A 54-year-old man, involved in a motor vehicle collision, was transferred to our hospital. He was hemodynamically stable. A CT scan of the chest demonstrated traumatic aortic dissection and a mediastinal hematoma with hemothorax of left side. Endovascular aortic repair using a homemade device was immediately performed, and a completion angiogram revealed complete exclusion of the aortic injury, with no extravasation. A postoperative CT scan revealed satisfactory placement of the endograft, with no extravasation. The patient was discharged on the 13th postoperative day. Endovascular aortic repair was useful and minimally invasive therapy in this case for the treatment of traumatic thoracic aortic rupture.

A 79-year-old man was transferred to our hospital because of massive hematemesis. Contrast-enhanced CT scan demonstrated extravasation of contrast medium into the jejunum. Therefore, we diagnosed primary aortoenteric fistula and performed an emergency operation. At surgical exploration, the jejunum was closely adherent to the normal-sized aorta. The fistula was present between the anterior wall of the aorta and the jejunum. Operative reconstruction was performed with in-situ grafting and a pedicled omentum flap was placed around the graft. The postoperative course was uneventful, and there has been no evidence of infection during the follow-up period of 1 year.

We here report two cases of successfully treated secondary aorto or iliac arterial-enteric fistula after graft replacement for abdominal aortic aneurysm. Case 1: A 80-year-old man who complained massive anal bleeding had undergone Y-shaped graft replacement for abdominal aortic aneurysm 22 years previously. Computed tomography demonstrated an aneurysm and hematoma formation at the anastomosis of the right graft limb and the right common iliac artery. Preoperative angiography showed no leak of contrast medium at the distal anastomosis of the right graft limb. A presumptive diagnosis of secondary iliac arterial enteric fistula was made, therefore, we performed an emergency operation. Extra-anatomic bypass preceded the removal of the right graft limb, partial resection and direct reconstruction of the ileum by the retroperitoneal approach. His postoperative course was uneventful and he was discharged on the 19th postoperative day. Case 2: A 77-year-old man who had received Y-shaped graft replacement of an abdominal aortic aneurysm 9 years previously was transferred to our hospital because of sudden onset epigastralgia and massive hematemesis. Gastroduodenoscopy revealed a fresh blood clot in the third portion of the duodenum where it was compressed by for surrounding pulsatile environment. An emergency computed tomography showed aneurysm formation without extravasation of contrast medium in the duodenum at the proximal anastomosis of the prosthetic graft. A secondary aortoenteric fistula was highly suspected and emergency operation was performed. Extra-anatomic bypass preceded the removal of the graft body, infrarenal aortic stump closure, duodenal closure and the greater omentum was used to fill defects. He underwent successful staged abdominal wall closure due to bowel edema making primary closure impossible. His postoperative course was uneventful and he was discharged on the 26th postoperative day.

Objective : We examined the utility of distal perfusion (DP) in open stent grafting (OSG) for the treatment of thoracic aortic aneurysm. Methods : Fifty patients who underwent OSG were categorized into two groups (the Non-DP group and the DP group) based on the presence or absence of distal perfusion in OSG. There was no statistically significant difference between the two groups with regard to patient characteristics. Results : There was no statistically significant difference between the two groups with regard to operation time, but, cardiopulmonary bypass time (178±22 min vs. 193±18 min ; p <0.01) and aortic cross clamp time (84±23 min vs. 106±19 min ; p<0.01) were significantly longer in the DP group. Lower-body circulatory arrest time (46±11 min vs. 20±5 min ; p<0.001) was significantly longer in the Non-DP group. Postoperative paraplegia and paraparesis occurred in one case each in the Non-DP group, whereas permanent spinal cord ischemia did not occur in the DP group. Postoperative intubation time (72.6±40.1 h vs. 40.1±34.7 h ; p<0.05) was significantly longer in the Non-DP group. There were two in-hospital deaths due to stroke and respiratory failure in the Non-DP group, and one in-hospital death due to respiratory failure in the DP group. The postoperative maximum value of BUN (38.5±15.6 mg/dl vs. 30.8±9.8 mg/dl ; p<0.05) and s-Cr (1.9±1.0 mg/dl vs. 1.3±0.4 mg/dl ; p<0.01) were significantly higher in the Non-DP group. Conclusion : DP in OSG was an effective method for prevention of spinal cord ischemia, and for protection of respiratory and renal function.

Recoarctation, systemic hypertension, aortic aneurysm and intracranial aneurysm are generally observed within a certain period after the surgical procedure for aortic coarctation, which is known as a systemic diseases caused by not only morphological abnormalities but also arterial functional abnormalities of artery. Here, we report a case who showed complications of recoarctation, hypertension and subarachnoid hemorrhage after surgery for aortic coarctation. A 17-year-old boy originally presented to our hospital with upper extremity systemic hypertension. Recoarctation after surgery for aortic coarctation was diagnosed in his childhood, following which hypertension was followed while he received continuous treatment with anti-hypertensive drugs. He was hospitalized with sudden headache and loss of consciousness. Since subarachnoid hemorrhage was diagnosed by computed tomography, clipping of intracranial aneurysms was performed. After the clipping procedure, he underwent percutaneous intravascular stenting angioplasty. However, the pressure gradient remained and sufficient dilatation was not obtained because of the hypoplastic anatomical distal aortic arch (from the left internal carotid artery to the site of recoarctation) due to the development of collateral circulation with rib notch. At age 21, extra-anatomical bypass (from the ascending aorta to the descending aorta) was performed because of persistent upper extremity systemic hypertension. However, systemic hypertension continued to require antihypertensive medication.

