Five patients with vascular graft infections were surgically treated over a 16-year period. Primary diseases were arteriosclerosis obliterans in 3 cases and invasion of malignant diseases in 2 cases. The most common site of infection was the groin (3 of 5). Staphylococcus aureus was the most common pathogen. Administration of antibiotics, drainage and lavage with povidone iodine solution were performed in 4 patients (40-64 days). All patients underwent graft resection and reconstruction. Infected parts of the previous grafts were removed. Total removal of the previous graft was performed in 2 cases and partial removal was performed in 3 cases. To avoid re-infection, long extra-anatomical bypass was performed in 4 cases. The post operative courses of the five patients were uneventful.

A 48-year-old man with Buerger disease and intractable finger ulcers underwent successful transplantation of autologous peripheral blood-derived mononuclear cells pretreated with erythropoietin and blood donation to activate bone marrow function. Clinical symptoms on his finger ulcers improved significantly within 1 month after mononuclear cell transplantation, however, one of the intractable ulcers reappeared 2 months later. In total three transplantations were performed. Every cell transplantation revealed similar effectiveness 1 month later, and the interval of the subsequent disappearance of finger ulcers ranged from 3–6 months. There were no adverse effects based on this new therapy. These findings suggest that autologous peripheral mononuclear cell transplantation pretreated with erythropoietin and blood donation might be a non-invasive and safe alternatives for patients with Buerger disease and intractable finger ulcers.

A 69-year-old woman had syncope and aphasia. Magnetic resonance imaging showed multiple cerebral infarctions in both hemispheres. Cardiogenic embolisms were suspected, but no arrhythmic causes were shown. Transesophageal echocardiography revealed a highly calcified mitral annulus (MAC) with a rough intraluminal surface and mild mitral regurgitation, but no thrombus or tumor in the left heart system. However, recurrent multiple cerebral embolisms occurred in spite of strict anticoagulation therapy. We speculated that spontaneous rupture of the MAC was the cause of the scattered cerebral embolisms, and we therefore planned to remove the MAC as safely as possible and to endothelialize the deficit of MAC with autologous pericardium. Operative findings revealed that the MAC in P2-P3 had ruptured longitudinally and the ostium of the left atrium was connected to the ostium of the left ventricle as an inter-atrioventricular tunnel beneath the posterior mitral annulus with a fragile calcified wall. The finding suggested that calcified particles that had peeled away from the MAC by normal heart beating resulted in the cerebral infarctions. Therefore, she underwent resection of the MAC and mitral valve replacement with reinforcement of the decalcified posterior mitral annulus between the posterior left ventricular wall and the left atrial wall using autologous pericardium, which enabled both appropriate insertion of a mechanical prosthetic valve and endothelial continuity covering the surface of the residual MAC. No systemic embolism has occurred for two and a half years after surgery. This is the first case report of cerebral embolism caused by a spontaneously ruptured MAC.