A 59-year-old man who was diagnosed with hypertension and a large thoracoabdominal aortic aneurysm was referred to our hospital for surgical treatment. He underwent open surgery and thoracic endovascular aneurysm repair in three stages. He developed paraplegia after the third surgery. Despite acute postoperative treatment and rehabilitation, his lower extremity motor function and bladder and bowel dysfunction did not improve. He was transferred to a recovery hospital 67 days after the third surgery. However, he was readmitted to our hospital about four months later for management of a refractory decubitus ulcer and recurrent urinary tract infections. Computed tomography revealed hematoma and calcification around the femur. Based on the clinical course and imaging findings, we diagnosed neurogenic heterotopic ossification associated with postoperative paraplegia in this patient. He had flap reconstruction for the ulcer. Finally, he was discharged 79 days after readmission. To date, no study has reported neurogenic heterotopic ossification associated with postoperative aortic aneurysm paraplegia. The mechanism underlying this condition is similar to the widely accepted process associated with traumatic spinal cord injury, and conservative treatment comprising pressure ulcer treatment and antibiotics was continued. Although acute rehabilitation is important after highly invasive aortic aneurysm surgery, rehabilitation is limited by the risk of neurogenic heterotopic ossification in patients with postoperative paraplegia, and recovery and maintenance of activities of daily living are challenging. To our knowledge, early diagnosis and prompt treatment for these complications are important considering neurogenic heterotopic ossification.

A 76-year-old man with a history of total esophagectomy and retrosternal gastric tube reconstruction for esophageal cancer was transferred to our hospital because of consciousness disorder. It became an emergency operation on diagnosis of Stanford type A acute aortic dissection on enhanced CT. Because CT showed the retrosternal gastric tube ran along the right side of the body of the sternum through the back side of the manubrium, we opted for skin and the suprasternal incision on the left side from center. We could perform total aortic arch replacement without the damage of the gastric tube except that the right side of the operative view was slightly poor. We did not recognize digestive organ symptoms such as postoperative passage disorders nor mediastinitis. The patient was discharged from our hospital on postoperative day 24.

A 72-year-old female was diagnosed with systemic lupus erythematosus and antiphospholipid syndrome (APS) in 2014 and was followed up. Severe mitral regurgitation coexisted with APS, but the case was nonsymptomatic, and surgery involved high risk. Therefore, the physicians continued their observation. In 2020, the patient experienced rheumatic severe mitral stenosis and shortness of breath on exertion. Paroxysmal atrial fibrillation and coronary stenosis were also detected. Therefore, we planned mitral valve replacement, tricuspid annuloplasty, coronary artery bypass, pulmonary vein isolation and left atrial appendage closure. During extracorporeal circulation (ECC), we performed coagulation management based on blood heparin concentration using HMS PLUS. Because the APS patient showed prolonged activated clotting time (ACT), and coagulation therapy based on ACT is unreliable. She was discharged from our hospital on postoperative day 23. No complications, including bleeding and thrombosis, were observed 2 years after the operation. We experienced a case of APS who underwent cardiac surgery and performed coagulation management by measuring heparin concentration during ECC. We targeted a 3.5 U/ml heparin concentration, and her clinical course was uneventful.

We present a successful case of redo-tricuspid valve replacement for tricuspid prosthetic valve endocarditis. A 78-year-old man who underwent tricuspid bioprosthetic valve replacement for severe tricuspid regurgitation thirty-two years earlier was referred to our institution with persistent high fever and back pain. The blood culture was positive for Streptococcus oralis, and echocardiography revealed a mobile vegetation attached to the tricuspid prosthetic valve with moderate tricuspid regurgitation. A clinical diagnosis of prosthetic valve endocarditis was established. Redo-tricuspid bioprosthetic valve replacement was performed following antibiotics therapy. The patient was discharged on postoperative day 49 after 6 weeks of additional antibiotic treatment, and had no recurrence of infection for 6 months after redo-surgery.