Positron emission tomography (PET) is an established imaging tool in oncology that has also been used in infectious and inflammatory diseases. PET combined with computed tomography (PET/CT) can be used to visualize metabolic activity with precise localization. We report an infant with late presentation of poststernotomy mediastinitis, the diagnosis and localization of which was confirmed by PET/CT. An 8-month old infant, who had undergone the Jatene procedure and right ventricle outflow reconstruction 6 months prior, was admitted for inflammation surrounding the superior aspect of the healed scar. Cultures from the wound grew methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA). Although the only symptom was discharge from the wound, and there were no other signs or symptoms suggestive of severe general infection, substernal abscess was suspected by magnetic resonance imaging. Since PET/CT revealed high accumulation of 18-fluorodeoxyglucose at the substernal region, the diagnosis of MRSA mediastinitis was made, which was confirmed by subsequent surgical treatment.

We reporte the initial results of open stent-grafting (OSG) applied with a Matsui-Kitamura (MK) stent in the treatment of thoracic aortic aneurysm (TAA). From August 2005 to March 2011, OSG for TAA was applied in 35 cases (male/female, 29/6, 58∼86 years old, mean age 71). During deep hypothermic circulatory arrest with antegrade selective cerebral perfusion, the stent graft was delivered through the transected proximal aortic arch, followed by arch replacement with a 4-branched prosthesis. Concomitant procedures included 1 coronary artery bypass graft, 1 mitral valve replacement and 2 pacemaker implantations. Operative mortality within 30 days was 5.7% (respiratory failure in 1 and ischemic enteritis in 1). There was 1 in-hospital death due to brain stem infarction. Perioperative morbidity included 2 (5.7%) stroke, 5 (14.3%) spinal cord injuries (paraplegia in 1, paraparesis in 1 and transient paraparesis in 3) , and 1 (2.9%) temporary hemodialysis. Ten patients (28.6%) were intubated for more than 72 h. There was no complication with the graft-related incident. These initial results suggested the OSG method applied with a MK stent is a useful surgical procedure for the treatment of TAA.

Objective: This study aimed to determine the effect of ovarian stimulation regimens on the top-quality blastocyst development rate and perinatal outcomes with the freeze-all strategy. Methods: A retrospective comparative cohort analysis of 149 in vitro fertilization (IVF) cycles using the freeze-all strategy was conducted. The IVF cycles were stimulated with either a gonadotropin-releasing hormone antagonist or clomiphene citrate along with gonadotropin based on the patient’s serum anti-Müllerian hormone level. Oocyte retrieval, fertilization, and embryo culture were performed following standard procedures. All good-quality blastocysts were cryopreserved and used for frozen-thawed embryo transfer (FET) in subsequent cycles. The fertilization, blastulation, and top-quality blastocyst development rates were calculated. The perinatal outcomes of FET cycles, gestational period, and birth weight were assessed. Results: The main outcome of this study was the top-quality blastocyst development rate, and the secondary outcomes were perinatal parameters (e.g., gestational period and birth weight) between the stimulation regimens. Despite the higher number of usable-quality embryos in the antagonist group, the blastocyst development rate remained comparable (p=0.105). Similarly, perinatal outcomes were comparable in subsequent FET cycles (p=0.538). Conclusion These findings suggest that the choice between antagonist and clomiphene citrate with gonadotropin as stimulation in controlled ovarian stimulation regimens may not affect the top-quality blastocyst development rate. The IVF outcomes (e.g., clinical pregnancy, miscarriage, and live birth rates) remained unaffected in subsequent FET cycles. Unlike fresh embryo transfer, the birth weight and gestational length were not associated with prior controlled ovarian stimulation regimens when the freeze-all strategy was used.

Introduction : To promote disease management in the community, general physicians should refer their patients to specialists in a timely and appropriate manner. In this study, we propose an indicator for evaluation of such referrals.
Methods : We analyzed all referrals in an urban clinic from September 1, 2011 to August 31, 2012. Symptoms and diagnoses documented by general physicians were collected from medical records, and the final diagnoses by specialists were collected from their reports. The symptoms and diagnoses were classified using the International Classification of Primary Care second edition (ICPC-2). Referral rates, hospitalization rates, and place of referral were analyzed.
Results : The average number of encounters in the candidate clinic was 1402 per month, and the mean number of referrals was 23 (1.6% of encounters). Of patients who received a referral, 6.75 (29.1%) were admitted to hospitals. The symptoms and diagnoses of the referred patients were distributed across all chapters (A to Z) of ICPC-2. Diagnoses of admitted patients included pneumonia (R81) (24%), urinary tract infection (U70 and U71) (9%), and acute gastroenteritis with dehydration (D73 with T11) (9%).
Conclusion : We identified the referral rates, hospitalization rates, and distribution of referral patients as indicators of the triage function of primary care physicians. These should be evaluated further as potential indicators of “the quality of medical care.”

In a consecutive series of 160 surgically treated abdominal aortic aneurysm, four patients with acute aortic thrombotic occlusion of an abdominal aortic or iliac aneurysm were encountered. Three of four aneurysms were 7cm in diameter or smaller. Also, 3 of 4 patients had chronic occlusive disease of legs. Our mortality rate was 75%. The recommendation is made that all abdominal aortic aneurysms be resected if there is substantial associated distal occlusive disease.