We report an interesting case of thoracic vascular graft infection treated by in situ replacement using bovine pericardial roll. A 65-year-old man who had undergone graft replacement of ascending aorta for acute type A aortic dissection 9 months prior was admitted to our hospital with purulent discharge from his chest wound. Fluid accumulation surrounding the vascular graft was detected by chest CT, and methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) was positive from his blood culture. These findings led to a diagnosis of aortic graft infection. We gave the antibiotics intravenously, opened the abscess cavity around the infected graft, and irrigated with 0.04% gentian violet solution for 6 months, but failed to control the graft infection. Then we did redo replacement of the ascending aortic vascular graft using a bovine pericardial roll graft with a concomitant omental flap wrapping and obtained successful healing of the graft infection. During follow-up, no recurrent infection occurred, however he died of acute subdural hematoma 8 months after surgery. In situ replacement of the infected vascular grafts using a bovine pericardial roll graft with a concomitant omental flap wrapping may be an option for treating infected aortic grafts.

The main objective of this study was to describe the long-term results of left internal thoracic artery grafting of the left anterior descending artery with a sternotomy or anterior minithoracotomy without using extracorporeal circulation. From March 1997 to February 2000, a median sternotomy was performed in 8 patients and a minithoracotomy in 22 patients. We compared and analyzed the findings of these groups. An emergency operation was performed in 75% of the patients in the median sternotomy group and in 27.3% of those in the minithoracotomy group (p=0.03). The operation time was 2.1h in the median sternotomy group and 3.9h in the minithoracotomy group (p<0.01). The early graft patency rate was 100% in the median sternotomy group and 90.4% in the minithoracotomy group (NS). The five-year actuarial survival rate was 100% in the median sternotomy group and 86.4% in the minithoracotomy group. The five-year cardiac event free rate was 100% in the median sternotomy group and 86.4% in the minithoracotomy group. In conclusion, the results for the median sternotomy group were comparatively better than for minithoracotomy group. Minithoracotomy and median sternotomy have differences in operation time, early graft patency and early outcome. The median sternotomy technique therefore remains an invaluable operative modality for the treatment of one-vessel disease.