An 87-year-old man who had a history of aortic valve replacement (Carbomedics n 23) due to severe aortic valve regurgitation 3 years previously was admitted to our hospital suffering from syncope. The ascending aorta was 40mm in diameter at the time. At the time of admission, the patient's ECG showed elevation of the ST segments in leads V₁-V₃ and depression in leads V₅, V₆, II, III and _aV_F. Emergency coronary angiography performed for suspected acute myocardial infarction showed a type A acute aortic dissection extending to the ostium of the left coronary artery. However, because of his age and stable condition without cardiac tamponade, we treated this patient with conservative therapy including antihypertensive medication. He experienced no major complication and was discharged 31 days after admission. It is concluded that the occurrence of acute aortic dissection after aortic valve replacement is not common, but for a patient with a dilated aortic root at the time of aortic valve replacement, strict postoperative care is necessary. An operation is the first choice of treatment for acute type A aortic dissection, but in this case the patient's overall condition had to be considered.

A 72-year-old woman was admitted to our hospital because of a mass in the right ventricle. She has a history of renal cell carcinoma of the left kidney, which was completely removed by nephrectomy in 1996. Echocardiography, CT and MRI showed a large tumor in the right ventricle without any inferior vena cava involvement. A biopsy performed on that tumor confirmed that the tumor was a metastasic tumor in the right ventricle from the renal cell carcinoma. The tumor grew quickly, and almost completely obstructed the right ventricular outflow tract. On February 24, 2004; an operation was performed to remove the tumor, which protruded from the ventricular septum and occupied the right ventricular cavity from the attachment of the tricuspid valve to the right ventricular outflow tract close to the pulmonary valve. A transannular patch was placed in order to dilate the right ventricular outflow tract. Histopathology diagnosed that the tumor was a metastasis from the renal cell carcinoma. The postoperative course was uneventful. Interleukin-2 was administered postoperatively. Echocardiography performed eight months after the surgery showed that although the tumor in the right ventricle had grown, it had not produced stenosis of the right ventricular outflow tract. The patient died as a result of the recurrent tumor blocking the right ventricular outflow tract 11.5 months after the surgery.

A 60-year-old woman was admitted because of dyspnea and a cough. Computed tomography and transthoracic echocardiography showed a tumor in the left atrium. However, transesophageal echocardiography alone could show the tumor and its extension in the interior wall of the left atrium. Peripheral blood chemistry showed a high CA125 level. The first operation was carried out in order to perform a complete resection of the tumor which was 3.5×4.0×2.0cm, but the interior wall of the left atrium seemed normal. The CA125 level returned to within a normal range 80 days after the first operation. Histopathology showed the tumor had myxomatous changes and ring structure formations, but malignancy was also suspected. Transthoracic echocardiography performed 14 months after the first surgery showed a recurrence of the tumor, and subsequent transesophageal echocardiography showed the tumor and its invasion in the interior wall of the left atrium. A second operation was performed to resect the tumor, which had invaded a part of the left atrial interior wall. The histopathology showed the tumor was myxoid but had mitoses and foci of necroses. This tumor was consistent with a myxosarcoma. The patient died as a result of a recurrent tumor blocking the left atrium 20 months after the first surgery.

Malignant disease in the mediastinum often involves cardiac structures such as the cardiac chamber and great vessels, and causes circulatory impairments that limit therapeutic options and longevity. In the present study, we evaluated curative or palliative surgical management for 6 cases of such malignancy in the mediastinum with circulatory impairment who were operated on between January 2001 and February 2004 (4 men and 2 women aged 17 to 72 years). Procedures included tumor resection with cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB) for mitral strangulation due to left atrial myxosarcoma; pericardiectomy without CPB for constrictive pericarditis due to invasive thymoma; radical nephrectomy for renal cell carcinoma with right atrial tumor thrombus using CPB; two pericardial fenestrations with or without partial tumor resection for cardiac tamponade due to pericarditis carcinomatosis caused by malignant lymphoma or lung cancer; and right ventricular metastatic lesion resection with outflow tract reconstruction for the recurrence of renal cell carcinoma using CPB. The follow-up ranged from 4 days to 30 months. Procedure-related death occurred in the patient with invasive thymoma due to heart failure on postoperative day 4. Five operative survivors had improved quality of life and received other therapeutic options. Although the patient with malignant lymphoma died of sepsis during chemotherapy at three weeks, the remaining 4 patients were discharged from the hospital postoperatively but 3 died during follow-up due to the progression of malignant disease. The cause of death were local recurrence at 20 months after operation in the patient with myxosarcoma, liver metastasis at 13 months in the renal cell carcinoma patient, and carcinomatous cachexia at 8 months in the patient with metastatic lung cancer. The patient with recurrence of renal cell carcinoma is doing well without any symptoms of tumor progression at 30 months after metastatic lesion rsection. Despite poor prognosis of the patients of mediastinal malignancy, surgical management for circulatory impairments can be indicated with acceptable risk to lengthen survival and improve the quality of life.

