We present a case of sigmoid colon to skin fistula following surgery for abdominal aortic aneurysm that was believed to have resulted from nonocclusive mesenteric ischemia involved in low cardiac output syndrome. A 65-year-old man underwent surgical treatment for an abdominal aortic aneurysm. Although the patient had operative risks of renal dysfunction and left ventricular dysfunction due to an old myocardial infarction, the abdominal aortic aneurysm was 6cm in diameter and threatened to rupture, thus prompting surgical removal. For the operation, the abdominal aorta was clamped above the renal arteries and the aneurysm was replaced with a Y-shaped prosthetic graft following the aneurysmectomy. Among the vessels supplying the sigmoid colon, both the inferior mesenteric artery and the left internal iliac artery had become obstructed and thus only the right internal iliac artery could be successfully reconstructed. The patient suffered from low cardiac output syndrome after surgery and subsequently experienced renal dysfunction, liver dysfunction and a disturbance of the peripheral circulation. On postoperative day number 7, the patient complained of watery diarrhea occurring several times a day and abdominal distension as a result of the ischemic colitis. On day number 16, the sigmoid colon to skin fistula developed. Oral intake was discontinued and nutritional support thereafter consisted of intravenous hyperalimentation. In addition, enteral nutrition using an elemental diet was begun. The fistula was successfully closed two weeks later and the patient recovered with no further complications.

We present a case of aortic valve replacement after retrosternal gastric tube reconstruction for esophageal cancer. A 84-year-old man with a history of esophageal resection with retrosternal reconstruction by gastric tube for esophageal cancer required aortic valve replacement for aortic stenosis. The aortic valve was approached through an 8-cm right parasternal incision over the third and fourth costal cartilages. Cardiopulmonary bypass was initiated through cannulas in the ascending aorta and the right atrium and the aortic valve was replaced with a bioprosthetic valve. The postoperative course was uneventful. In the literature, there are only 7 reports on such cases so far, in which aortic valve relplacement was performed through left thoracotomy, right parasternal approach or median sternotomy. We recommend the right parasternal approach in cases of aortic valve replacement in patients with retrosternal gastric tube, because it does not only avoids injury of gastric tube, but also offers an excellent operative view.

The collagen gel droplet-embedded culture drug sensitivity test (CD-DST) identifies effective anticancer drug using resected tumor specimen, enabling tailor-made chemotherapy for a rare tumor. We report a case of the patient with leiomyosarcoma originating in the inferior vena cava, to which CD-DST was applied. This application has not been previously reported to the best of our knowledge. A 61-year-old woman consulted a nearby hospital because of abdominal pain. Computed tomography revealed an inferior vena cava tumor. The tumor was resected with the inferior vena cava, which was reconstructed with a 16 mm ePTFE graft. The tumor was diagnosed as leiomyosarcoma histopathologically. CDDP, VP-16, ADR, and VDS were CD-DST showed the tumor to be sensitive. Her postoperative course has been good without recurrence of tumor for 6 months, and the results of CD-DST may be helpful for chemotherapy strategy in case of recurrence.

A 78-year-old man with obstruction of the right common femoral artery due to arteriosclerosis obliterans underwent successful amputation of his leg. On the first postoperative day he received transfusion of three units of preserved blood. He continued to recover until postoperative day 7, when he developed a high fever, erythroderma and diarrhea. His condition gradually deteriorated and on postoperative day 15 he demonstrated severe and progressive leukopenia and thrombocytopenia. Although he underwent intensive treatment he died on postoperative day 20. A skin biopsy specimen revealed evidence of post-transfusion graft-versus-host disease.

