The patient was 62-year-old woman was brought to the emergency room with chest pain and dyspnea. Computed tomography revealed a hematoma around the ascending aorta, a notch in the aortic wall, pericardial effusion and a hematoma around the pulmonary artery. We diagnosed early thrombotic type of acute aortic dissection. An ascending aorta replacement was performed via median sternotomy under hypothermic circulatory arrest. Upon operation, there was a 1.0 cm intimal tear just above the left main trunk and there was no specific evidence of aortic dissection. So we diagnosed spontaneous aortic rapture. Her postoperative course was uneventful and she was discharged 18 days after surgery.

Aortic dissection is one cause of acute aortic regurgitation, and transthoracic echocardiography and computed tomography are useful for diagnosis. We report a case of intraoperatively discovered acute aortic regurgitation caused by aortic dissection limited to the sinus of Valsalva. The patient was a 71-year-old man who regularly visited his local doctor for hypertension and diabetes mellitus. He visited the doctor with a week-long history of cough and dyspnea, and was referred to our hospital due to acute congestive heart failure. We diagnosed severe acute aortic regurgitation as the cause of the heart failure, but the aortic root dissection was not detected by transthoracic echocardiography or plain computed tomography. Since his heart failure progressively worsened even with intensive medical therapy, urgent surgery was decided on the 6th day after hospitalization. Intraoperatively, we noted that the aortic dissection was limited to the sinus of Valsalva, and had induced aortic regurgitation due to dissected and separated aortic commissure. We changed the surgical procedure from aortic valve replacement to the Bentall procedure (Piehler method). Postoperatively, the patient was intubated for 7 days and stayed in the ICU for 14 days due to treatment for pneumothorax and organizing pneumonia. He was successfully transferred to a rehabilitation hospital on the 35th postoperative day. Acute aortic regurgitation caused by aortic dissection limited to the sinus of Valsalva is rare, so we report the case based on literature reviews and as a heart team.

A newly developed short double-balloon enteroscope with a working channel enlarged to a diameter of 3.2 mm is a novel innovation in stent placement for patients with surgically altered anatomies. Herein, we report three patients in whom this new scope contributed to an efficient technique and ideal treatment. In the first case, the double guidewire technique was efficient and effective for multiple stent placements. In the second case, covered self-expandable metal stent (SEMS) placement, which is the standard treatment for malignant biliary obstruction, could be performed in a technologically sound and safe manner. In the third case, SEMS placement was performed as palliative treatment for malignant afferent-loop obstruction; this procedure could be performed soundly and safely using the through-the-scope technique. The wider working channel of this new scope also facilitates a smoother accessory insertion and high suction performance, which reduces procedure time and stress on endoscopists. Furthermore, this new scope, which has advanced force transmission, adaptive bending, and a smaller turning radius, is expected to be highly successful in both diagnosis and therapy for various digestive diseases in patients with surgically altered anatomies.
Cholangiopancreatography, Endoscopic Retrograde ; Diagnosis ; Double-Balloon Enteroscopy ; Gastric Outlet Obstruction ; Humans ; Palliative Care ; Radius ; Stents* ; Suction

Background/Aims: Bilateral endoscopic drainage with self-expanding metallic stent (SEMS) can be used to effectively manage hilar malignant biliary obstruction. However, the benefits of using a trisegment drainage method remain unknown. Methods: This study retrospectively reviewed the data of 125 patients with Bismuth type IIIa or IV unresectable malignant strictures who underwent bilateral endoscopic drainage using SEMSs at four tertiary centers. The patients were divided into the bilateral and trisegment drainage groups for comparison. The primary endpoint was stent patency and the secondary endpoints were technical success, technical and clinical success of reintervention, and overall survival. Results: The technical success rates of the bilateral and trisegment drainage groups were 95% (34/36) and 90% (80/89) (p=0.41), respectively, with median stent patency durations of 226 and 170 days (p=0.26), respectively. Although the technical success of reintervention was not significantly different between the two groups (p=0.51), the clinical success rate of reintrvention was significantly higher in the trisegment drainage group (73% [11/15] vs 96% [47/49], p=0.009). The median survival times were 324 and 323 days in the bilateral and trisegment drainage groups, respectively (p=0.72). Multivariate Cox hazards model revealed no stent patency-associated factor; however, chemotherapy was associated with longer survival. Conclusions Although no significant difference was noted with respect to stent patency, significantly higher clinical success rates were achieved with reintervention using the trisegment drainage method than using the bilateral drainage method alone.

