A 58-year-old man presented with hydrothorax, an irregular heart rate, and symptoms of heart failure approximately equivalent to the New York Heart Association (NYHA) class 2. Echocardiographic and cardiac catheterization findings suggested constrictive pericarditis, but CT scans revealed only slight thickening of the pericardium. He had liver cirrhosis, to the extent that surgery appeared to be high risk in this case. The patient was thus managed medically but showed no tendency fowards improvement despite 6 months of treatment. He was then given a diagnosis of having hepatic dysfunction due to a congestive liver associated with constrictive pericarditis. Pericardiectomy was then performed. Postoperatively, his hepatic function improved markedly and his symptoms disappeared. This case is described, with reference to the literature.

A 69-year-old woman was admitted with fever and dyspnea. We diagnosed the congestive heart failure due to infective endocarditis (IE) with mitral valve regurgitation and stenosis. We immediately started medical therapy in order to control both the heart failure and the infection. However, we had to semi-emergency mitral valve replacement additionally perform a days after the initial hospitalized due to a progression of the heart failure. The operative findings showed an area of vegetation to be incarcerated in the mitral orifice. In cases of IE which are associated with mitral stenosis, we therefore should consider the possibility that vegetation may be present in the mitral orifice and closely follow such patients by echocardiography.

A 20-year-old male was referred to our hospital to undergo operative treatment due to aortic valve insufficiency which had gradually worsened. The patient's chief complaint was a loss of breath upon effort which had progressively worsened after undergoing aortic valve plasty (AVP) for aortic valve insufficiency with infective endocarditis at another institution. AVP by the cusp extension method had been performed because of the patient's youth and there had been no change in the morbid state, except for the presence of a non-coronary cusp. In addition, the aortic valve insufficiency was controlable and postoperative course was also excellent. The cusp extension method was therefore considered to be an appropriate procedure for this case since it would allow the patient to return it to a state with a more normal heart, since the valve organization after this procedure would be able to reach a maximum level.

We report a rare case with infection of a stent-graft. A 82-year-old man, who had undergone endovascular stent grafting to repair the descending aortic aneurysm 2 years previously, was admitted with high-grade fever. The blood culture detected methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA). Endoleak due to stent-graft infection was diagnosed and operation for synthetic graft replacement was performed. The synthetic graft was infiltrated in Rifampicin prior to the graft replacement to prevent re-infection. Additionally, the graft was covered with the greater omentum. He was discharged on the 45th day after surgery without any problems. One year follow-up showed no sign of re-infection of the graft.

A 49-year-old woman was found to have unruptured Valsalva's sinus aneurysm. All of the sinuses were involved in the anuerysmal dilatation and the aortic valve was intact with no aortic insufficiency. Aortic root reconstruction surgery (root remodeling operation) was successfully performed and the histopathology of the aortic wall showed healed aortitis. Her postoperative course was uneventful. Valve-Sparing surgery can be one option, even in cases with aortitis.

A 79-year-old woman had received implantation of a pace maker for sick sinus syndrome at age 64 and tricuspid valve annuloplasty and Maze at age 68. Furthermore, she underwent tricuspid valve and mitral valve replacement with a bioprosthesis because of tricuspid valve and mitral valve regurgitation at age 73. She was referred to our institution for congestive heart failure in November 2005, because her bioprostheses at the mitral and tricuspid positions had shown significant regurgitation due to the degeneration of the prostheses, which required rereplacement. Because 1) surgical treatment of the heart had been performed twice in the past, 2) the general condition was not good owing to cirrhosis and hypothyroidism and 3) the durability of bioprostheses is short, we performed mitral valve re-replacement by using the “valve-on-valve” technique for reducing the invasion of surgical therapy. She had a satisfactory postoperative course. The “valve-on-valve” technique is a useful option for the re-replacement of bioprosthesis because it obviates the need for removing the sewing ring of the previous bioprosthesis.

We presented here 2 cases of rare nonvascular tumor involving the aorta. Case 1: A 69-year-old woman. She presented leg edema and dyspnea on admission. Computed tomography revealed abdominal aortic aneurysm perforating left common iliac vein. Abdominal aortic aneurysm replacement and fistula closure were done on an emergency basis. Immunohistologic examination revealed that malignant mesothelioma invaded the aortic wall. Case 2: A 47-year-old woman presented with dyspnea. Enhanced computed tomography revealed rupture of the descending aortic aneurysm (saccular type). Aortic replacement was done on an emergency basis. One year after the operation, computed tomography revealed a giant mass (160×70mm) surrounding the descending thoracic aorta. On biopsy, malignant schwannoma was found to invade the descending aorta. Sometimes nonvascular tumors form aneurysms. So we should be careful in diagnosis before operation.

In order to determine the precise mechanism of the interactions between different types of cells, which are common phenomena in tissues and organs, the importance of coculture techniques are becoming increasingly important. In the area of cardiology, artificial arteries have been developed, based on the understanding of physiological communication of the arterial smooth muscle cells (SMC), endothelial cells (EC), and the extracellular matrix (ECM). In the study of atherosclerosis, the modification of low-density lipoprotein (LDL), which result in the recruitment and accumulation of white blood cells, especially, monocytes/macrophages, and foam cell formation, are hypothesized. Although there are well known animal models, an in vitro model of atherogenesis with a precisely known atherogenesis mechanism has not yet been developed. In this paper, an arterial wall reconstruction model using rabbit primary cultivated aortic SMCs and ECs, was shown. In addition, human peripheral monocytes were used and the transmigration of monocytes was observed by scanning electron and laser confocal microscopy. Monocyte differentiation into macrophages was shown by immunohistochemistry and comprehensive gene expression analysis. With the modified form of LDL, the macrophages were observed to accumulate lipids with a foamy appearance and differentiate into the foam cells in the ECM between the ECs and SMCs in the area of our coculture model.
Animal ; Aorta/physiology* ; Aorta/cytology* ; Arteriosclerosis/etiology* ; Cell Differentiation/physiology ; Cell Movement ; Coculture ; Endothelium, Vascular/physiology ; Endothelium, Vascular/cytology ; Extracellular Matrix/metabolism ; Foam Cells/ultrastructure ; Foam Cells/cytology ; Macrophages/physiology* ; Macrophages/cytology ; Male ; Microscopy, Confocal ; Microscopy, Electron ; Microscopy, Electron, Scanning ; Monocytes/ultrastructure ; Monocytes/physiology ; Muscle, Smooth, Vascular/physiology ; Muscle, Smooth, Vascular/cytology ; Myosin/metabolism ; Protein Isoforms/metabolism ; Rabbits