Cardiac surgery using heparin was performed in a patient in whom AST and ALT had been increased due to continuous drip infusion of heparin sodium. Here, we report postoperative changes in AST and ALT in the patient. The patient was a 59-year-old man with a past medical history of left internal carotid artery constriction and right cerebral infarction. Because of his previous medical history, continuous drip infusion of heparin was initiated upon discontinuation of preoperative antithrombotic agents. AST and ALT increased, but returned to normal levels when heparin was discontinued. Heparin was used to avoid aggravation of the symptoms, and bypass of 3 branches was performed with pulsation. Postoperative respiration and circulatory dynamics were stable, and the courses of AST and ALT were similar to those after general surgery, without abnormally high levels. Although the cause of heparin-induced increases in AST and ALT is unknown, the absence of postoperative increases may have been due to transient use at a high dose and neutralization by protamine.

This report documents two rare cases we encountered in which paraplegia developed as a postoperative complication following elective operations for an unruptured abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA). Case1: A 80-year-old man receiving dialysis therapy was found to have 75% occlusion of the left anterior descending branch by preoperative coronary arteriography but, as the cardiac function was satisfactory, replacement of the aneurysm with a tube graft was performed through a retroperitoneal approach for treatment of the AAA. Symptoms of paraplegia developed immediately following the operation and a diagnosis of anterior spinal artery syndrome was made based on the postoperative MRI findings. Case 2: A 62-year-old man underwent a coronary artery bypass operation (3 sites in 2 branches) using the bilateral internal thoracic artery with the breast beating prior to elective surgery for an unruptured AAA, and subsequently underwent an aneurysm replacement with a Y-graft through a midline incision. At the same time, the celiac artery and superior mesenteric artery cure found to be stenotic at their roots were also bypassed via vascular prostheses to the right arm of the Y-graft. Paraplegia was evident after emerging from anesthesia. In both cases, there were complicating coronary arterial lesions and significant atherosclerotic changes in the thoracic descending aorta. A CT scan demonstrated an artery coursing from the iliolumbar artery, a branch of the internal iliac artery, to the spinal cord in Case 2, indicating that intraoperative clamping of the internal iliac artery might have caused the paraplegia. In patients with marked arteriosclerosis of the thoracic descending aorta, there is the possibility of occlusion of spinal root arteries originating from that affected region. Blood supply to the spinal cord via a collateral vascular route is important in such cases.

We report surgically treated case of tricuspid valve endocarditis in a non-drug addict. A 35-year-old man with no history of cardiac disease was admitted to our institution for persistent fever. His blood culture was positive for methicillin-sensitive Staphylococcus aureus (MSSA). Echocardiography showed friable vegetations attached to the tricuspid valve with moderate tricuspid regurgitation. No other valves were affected. Chest computed tomography revealed multiple septic pulmonary emboli in both lungs. The infection was uncontrollable, so despite 6 weeks' of appropriate intravenous antibiotics therapy, he required surgery. Infected lesions had extended to parts of the septal leaflet and the posterior leaflet of the tricuspid valve. Valve repair with the resection-suture technique was performed. Half of the septal leaflet and a part of the posterior leaflet were excised with the vegetations, and the remaining septal leaflet was sutured to the posterior leaflet after annular plication without implanting an artificial ring. The postoperative course was uneventful, without further tricuspid regurgitation or stenosis. He was discharged after additional antibiotic administration for 4 weeks postoperatively, and he has remained free from endocarditis for over 1 year.

Eighty-three patients with valular heart diseases underwent exercise stress tests with bicycle ergometer and their exercise performances were evaluated by means of the workload they achieved. Twenty eight of them were waiting for surgical therapy at the time of study and 55 were outpatients who had undertaken valvular surgery. They were from 13 to 68 years old (mean 49.3 years). Fifty three patients were male and 30 were female. Thirty six of them were in the state of NYHA functional classification class 1, 35 class 2 and 12 class 3. Workloads and oxygen uptake were measured at anaerobic threshold (AT) and maximal achieved workload (MAX). Measured values of workloads were assessed by the percent attainments of predicted normal values for age, sex, height and weight from the equation which were calculated from the data of 213 sedentary normal Japanese adults. Oxygen uptake was also assessed by the percent attainment of predicted normal value from Posner's equation. Woakloads and oxygen uptake were corelated significantly (p<0.01) both at AT and MAX. Workloads differed significantly between the NYHA classes not only at AT but also at MAX (p<0.01, p<0.01). Ten patients were reassessed more than six months after the operation and revealed significant increases in workload. The differences were more prominent at MAX than at AT.

