Horner's syndrome is a rare complication after open heart surgery via median sternotomy. To date only two cases have been reported in Japan. A 77-year-old woman presented to our hospital, complaining of worsening effort angina. She was found to have old inferior myocardial infarction, severe triple vessel diseases and ischemic mitral regurgitation. At operation, the patient was placed in the supine position with the left arm abducted to approximately 80 degrees to harvest the left radial artery. At the same time, the left internal thoracic artery was dissected free from the chest wall using a Delacroix-Chevalier retractor following median sternotomy. She underwent mitral ring annuloplasty and three coronary artery bypass graftings on cardiopulmonary bypass. Her immediate postoperative course was uneventful. On postoperative day (POD) 2, however, left Horner's syndrome became apparent with the classical triad: ptosis, miosis and enophthalmos. She subsequently complained of pain and numbness of the left arm. A chest X-ray film on POD 4 revealed posterior fracture of the left first rib, suggesting that the fracture fragments or the associated hematoma could have caused direct injury of the cervical sympathetic trunk and the brachial plexus. On POD 21, the discharge day, the neurological symptoms still persisted mildly but spontaneously resolved within 6 months. In order to prevent such complications, we should treat the sternum and the ribs with great caution when using a sternal retractor and harvesting the internal thoracic arteries.

Absence of the right superior vena cava with persistent left superior vena cava without any other cardiac anomalies in visceroatrial situs solitus is rare. A 41-year-old man presented with a feeling of anterior chest pressure on effort. Severe mitral regurgitation due to anterior prolapse of the A2-A3 segments and moderate tricuspid regurgitation were diagnosed. Three-dimensional CT scan revealed an absent right and persistent left superior vena cava. Electrocardiographic findings showed a typical coronary sinus rhythm. At operation, a pulmonary artery catheter was placed via the right femoral vein under fluoroscopy. After starting cardiopulmonary bypass with a single venous cannula in the inferior vena cava, an L-shaped venous cannula was directly placed into the left superior vena cava. Mitral valve repair was performed, with 4 pairs of Gore-Tex CV-5 artificial chordae and mitral ring annuloplasty through a standard transverse left atriotomy. Tricuspid ring annuloplasty was also performed. His postoperative course was uneventful. Postoperative echocardiography showed only trivial mitral and tricuspid regurgitation. In patients with such venous anomalies, the area around the coronary sinus should be protected during intracardiac procedures to preserve the coronary sinus rhythm. We therefore recommend direct venous cannulation of the left superior vena cava instead of retrograde cannulation via the coronary sinus, and standard transverse left atriotomy for mitral exposure.

Infective endocarditis on an annuloplasty ring following mitral valve repair is rare. A 59-year-old man underwent emergency sextuple coronary artery bypass grafting and mitral annuloplasty with a 26mm ring for acute myocardial infarction and mitral regurgitation. Seven weeks later, he was readmitted complaining of abdominal pain and diarrhea. He experienced high-grade fever with chills associated with leukocytosis and elevation of C reactive protein after gastroduodenal endoscopy. Although antibiotics were administered intravenously for several weeks, the fever persisted. Transesophageal echocardiography revealed vegetations on the mitral annuloplasty ring. Infective endocarditis was diagnosed as the culprit of the unknown fever and urgent surgery was indicated. Following redo median sternotomy, the heart was meticulously dissected out. On cardiopulmonary bypass with the heart arrested, left atriotomy was carried on the interatrial groove. Because of the small left atrium, Dubost incision was added for better mitral valve exposure. The infected annuloplasty ring was excised with the vegetations. The mitral valve was easily repaired because the valve leaflets had minimal changes except a small perforation at the base of the posterior middle scallop. After thorough debridement of the mitral valve, a glutaraldehyde-treated autologous pericardial strip was sutured along the annulus as a posterior pericardial band. Culture of the vegetation proved negative. His postoperative course was uneventful. He has been doing well for more than two and a half years with trivial mitral regurgitation and no recurrence of infection. According to the American Heart Association guidelines, endocarditis prophylaxis is not usually needed for gastrointestinal endoscopy, but is optional for high risk patients including those with prosthetic cardiac valves. Such a diagnostic procedure should be avoided soon after the application of an annuloplasty ring and if necessary, antiinfective prophylaxis may be indicated.

We report a case of a 64-year-old woman who was referred to our hospital complaining of hemoptysis and severe back pain. A chest computed tomography revealed impending rupture of the aortic arch aneurysm associated with an aberrant right subclavian artery. She had been treated with oral steroids for idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura (ITP) with good control. She underwent emergency total aortic arch replacement under deep hypothermic circulatory arrest. Intraoperative transesophageal echocardiogram showed moderate aortic regurgitation and we found a quadricuspid aortic valve. Aortic valve replacement was also performed. Steroids were given intravenously during and after the operation as a steroid cover and platelets were transfused as well. Although her early postoperative course was uneventful, recurrence of ITP occurred 3 weeks after surgery. Increased dose of steroids caused the patient to be susceptible to infection. She suffered from high fever and suddenly died of massive hemoptysis due to dehiscence of the distal anastomosis caused by graft infection 60 days postoperatively. To the best of our knowledge, this is the second case report from Japan describing an aortic arch aneurysm repair in a patient with ITP and is also the first report of combined congenital anomalies with aberrant right subclavian artery and quadricuspid aortic valve.

