structure of the papillary muscle or the leaflet itself, but it was highly thickened due to mucous degeneration of the leaflet. We report our experience with the rare case described above.

A recent study evaluated the effect of pleurotomy for harvesting internal thoracic arteries (ITAs) on pulmonary complications after coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG). Fifty consecutive patients with pleurotomy (group I) were studied retrospectively and compared with a control group of fifty patients undergoing CABG without pleurotomy during ITA harvest (group II). Group I was divided into two groups; forty patients using left ITAs with left open pleurotomy (group Ia), and ten patients using bilateral ITAs with bilateral open pleurotomy (group Ib). On the other hand, group II includes 22 patients without pleurotomy (group IIa) and 28 patients with closed pleurotomy (group IIb). In group I, ITAs were dissected from the chest wall with mediastinal pleura and then isolated from the pleura by pleurotomy. Before sternal closure, an L-shaped pleural tube was inserted into the deep costophrenic sinus and the pleurotomy remained open. In group II, ITAs were simultaneously dissected from the chest wall and mediastinal pleura, and if the pleura was damaged, the pleurotomy was approximated before sternal closure. There was no significance in the number of bypass grafts, aortic crossclamp time, cardiopulmonary bypass time and temperature. ITA harvest time with open pleurotomy was shorter than that of closed pleura (15min versus 25min). Postoperatively, the ventilation time and duration of chest drainage also showed no significance, however group Ia and Ib showed significantly more fluid accumulation removed by chest drainage (Ia, 288±193ml; Ib, 285±198ml, versus IIb, 169±98ml). On postoperative day 30 no pleural effusion was observed in group I but it was seen in one case in group IIb which had diaphragm paralysis. In conclusion, open pleurotomy results in minimal pulmonary complications with optimal chest drainage and offers significant advantages for harvesting ITAs.

This study reports the case of a 0-day-old girl who was transferred to our hospital for suspected total anomalous pulmonary venous return due to her postnatal cyanosis. After she was presented at our hospital, pulmonary vein stenosis was diagnosed and emergency surgery was planned. Preoperative computed tomography showed abnormal perfusion of the pulmonary veins into the left and right superior vena cava separately on the left and right sides. Given that the persistent left superior vena cava was refluxing into the coronary sinus, the coronary sinus was enlarged greatly, and the left atrial volume was small. In the neonatal period, the right pulmonary vein was anastomosed to the right atrium, and the left pulmonary vein was anastomosed to the unroofed coronary sinus. Thereafter, at 4 months of age, the patient underwent two-stage intracardiac repair with re-routing of the right pulmonary vein and extracardiac ligation of the left vena cava. The postoperative course was good. Intracardiac repair via a two-stage surgery was effective for total anomalous pulmonary venous return (Ib+Ib) with a persistent left superior vena cava and an enlarged coronary sinus.

Objective: In Japan, only a few reports of the Ross procedure in neonates and infants have been published. The objective of this study was to evaluate the outcome of patients undergoing a Ross procedure before the age of one year, and to review the validity of opting for this procedure at this age. Methods: The records of 13 infants (including three neonates) undergoing a Ross procedure between December 1996 and June 2017 were reviewed. Major outcomes studied included graft-associated morbidity, autograft function, and the need for reoperation. Results: The median age at the time of Ross procedure was 166 days, and median weight was 5.7 kg. Primary diagnoses were aortic stenosis in 10 cases and aortic insufficiency in three. Nine cases required emergent Ross procedure due to left ventricular dysfunction refractory to medication, requirement of mechanical ventilation or intravenous inotropic drugs. Concomitant procedures included three aortic coarctation repairs, two annular enlargement procedures with a Konno incision and one each of aortic and mitral annuloplasty. The mean cross-clamp time was 131 min and the mean extracorporeal circulation time was 178 min. Two cases required extracorporeal membrane oxygenation. Seven underwent delayed sternal closure and four required postoperative peritoneal dialysis. The median duration of mechanical ventilation was five days and the median length of intensive care unit stay was seven days. Survival was 100% at a median follow-up of 9.9 years. The diameter of the aortic annulus mostly stayed within normal limits, although sinus of Valsalva's enlargement beyond normal value was noted in some cases. Trans-aortic valve pressure gradient was less than 20 mmHg and aortic insufficiency was less than mild in all cases, thus requiring no reintervention for the valve. Two cases required coronary arterial bypass and release of the subaortic stenosis. Freedom from reoperation for the left heart was 100% at one year, and 81.5% at five years and 10 years. Ten cases required reoperation for the right heart, and freedom from reoperation was 84.6% at one year, 29.7% at five years and 9.9% at 10 years. Conclusion: Durability of the pulmonary autograft was excellent. The Ross procedure can be an effective treatment strategy for severe aortic valve diseases in neonates and infants.

Ischemic heart disease (IHD) poses a major complicating factor for abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) repair. To identify patients with IHD, we evaluated patients scheduled to undergo AAA repair with dipyridamole-thallium scintigraphy (DTS) and coronary angiography (CAG). If indicated, coronary revascularization was performed. Finally, an assessment of the effectiveness of these preventive measures was made. One hundred and ten patients scheduled to undergo AAA repair were identified and treated accordingly over a 20-year period. As the pre-operative evaluation and prophylactic surgical revascularization strategies were instituted in 1983, the patients were divided into 2 groups: 25 patients between 1973-1982 (group A) and 85 patients between 1983-1992 (group B). The mean age of patients in group A was 65.3 years. The male/female ratio within this group was 21:4. One patient in the group had a history of IHD and 9 had hypertention. The mean age of patients in group B was 67.7 years. The male/female ratio within this group was 77:8. Fourteen patients in this group had a history of IHD and 27 had hypertension. Screening and treatment of IHD in group B was as follows. All patients with a history of IHD underwent CAG. Of the 32 patients with cardiac risk factors, including hypertension and hyperlipidemia, or ECG abnormalities who underwent DTS, 8 were referred for CAG. Thirty-nine patients with no risk factors and a normal ECG proceeded to AAA repair without further workup. Perioperative myocardial infarction occurred in 2 patients in grouzp A, leading to death in 1 patient. Coronary revascularization was performed in 5 patients in group B. No perioperative myocardial infarction occurred in this group. Pre-operative identification of high-risk cases with DTS, CAG, and coronary revascularization in patients with IHD may prevent cardiovascular complications in patients undergoing AAA repair.

Background： While the number of older cancer patients increases as the society ages, the current status of the pain control is not well characterized among older patients. To improve the quality of care, it is necessary to understand the current status. Objectives： The aim of this study was to describe the pain control for older cancer patients in comparison to younger counterparts and characterize it. Methods： During four months in 2013, Aomori Prefectural Central Hospital started asking all hospitalized cancer patients about their pain every day using a standardized pain questionnaire. In addition, a questionnaire adopted to the outpatient setting was distributed to the patients who visited outpatient department of the hospital. The information about pain, quality of life (QOL) and the medical histories were included in the data analyses. Their responses were compared between outpatients versus inpatients and older ( ≥65 years) versus younger (＜65 years) patients. Results： The response rate was 57.0％. Pain management was less adequate among outpatients than among inpatients, with pain relief rate of 28.9％ for the former and 52.6％ for the latter (P＜0.001). Among outpatients, the pain relief rate for the older patients was particularly low (older：24.7％ vs younger：35.8％, P＜0.01). Conclusion： Pain management for older patients in the outpatient settings needs a particular attention for improvement. Resources should be allocated to enable better detection and relief of pain among outpatients.