The procedure of cross clamping and declamping of the infra-renal abdominal aorta is common in the reconstructive abdominal aortic surgery. However, little is known to the oxygen free radical formations during the surgery. To evaluate the oxygen radical production, the malondialdehyde (MDA) levels in venous blood were measured prior to, during and after the operation with other metabolites such as C3, C3a, granulocytes, CPK, amylase, BUN, creatinine, beta-2-microglobulin, total protein (TP), hematocrit (Ht), GOT, GPT, LDH, lactate, potassium, and myoglobulin in ten patients of the infra-renal aortic aneurysm. The average of the aortic occlusion time was 63±18min in the patients. The levels of MDA (from 3.2±0.7nmol/ml to 2.3±0.5nmol/ml), C3, TP and Ht were decreased during the operation and there were significant correlations between the levels of MDA (r=0.486, p<0.01), C3 (r=0.59, p<0.01) and TP. It is, therefore, likely that the reduction of MDA and C3 levels is due to the blood dilution by the bleeding, fluid infusion and blood transfusion during the operation. The levels of C3a did not increase during and after the operation. The levels of CPK (from 73±40U/l to 920±705U/l) and amylase (from 183±87U/l to 444±420U/l) were temporary increased on the first day after the operation. The level of lactate was increased during the occlusion of the aorta (from 9.0±3.0mg/dl to 20.2±5.8mg/dl) and until the just after the operation (23.2±18.6mg/dl). The other metabolites such as GOT, GPT, BUN, creatinine and beta-2 microglobulin did not change throughout the investigation period. There was a substantial ischemia of lower extremities during the aortic occlusion resulted in significant increase of lactate level. These results suggest that the temporary occlusion of the infra-renal aorta during the common reconstructive abdominal aortic surgry does not produce the oxygen free radical formation which increases the lipidperoxidation level in the systemic circulation.

Eight patients with aneurysms in the ascending aorta and the aortic arch underwent reconstructive surgery under deep hypothermia and circulatory arrest between Jan., 1988 and Jun., 1991. The patients consisted of 3 males and 5 females, ranging in age from 45 to 73 years (62.0±11.8, mean ±S.D.). Four patients were operated on in emergency. The lesions in 7 of 8 patients were Stanford type A dissecting aneurysms and the remaining one was a true aneurysm in the ascending aorta and the proximal aortic arch. The operation time, extracorporeal circulation time, and circulatory arrest time were 432.6±147.3, 191.9±66.1, and 31.0±10.8 (16 to 47) min, respectively. In all cases, the ascending aorta and the proximal aortic arch were replaced by an artificial graft through the median sternotomy approach. The brachiocephalic artery was reconstructed in 2 cases. The intraoperative blood loss was 4, 685±2, 943ml and the blood transfusion was 4, 659±2, 779ml. All patients awoke from 2 to 19hr after surgery and no complication in the central nervous system was observed. The postoperative complications which were detected in 3 patients consisted of drug induced renal dysfunction in 1 case, sinus arrhythmia in another, and mild hepatic dysfunction in the last case. There were neither operative deaths nor late deaths during the follow up period which ranged from 1 month to 42 months. Deep hypothermia and circulatory arrest should be regarded as a good circulatory support technique in reconstrutive surgery of the ascending aorta and the proximal aortic arch.