Endoscopic ultrasound (EUS)-guided transgastric drainage has been performed as a less invasive procedure for pancreatic fistulas and intra-abdominal abscesses occurring after surgery in recent years. However, there are no reports of EUS-guided transgastric drainage of intra-abdominal abscesses following gastrectomy. This case report describes 2 patients who developed an intra-abdominal abscess following gastrectomy and underwent EUS-guided transgastric drainage. Both patients underwent laparoscopy-assisted distal gastrectomy with Billroth-I reconstruction for gastric cancer. The intra-abdominal abscesses were caused by postoperative pancreatic fistula that developed following gastrectomy. One patient underwent naso-cystic drainage and the other underwent only a needle puncture of the abscess cavity. EUS-guided drainage was performed safely and effectively, although 1 patient developed gastroduodenal anastomotic leakage related to this procedure. In summary, EUS-guided transgastric drainage is safe and technically feasible even in post-gastrectomy patients. However, it is necessary to be careful if this procedure is performed in the early period following gastrectomy.
Abdominal Abscess ; Abscess ; Anastomotic Leak ; Drainage ; Gastrectomy ; Humans ; Needles ; Pancreatic Fistula ; Punctures ; Stomach Neoplasms ; Ultrasonography

BACKGROUND/AIMS: This study aimed to examine the diagnostic ability of endoscopic ultrasonography (EUS) for major vascular invasion in pancreatic cancer and to evaluate the relationship between EUS findings and pathological distance. METHODS: In total, 57 consecutive patients who underwent EUS for pancreatic cancer before surgery were retrospectively reviewed. EUS image findings were divided into four types according to the relationship between the tumor and major vessel (types 1 and 2: invasion, types 3 and 4: non-invasion). We also compared the EUS findings and pathologically measured distances between the tumors and evaluated vessels. RESULTS: The sensitivity, specificity, and accuracy of EUS diagnosis for vascular invasion were 89%, 92%, and 91%, respectively, in the veins and 83%, 94%, and 93%, respectively, in the arteries. The pathologically evaluated distances of cases with type 2 EUS findings were significantly shorter than those of cases with type 3 EUS findings in both the major veins (median [interquartile range], 96 [0–742] µm vs. 2,833 [1,076–5,694] µm, p=0.012) and arteries (623 [0–854] µm vs. 3,097 [1,396–6,000] µm, p=0.0061). All cases with a distance of ≥1,000 µm between the tumors and main vessels were correctly diagnosed. CONCLUSIONS: Tumors at a distance ≥1,000 µm from the main vessels were correctly diagnosed by EUS.
Arteries ; Diagnosis ; Endosonography ; Humans ; Pancreatic Neoplasms ; Retrospective Studies ; Sensitivity and Specificity ; Veins

Background/Aims: Endoscopic ultrasound (EUS)-guided fine needle aspiration (FNA; EUS-FNA) allows for diagnostic tissue specimens from various regions to be analyzed. How-ever, diagnosing recurrent pancreaticobiliary cancer after surgery is sometimes difficult. We evaluated the efficacy of EUS-FNA in the diagnosis of local recurrence of pancreatico-biliary cancer and analyzed the factors associated with falsenegative results. Methods: Fifty-one consecutive patients who underwent EUS-FNA due to suspected recurrence of pancreaticobiliary cancer after surgery in an academic cen-ter were retrospectively analyzed. The criteria for EUS-FNA were a resected margin or remnant pancreas mass, round swollen lymph node (≥10 mm in diameter), and soft-tissue enhancement around a major artery. Patients with suspected liver metastasis or malignant ascites were excluded. Results: Thirty-nine of the 51 patients had pancreatic cancer; the remaining 12 had biliary cancer. The target sites for EUS-FNA were the soft tissue around a major artery (n=22, 43%), the resected margin or remnant pancreas (n=12, 24%), and the lymph nodes (n=17, 33%). The median size of the suspected recurrent lesions was 15 mm (range, 8 to 40 mm). The over-all sensitivity, specificity and accuracy of EUS-FNA for the diagnosis of recurrence was 84% (32/38), 100% (13/13), and 88% (45/51), respectively. FNA of the soft tissue around major arteries (odds ratio, 8.23; 95% confidence interval, 1.2 to 166.7; p=0.033) was significantly associated with a falsenegative diagnosis in the multivariate analysis. Conclusions EUS-FNA is useful for diagnosing recurrent cancer, even after pancreaticobiliary surgery. The diagnoses of recurrence at soft-tissue sites should be interpreted with caution.

