A successfully treated case of a 73-year-old man with mycotic aneurysm of the iliac artery combined with psoas abscess was reported. The operation consisted of débridement of the infected arterial wall with arterial reconstruction using autologous reversed superficial femoral vein and wrapping the graft and filling the defects with omentum. Streptococcus pneumoniae was grown from the psoas abscess culture. He had peritonitis by gangrenous cholecystitis postoperatively and underwent reexploration for correction of the peritonitis. After his second operation, the postoperative course was uneventful. He is doing well 18 months postoperatively. Venous morbidity after superficial femoral vein harvest is minimal. In situ reconstruction with autogenous deep leg veins is a successful option in patients with mycotic aneurysms.

Extra-anatomical aortic bypass through median sternotomy for aortic recoarctation allows concomitant repair of associated cardiac defects while avoiding potential complications of anatomic repair, including hemorrhage, bleeding from adhesions, nerve damage and spinal cord ischemia. We describe here the case of a 13-year-old boy who presented with aortic regurgitation and aortic recoarctation after two previous anatomic repairs with a prosthetic graft through thoracotomies. Ascending-abdominal aortic bypass and aortic valve replacement (AVR) were performed concomitantly through a median sternotomy. Extra-anatomical aortic bypass through a median sternotomy is useful for aortic recoarctation. Careful observation is required for younger patients.

A 65-year-old-man was admitted with congestive heart failure and septic shock associated with suspected mitral valve infective endocarditis. An echocardiogram revealed vegetation attached to the chordae, high density lesions in both papillary muscles, and severe mitral regurgitation. An emergency operation was performed. Vegetation was been attached to the chordae. Multiple myocardial abscesses were noted in both papillary muscles and surrounding myocardium. However, there were few noticeable lesions on mitral valve leaflets and annulus. The anterior mitral leaflet was resected together with the chordae and the papillary muscles containing the myocardial abscesses. Mitral valve replacement was performed using a 27mm SJM valve after the other myocardial abscesses were drained. Klebsiella pneumoniae was cultured from the vegetation and the myocardial abscesses. Cases of myocardial abscess associated with infective endocarditis at the site of the papillary muscles and in the areas of the myocardium are very rare. It was assumed that the myocardial abscesses were probably due to the septic state from infective endocarditis, since myocardial abscesses was recognized in multiple sites and at a distance from the valve leaflets and annulus.

An 81-year-old woman developed abdominal pain after off-pump CABG (OPCAB) for unstable angina pectoris. X-ray film and CT scan showed paralytic ileus the day after surgery. A presumptive diagnosis of mesenteric ischemia was made and exploratory laparotomy was performed. During surgery, however, there was no sign of mesenteric ischemia. The patient still complained of abdominal pain after the laparotomy, so selective angiography of the mesenteric artery was performed. The angiography showed remarkable vasospasm of the superior mesenteric artery (SMA) and diagnosis of nonocclusive mesenteric ischemia (NOMI) was made and continuous intra-arterial perfusion of papaverine into the SMA was started. Control angiography during papaverine perfusion showed a clear reduction of vasospasm. Thereafter, the patient developed diffuse peritonitis due to intestinal gangrene on postoperative day 12 and was compelled to undergo extensive resection of the intestine and sigmoidectomy. She could not be weaned from the ventilator due to respiratory insufficiency and died of multiple organ failure about 5 months after OPCAB. NOMI can develop even in OPCAB, in which cardiopulmonary bypass is not required. Therefore maintenance of stable hemodynamics intraoperatively, careful management of the postoperative state and early diagnosis and therapy are essential to prevent NOMI.

A 70-year-old-woman was admmitted to receive an operation for aortic arch aneurysm. Total arch replacement was carried out under deep hypothermic circuratory arrest with selective cerebral perfusion. During sternal closure, her blood pressure dropped to 60/30mmHg suddenly, and massive venous bleeding started from the substernal space which turned out to be hemorrhage from the laceration of the pulmonary trunk. Controlling the bleeding by finger compression, rapid introduction of cardiopulmonary bypass was carried out and the laceration was closed by a pericardial patch. The postoperative course was uneventful. In this case, compression of the pulmonary trunk by the aortic arch aneurysm may have caused the fistula formation between them, and decompression of the aneurysm probably induced the rupture of the pulmonary trunk. If the preoperative computed tomogram had showed the compression of the pulmonary artery by the aneurysm, a careful exploration of the main pulmonary artery and a removal of the thrombus should have been performed, even when the preoperative diagnostic evaluation failed to reveal aortopulmonary fistula.

A 45-year-old man underwent total arch replacement for acute type A aortic dissection. Vital signs during the operation remained stable, but sinus tachycardia was recognized about 7h postoperatively, followed by a high level of PaCO₂, low level of PaO₂ and metabolic acidosis. Then, blood pressure decreased, accompanied rapid elevation of body temperature to 39.7°C. Body temperature was decreased gradually by cooling the whole body, however, coma, anuria and hypoxemia persisted. A diagnosis of malignant hyperthermia was made and Dantrolene was administered. However, the patient died of multiple organ failure 7 days postoperatively. The serum level of CPK increased to 12, 446IU/l and serum myoglobin elevated to a very high level (36, 500ng/ml) 2 days postoperatively. Although, it is very rare for malignant hyperthermia to develop after open-heart surgery, physicians must keep this disease in mind if sudden hyperthermia of unknown origin is demonstrated.

A male patient with single ventricle pulmonary stenosis, and persistent left superior vena cava underwent original Blalock-Taussig shunt (BTS) at 2 years of age and suffered from infective endocarditis at 38 years of age. A systemic work-up detected dural arteriovenous fistula and aneurysmal dilatation of the original BTS. Cardiac catheterization and cardiac magnetic resonance imaging revealed an appropriate pulmonary vasculature for bidirectional Glenn anastomosis and sufficient antegrade pulmonary blood flow through the pulmonary valve. Bilateral bidirectional Glenn anastomosis and resection of the aneurysm of the BTS-associated aneurysm were successfully performed.