A 67-year-old woman underwent simultaneous surgical treatment of aneurysms in the descending thoracic and abdominal aorta. The aneurysm in the descending thoracic aorta was 5.0cm in diameter. The abdominal lesion which was accompanied by closed partial dissection was located below the renal arteries and its diameter was 7.8cm. First, the patient was positioned in right decubitus position and left thoracotomy was made. The descending thoracic aorta was replaced with an artificial graft under partial cardiopulmonary bypass through the left femoral vein and artery. Thoracotomy was closed after removal of cardiopulmonary bypass and neutralization of heparin with protamine sulfate. The patient's position was then changed to supine, and following median laparotomy, her abdominal aorta was replaced with an artificial graft. Her postoperative course was entirely uneventful except for slight hoarseness and transient urine disorder. Although simultaneous operation for multiple aneurysms may give more surgical stress to patients, it can reduce the risk of rupture of the remaining aneurysm as compared with surgical treatment in two stages. The order in which aneurysms are operated on should be considered well in simultaneous operation. It was considered in this case that the thoracic lesion should be treated first because crossclamping of the abdominal aorta may increase cardiac afterloads and result in rise of intraluminal pressure and rupture of the thoracic aortic aneurysm.

Sixteen patients with congenitally corrected transposition of the great arteries (CTGA) underwent operative closure of ventricular septal defects (VSD). Ages of the patients ranged from 10 months to 25 years. Three different approaches were employed to access to the defect: through right ventriculotomy 3, through left ventriculotomy 5, and de Leval's maneuver 8. Here, right or left ventricle refers to its anatomic morphology. Early postoperative death occurred in a patient who concomitantly underwent extracardiac couduit repair between left ventricle and pulmonary trunk. Late death occourred in 5 (left ventriculotomy in 1 and righ ventriculotomy in 4), among whom 2 expired suddenly of unknown cause (one in each of the right and left ventriculotomy), and 1 expired of pneumonia. Two other deaths were related to their reoperations for replacement of the incompetent left atrioventricular (AV) valve. Another patient who had been repaired by de Leval's maneuver also underwent replacement of the left AV valve and survived. Two patients who had undergone left ventriculotomy developed com-plete heart block leading to implantation of permanent pacemaker. Postoperative complete heart block was temporarily noted in a patient who had been repaired by de Leval's maneuver but returned to sinus rhythm on the 10th postoperative day. Late postoperative function of the systemic ventricle was assessed in 8 by gated radionuclide ventriculography. Calculated ejection fractions in each of the methods were the followings. Left ventriculotomy: 0.38, 0.47. Right ventriculotomy: 0.13. de Leval's maneuver: 0.29, 0.54, 0.66, 0.47, 0.36. These results draw us to the following conclusions that either ventriculotomy holds its drawbacks, that is, left ventriculotomy is apt to develop complete heart block and right ventriculotomy can predispose incompetent left AV valve ultimately leading to the fatal congestive heart failure. de Leval's maneuver, however, is rare to be complicated by the above morbidity and is considered to be the best operative method currently available.

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the cone-beam computed tomographic (CBCT) imaging and histopathological characteristics of osteoradionecrosis (ORN) and medication-related osteonecrosis of the jaw (MRONJ). Materials and Methods: Ten surgical specimens from segmental mandibulectomy (3 ORN and 7 MRONJ) were analyzed using CBCT. The CBCT parameters were as follows: high-resolution mode (tube voltage, 90.0 kV; tube current, 4.00 mA; rotation time, 16.8 s; field of view, 56 mm×56 mm; thickness, 0.099 mm). Histopathological characteristics were evaluated using histological slides of the surgical specimens. The Pearson chi-square test was used to compare ORN and MRONJ in terms of CBCT findings (internal texture, sequestrum, periosteal reaction and cortical perforation) and histopathological characteristics (necrotic bone, inflammatory cells, reactive bone formation, bacteria, Actinomyces, and osteoclasts). A P value less than 0.05 was considered to indicate statistical significance. Results: MRONJ showed periosteal reaction on CBCT more frequently than ORN (7 of 7 [100%] vs. 0 of 3 [0%], P<0.05). Regarding histopathological characteristics, MRONJ showed osteoclasts more frequently than ORN (6 of 7 [85.7%] vs. 0 of 3 [0%], P<0.05). Conclusion This study evaluated the CBCT imaging and histopathological characteristics of ORN and MRONJ, and the findings suggest that CBCT could be useful for the evaluation of ORN and MRONJ.