A 47-year-old man was referred to our hospital for multiple rib fractures and pneumohemothorax due to a traffic accident. After admission, tricuspid valve regurgitation and hypoxemia were also diagnosed. Although fixation of the fractured ribs with plates and removal of hematoma in the pleural cavity were performed, hypoxemia did not improve. He was discharged on home oxygen therapy. Ten months and 3 years after the traffic accident, pulmonary perfusion scintigraphy suggested a right-to-left shunt. Transesophageal echocardiography demonstrated an opening of the foramen ovale and a right-to-left interatrial shunt. Direct closure of the patent foramen ovale and tricuspid valve replacement with the Carpentier-Edwards bioprosthesis were performed and hypoxemia disappeared after the second operation. Traumatic tricuspid valve regurgitation with cyanosis is extremely rare. However, it is important to take the possibility of patent foramen ovale into consideration in patients with traumatic tricuspid valve regurgitation and cyanosis.

An 82-year-old man was taken to a local clinic following the occurrence of syncope. Chest roentgenography and computed tomography (CT) findings led to a suspicion of a ruptured aortic aneurysm, and the patient was immediately transferred to our hospital. Upon admission, his consciousness was clear and blood pressure was 74/47mmHg. Enhanced chest CT images demonstrated pericardial effusion and a saccular aneurysm with a maximum diameter of 5cm, which was associated with a thrombus in the distal aortic arch. An emergency operation was performed under a diagnosis of a ruptured distal aortic arch aneurysm and hemorrhagic cardiac tamponade. During the procedure, a hole was found in the lesser curvature of the aneurysm, which had directly ruptured into the pericardial space, and a graft replacement of the aortic arch was performed using selective cerebral perfusion. The patient was discharged 19 days after surgery without any postoperative complications.