We report two cases with postoperative sternal osteomyelitis after coronary artery bypass graft (CABG), in whom successful two-stage reconstruction was performed via negative pressure wound therapy (NPWT) and pectoralis major myocutaneous flaps. Two patients underwent CABG using bilateral internal thoracic arteries, after which they had surgical site infection (SSI). The intractable wound did not heal with irrigation and NPWT. Then, sternal osteomyelitis was observed via magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), so we planned two-stage reconstruction. The first stage of treatment consisted of complete debridement (including removal of sternal wires and necrosectomy of soft tissue and sequestrum) and application of NPWT until the remission of inflammation. The second stage consisted of wound closure with pectoralis major myocutaneous advancement flaps. After wound closure, the two patients were given 2 months of oral antibiotics, and the postoperative results were good. Two-stage reconstruction with NPWT and pectoralis major myocutaneous flaps results in excellent clinical outcome. In the first stage, the key to the successful management of postoperative sternal osteomyelitis is infection control. This includes surgical debridement and wound-bed preparation with NPWT. The pectoralis major myocutaneous flap technique is brief and does not require a second cutaneous incision or an intact internal thoracic artery. In conclusion, the pectoralis major myocutaneous flap is a useful option in two-stage reconstruction after CABG.

We report two cases of total arch replacement with open stent graft for the aberrant right subclavian artery (ARSA). Case 1 was a thoracic artery aneurysm with an ARSA. We thought it would be difficult to perform in-situ reconstruction of ARSA via median sternotomy, so we performed total arch replacement with the open stent-grafting technique. Therefore the right axillary artery was reconstructed by extra-anatomical bypass and coil embolization of the ARSA proximal to the vertebral artery to achieve complete thrombosis of the ARSA. The postoperative course was uneventful. Case 2 was a Stanford type A acute aortic dissection involving an ARSA with the entry located near the ARSA. Total arch replacement was performed using the open stent-grafting technique to close the entry site and origin of the ARSA. Then the right axillary artery was reconstructed by extra-anatomical bypass and coil embolization of the ARSA. The postoperative course was uneventful. The open stent-grafting technique might be an effective alternative management of thoracic aortic disease with ARSA.

BACKGROUND/AIMS: We applied a back light system (BLS) with a magnifying glass to improve the ability to assess the adequacy of specimen sampling using endosonography. We conducted this study to evaluate the efficacy of the BLS in sampling of specimens by endoscopic ultrasound-guided fine needle aspiration of solid pancreatic masses. METHODS: This was a prospective, randomized, crossover, single-center clinical trial. An endosonographer evaluated adequacy on gross visual inspection and identified whitish specimen sampling sites with and without the BLS according to a randomization sequence in the first and second passes with a 25-G needle. On cytological evaluation, the presence of well-defined pancreatic ductal epithelium was evaluated by a cytopathologist who was blinded to any clinical information. RESULTS: A total of 80 consecutive patients were eligible during the study period. Adequacy was observed for 52 specimens (65%) with the BLS and 54 (68%) without the BLS (p=0.88). In assessment of specimen adequacy on gross examination, only fair agreement was observed both with and without BLS (kappa score 0.40 and 0.29, respectively). CONCLUSIONS: The BLS did not influence the ability to identify specimen sampling sites or reliable assessment of specimen site adequacy using gross visual inspection.
Biopsy, Fine-Needle ; Cross-Over Studies ; Endoscopic Ultrasound-Guided Fine Needle Aspiration ; Endosonography ; Epithelium ; Glass ; Humans ; Needles ; Pancreatic Ducts ; Pancreatic Neoplasms ; Prospective Studies ; Random Allocation