We report a case of surgical ostial angioplasty with fresh autologous pericardium concomitant with aortic valve replacement for ostial stenosis of the left main coronary artery (LMT) with aortic valve insufficiency due to syphilitic aortitis (SA). A 50-year-old man with chronic atrial fibrillation and a history of multiple cerebral infarctions was found to have a 90% ostial stenosis of the LMT with an intact distal coronary artery tree. On preoperative echocardiography, severe aortic valve insufficiency and left atrial thrombus were noted. A chest CT showed no thickening or dilatation of the ascending aorta and no calcification of the aortic root and LMT. As a serological syphilitic test, the treponema pallidum hemagglutination test was positive in 1:10, 387 dilution with a positive rapid plasma reagin method. He had no chest pain or fever. At surgery, gross thickening and fibrosis of the ascending aortic wall extending from the aortic root was noted, suggesting aortitis such as Takayasu aortitis and SA. The aortic valve was replaced with a mechanical valve and the LMT was successfully enlarged with a fresh autologous pericardial patch, confirmed by postoperative coronary angiography. Pathological findings of the aortic wall and the valve were consistent with SA, where treponema pallidum was found immunohistologically. He had an uneventful postoperative course and was treated with a 3.5-month course of amoxicillin (750mg/day) for cardiovascular syphilis. Although SA is rarely seen nowadays, we should consider the possibility of this disease if there is a combination of coronary ostial stenosis and aortic valve insufficiency. Since surgical coronary ostial angioplasty has never been applied for SA, a careful observation is required.

A 78-year-old woman on chronic hemodialysis was found to have severe aortic stenosis causing refractory hypotension during hemodialysis and elected to undergo aortic valve replacement. However, chest CT scan revealed a totally calcified “porcelain” ascending aorta which prevented safe aortic cross-clamping. MRA also showed stenosis of the origin of the left subclavian artery. At operation, an area free from calcification was identified in the lesser curvature of the ascending aorta where an aortic cannula was placed. Cardiopulmonary bypass was commenced. A single selective cerebral perfusion was added via the left axillary artery to maintain adequate flow to the dominant left vertebral artery. The patient was cooled to a rectal temperature of 24°C when a proximal transverse aortotomy was made and an occlusion balloon was inserted into the ascending aorta during circulatory arrest for 2 min. The cardiopulmonary bypass was restarted with half systemic flow. The aortic valve was excised and a 19-mm Carpentier-Edwards bovine pericardial valve was placed in the supravalvular position with simple interrupted sutures. The body was further cooled down to 19°C. On another circulatory arrest, the balloon was removed. Endarterectomy was performed along the edges of the aortotomy which was reinforced with equine pericardial strips. The aortotomy was then closed with a running suture. The circulation was restarted and the patient was rewarmed. Circulatory arrest time was 42 min. The patient was weaned from cardiopulmonary bypass without difficulty and had an unremarkable recovery without neurologic complications. The operative technique described here for the treatment of aortic valve disease in a patient with a porcelain aorta is safer than deep hypothermic circulatory arrest alone, allowing shorter circulatory arrest period. In addition, endarterectomy of the aortotomy edges reinforced with xenopericardial strips is useful to secure the closure line against bleeding.

We report a case of surgical repair of acquired left ventricular-right atrial communication resulting from infective endocarditis. A 70-year-old man with aortic regurgitation due to infective endocarditis was referred to our hospital because of congestive heart failure. Preoperative transthoracic echocardiography showed severe aortic regurgitation and left ventricular-right atrial shunt flow. He underwent surgery following intensive antibiotic therapy. The fistula was located at the atrioventricular membranous septum. The communication site from the left ventricular view it was below the commissure between the left and the non-coronary cusps, and from the right atrial view it was above the tricuspid annulus of the septal leaflet. The fistula was closed with autologous pericardial patch from the aortotomy and a mattress suture from the right atriotomy. Aortic valve replacement was performed simultaneously. The postoperative course was uneventful. He was in sinus rhythm all the time. It is important to discuss surgical procedure preoperatively with precise echocardiographic examination.

A 70-year-old man with dextrocardia with situs inversus, presented to our hospital complaining of chest pain. ECG showed ST elevations in leads II, III and _aV_f , and ST depressions in leads V3 through V6. Blood tests showed creatinine kinase elevation. He underwent coronary angiography, which revealed obstruction of the anatomical right coronary artery and we diagnosed acute inferior myocardial infarction. However, the anatomical left coronary artery was not clearly identifiable because of its anomalous origin. He was transferred to our intensive care unit and intra-aortic balloon pumping was initiated. Coronary 3D-CT was then performed to obtain an anatomical overview of the coronary artery system. This enabled a second coronary angiography which showed obstruction of the left anterior descending artery and stenosis of the left main trunk in the first diagonal branch and the ramus intermedius branch. Coronary artery bypass grafting surgery (CABG) was indicated. He underwent conventional quintuple CABG using the right internal thoracic artery and saphenous vein grafts. Preoperatively we made digital mirror images of the original coronary angiographic images to clarify his coronary artery anatomy. During surgery, the main surgeon continuously stood on the patient's left side except when opening and closing the chest, which enabled us to perform CABG. The postoperative course was uneventful. CABG in a patient with situs inversus totalis is very rare. We present this case with a review of the relevant literature.

Recently, there have been some reports that cone reconstruction can be performed in the repair of Ebstein's anomaly with acceptable result on a child. On an adult with Ebstein's anomaly, optimal surgical indication and choice of the operative procedure are controversial. A man in his seventies was diagnosed with Ebstein's anomaly incidentally during preoperative examination of severe aortic regurgitation. We performed aortic valve replacement and cone reconstruction, because his tricuspid regurgitation was moderate. There was no severe complication and he was discharged. No sign of recurrence have been observed after 4 months follow up. We present a case in which cone reconstruction and aortic valve replacement were successfully performed on an adult patient diagnosed with Ebstein's anomaly and severe aortic regurgitation.