In 4 children (2.4-10.9 y.o) with mitral valve regurgitation, prosthetic valve replacement was done using warm heart surgery. Three of them had previously received 1-3 times valve repair operations and the other one was accompanied by endocarditis. The condition of 3 children were in NYHA grade 4 and received dopamine preoperatively. At the esophageal temperature of 34 degree, aorta was cross clamped for 79-216min. with continuous coronary perfusion of 3ml/kg/min, however, no child showed postoperative low output syndrome, and the maximum use of dopamine was 2-6μg/kg/min and the CK-MB at 1POD was within the normal range in all cases. Warm heart surgery showed better myocardial protection for pediatric mitral valve replacement.

The early postoperative use of continuous hemodiafiltration (CHDF) was effective in the postoperative management of two patients with chronic renal failure (CRF) undergoing cardiovascular operation. The first case was a 74-year-old man with a ruptured abdominal aortic aneurysm who underwent emergency Y-shaped artificial graft replacement. The second case was a 55-year-old man with aortic valve stenosis and regurgitation who underwent aortic valve replacement with a mechanical cardiac valve. Both patients had had chronic renal failure for several years before the operation, and the second patient had been on intermittent hemodialysis. Although a large amount of blood transfusion was needed postoperatively in both cases, CHDF enabled us to maintain the electrolytes in the normal range and control the water balance. The influence on the hemodynamics was minimized by adjusting the filtration rate. In conclusion, CHDF is useful for the management of CRF in the early postoperative period following cardiovascular surgery.

A 44-year-old male, with past history of mitral valve re-replacement, tricuspid annuloplasty and re-replacement of aorto-biiliac prosthetic graft 4 years previously, was admitted to Asahi General Hospital because of massive melena, sepsis and shock. Angiography revealed a false aneurysm at the site of the anastomosis between the graft and the right external iliac artery. He was diagnosed as having graft-enteric fistula, and the emergency operation, including partial resection of the graft, excision of the false aneurysm and extraanatomic bypass, was performed successfully. Pathogenesis, diagnosis and treatment of graft-enteric fistula are discussed.

A case of xenograft valve dysfunction presenting with musical cooing murmur is reported. The patient was a 47-year-old woman and had received mitral valve replacement with porcine xenograft (Carpentier-Edwards 31-M) 10 years before Preoperative echocardiogram showed vibration of a leaflet outside the stent of the bioprosthetic valve. Cardiac catheterization revealed stenosis as well as regurgitation of the bioprosthetic valve. The resected xenograft valve showed a tear which produced regurgitation and musical cooing murmur in one of three pliable leaflets and it also showed pannus formation which caused stenosis.

A case of a 51-year old male with pulmonary valve endocarditis accompanied by aortic regurgitation, and ruptured aneurysm of Valsalva sinus was reported. Repeated blood cultures grew α-streptococcus on a single occasion. After medical treatment, resection of pulmonary valve vegetation, resection and patch closure of aneurysm, and aortic valve replacement were performed successfully. Twenty one cases of pulmonary valve endocarditis reported in Japan, including our case, were collected and reviewed. Causative organism was streptococcus in 93% of cases. No case of intravenous drug abuse was found in this series. A variety of preexisting heart diseses were found in 20 cases out of 21 (95%). All these diseases were congenital ones, such as ven-tricular septal defect, patent ductus arteriosus, pulmonary stenosis and ruptured aneurysm of Valsalva sinus. This fact means that jet lesion of pulmonary valve is a major predisposing factor of pulmonary valve endocarditis. Surgical procedures were reported in 12 cases: resection of vegetation in 4 cases, resection of pulmonary valve in 2, and pulmonary valve replacement in 5. Appropriate surgical procedures should be chosen, depending upon the activity of infective endocarditis, severity of destruction of the valve, and pulmonary vascular resistance.