A 67-year-old man had angina pectoris due to left main trunk stenosis of coronary artery was transferred to our hospital. Anticoagulation was achieved with a continuous intravenous infusion of 625IU/h heparin. Sixteen days after admission, his platelet count decreased to 14×10⁴/μl, and further decreased to 9.1×10⁴/μl 4 days later. Since we suspected HIT, heparin administration was immediately discontinued, and was substituted with argatroban. A definitive diagnosis of type II HIT was made by a serologic test confirming positive antibodies to the heparin-platelet factor 4 (PF4) complexes. After the platelet count recovered, we performed off-pump CABG (OPCAB) using argatroban. The postoperative course was uneventful and platelet counts was normal. The patient was discharged on the 13th postoperative day. Heparin-induced thrombocytopenia, which causes thrombosis, is a serious side effect of heparin therapy. It is not rare, and in such case argatroban can be useful as an anticoagulant during OPCAB.

We report a rare case of concomitant coronary artery disease, abdominal aortic aneurysm, and bile duct cancer. A 65-year-old man, who had been recognized to have jaundice in late November 2005, was found to have bile duct cancer, an abdominal aortic aneurysm with a diameter of 70mm, and coronary artery disease (with two severely diseased branches). To avoid extended operation, a two-stage operation was performed; at the first operation, off-pump coronary artery bypass surgery (LITA to LAD and Ao-SVG to 4 PD) and replacement of the abdominal aortic aneurysm by an artificial blood vessel with minimal incision were implemented. In 21 days after the cardiovascular surgery, the patient underwent pylorus-preserving pancreatoduodenectomy (modified Child method) in the second operation. After the two-stage operation, the patient showed a favorable outcome without any major complications. On the basis of the outcome of two-stage operation we successfully applied, we discuss the strategy for treatment of patients having both cardiovascular and abdominal malignant diseases, with reference to the literature.