Though the number of reoperative coronary artery bypass grafting procedures (re-CABG) is increasing, the operative results are still inferior to primary CABG. In the present study, we analyzed results of our two different procedures for re-CABG and estimated predominance of the LAST-MIDCAB (off-pump left anterior small thoracotomy minimally invasive direct coronary artery bypass) procedure in selected patients. From 1999 to 2001, 25 patients underwent re-CABG. The age of patients ranged from 56 to 82 years (mean 70 years). Re-CABG was performed due to the occlusion of existing grafts in 14 cases, progressive disease of previously ungrafted vessels in 6 and anastomotic stenosis of previously grafted vessels in 5. We performed off-pump LAST-MIDCAB in 15 patients, on-pump CABG via a median sternotomy in 9 and on-pump LAST-CABG in 1 which was converted due to RV injury during a re-sternotomy. In the LAST-MIDCAB group, the left internal thoracic artery was chosen as a graft to the LAD in 10 patients, the right gastroepiploic artery in 4 and the saphenous vein in 1. The operation time of the LAST-MIDCAB group was significantly shorter than that of the on-pump CABG group. Blood transfusion was necessary for only one patient in the LAST-MIDCAB group. Although many postoperative complications occurred in the on-pump CABG group, no major postoperative complication was seen in the LAST-MIDCAB group except one patient who sufferred from lung fibrosis, which led to shortness of the postoperative hospital stay. We conclude that LAST-MIDCAB is an alternative way to reduce operative morbidity in selected re-CABG cases.

Obstruction of right ventricle-pulmonary artery bioprosthetic valved conduits can result from valvular degeneration and calcification or neointimal peel formation. From 1968 through 1989, 38 patients underwent repair of congenital heart malformation with a porcine xenograft extracardiac valved conduits from right ventricle to pulmonary artery. Of 27 patients who survived after initial repair, 14 patients (8 males and 6 females) were reoperated for conduit obstructions. Ages of patients at the reoperation ranged 5 to 20yr (mean age 11.8±3.6yr) and the interval between initial repair and reoperation ranged 3 to 9yr (mean 6.6±1.7yr). The obstructed conduits were replaced with mechanical valved conduits (4 patients), nonvalved conduits (7 patients) or outflow patches (3 patients). In a half of patients, obstructions occured at multiple levels within the conduits. Obstructions mainly resulted from valvular degeneration, neointimal peel formation and anastomotic narrowings. There was no operative death but one late death due to the infective endocarditis. The systolic pressure ratio of right ventricle to left ventricle (or aorta) decreased from 0.81±0.13 preoperatively to 0.48±0.10 postoperatively. From our experience, it is recommended to use adequate sized bioprosthetic valued conduits for patients' body weight at the initial repair and replace obstructed conduits to the large sized nonvalved conduit at reoperation if possible.

A 10-year-old girl with heart murmur immediately after birth was found to have a ventricular septal defect (VSD). Although she had been followed up for an insignificant shunt, funnel chest became apparent and was referred to our hostpital at the age of 10. She was 133 cm in height, 25.7 kg in weight with a body surface area of 0.99 m². The VSD was the muscular outflow type with a Qp/Qs of 1.1, defect of 2.5 mm in diameter, and pulmonary artery pressure of 24/10/15 mmHg. Pectus excavatum was apparent with a CT index of 2.99. The preceding surgery for one was likely to interfere with the subsequent surgery for the other. Therefore we decided on concomitant surgery for both. Under median sternotomy, cardiopulmonary bypass was established and the VSD was closed with a patch. After the pericardium was sutured and closed, a tape was carefully passed through the chest wall under the guidance of direct vision and digital palpation. A metal bar was inserted guided by the tape, reversed with a rotator, appropriately shaped with a hand bender, and was fixed to the chest wall with the stabilizer bars at both ends. The sternum was sutured with 1-0 polyester sutures and two sternum pins made of particulate hydroxyapatite and poly-L lactide. The postoperative course was uneventful. After 2 years, the excavatum was adequately corrected and the bar was successfully removed under general anesthesia. Although the comorbidity of VSD and funnel chest is rare, concomitant surgery for both can be safely carried out and may be considered as an option for treatment.

An 83-year-old man who had undergone aortic arch repair using the elephant trunk technique in addition to abdominal aorta repair required surgical intervention for a pseudoaneurysm at the distal anastomosis of the aortic arch graft. Due to marked adhesion around the aneurysm, aortic cross-clamping was not feasible. Thus, under femoro-femoral partial bypass, the arch prosthesis was endoclamped using an aortic occlusion balloon inserted through the left femoral artery into the aortic arch graft and through the elephant trunk, guided by fluoroscopy and transesophageal echocardiography. This allowed descending aorta replacement with minimal bleeding. His postoperative course was uneventful. This technique enabled safe and bloodless clamping of the proximal portion of the aortic arch graft.