The mitral valve complex is consisted of annulus, leaflets, chordae tendineae, papillary muscle (PMs) and surrounding left ventricle. Functional mitral regurgitation (MR) results from left ventricular remodeling such as dilatation or distortion, which displaces the PMs and then tethers the mitral leaflets, restricting leaflet coaptation. Undersized annuloplasty, which has been widely accepted as a simple and effective procedure for functional MR, sometimes worsens the tethering of posterior leaflet and induces recurrent MR. In order to overcome such problems, several additional procedures to the simple annuloplasty have been produced. Three dimensional echocardiography plays an essential role to understand the geometry of mitral valve complex and contributes greatly to decision making of the surgical strategy in functional MR and its postoperative assessment.
Chordae Tendineae ; Decision Making ; Dilatation ; Echocardiography, Three-Dimensional ; Heart Ventricles ; Mitral Valve ; Mitral Valve Insufficiency ; Papillary Muscles ; Ventricular Remodeling

No abstract available.
Echocardiography* ; Echocardiography, Three-Dimensional ; Tricuspid Valve*

PURPOSE: In cardiac 2-[F-18]fluoro-2-deoxy-D-glucose (FDG)-positron emission tomography (PET) examination, interpretation of myocardial viability in the low uptake region (LUR) has been difficult without additional perfusion imaging. We evaluated distribution patterns of FDG at the border zone of the LUR in the cardiac FDG-PET and established a novel parameter for diagnosing myocardial viability and for discriminating the LUR of normal variants. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Cardiac FDG-PET was performed in patients with a myocardial ischemic event (n = 22) and in healthy volunteers (n = 22). Whether the myocardium was not a viable myocardium (not-VM) or an ischemic but viable myocardium (isch-VM) was defined by an echocardiogram under a low dose of dobutamine infusion as the gold standard. FDG images were displayed as gray scaled-bull's eye mappings. FDG-plot profiles for LUR (= true ischemic region in the patients or normal variant region in healthy subjects) were calculated. Maximal values of FDG change at the LUR border zone (a steepness index; S(max) scale/pixel) were compared among not-VM, isch-VM, and normal myocardium. RESULTS: S(max) was significantly higher for n-VM compared to those with isch-VM or normal myocardium (ANOVA). A cut-off value of 0.30 in Smax demonstrated 100% sensitivity and 83% specificity for diagnosing n-VM and isch-VM. S(max) less than 0.23 discriminated LUR in normal myocardium from the LUR in patients with both n-VM and isch-VM with a 94% sensitivity and a 93% specificity. CONCLUSION: S(max) of the LUR in cardiac FDG-PET is a simple and useful parameter to diagnose n-VM and isch-VM, as well as to discriminate thr LUR of normal variants.
Aged ; Aged, 80 and over ; Echocardiography ; Female ; Fluorodeoxyglucose F18/*metabolism ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Myocardial Infarction/metabolism/pathology ; Myocardium/*metabolism/*pathology ; Positron-Emission Tomography ; Young Adult

A 41-years-old man with Marfan syndrome developed acute aortic dissection Stanford Type B. A new entry was located at the distal aortic arch. Medical treatment was given for a month, but the proximal descending aorta expanded to 50 mm. Because he had undergone partial arch replacement at the age of 36, thoracic endovascular aortic repair (TEVAR) using the synthetic graft as proximal landing zone was performed to close the entry. Six months after TEVAR, the false lumen around the stent graft disappeared. Distal stent graft-induced new entry (d-SINE) did not occur after TEVAR. Three years after TEVAR, we performed thoracoabdominal aortic replacement because of expansion of the residual false lumen without any complication. Endovascular therapy could be useful option for extensive aortic lesion even in Marfan syndrome.

We report the case of a patient with severe tricuspid regurgitation and severe liver dysfunction who was successfully treated by tricuspid valve repair with spiral suspension and perioperative management of high cardiac output. The patient was a 77-year-old woman who presented with chronic atrial fibrillation with bradycardia (heart rate approximately 50 bpm). She had been diagnosed with severe tricuspid valve and mitral valve regurgitation at the age of 74. As her heart failure and hepatic failure grew worse, and hepatic encephalopathy also occurred, she was admitted to the hospital. Her Child-Pugh score for liver disease was Grade C at the preoperative assessment, suggesting that she was in the high-risk category for open heart surgery. Therefore, further medical treatment was required before selecting the surgical treatment. After the implantation of a pacemaker (VVI mode, 80 bpm), the cardiac output increased with a cardiac index of 5.17 L/min/m2 compared with 2.97 L/min/m2 prior to pacemaker implantation. Furthermore, the symptoms of heart failure improved and total bilirubin decreased from 3.9 mg/dl to 1.7 mg/dl, and surgery was performed. Tricuspid regurgitation was treated with spiral suspension, and mitral regurgitation due to annular dilation was treated with annuloplasty. Following the surgery, the cardiac index was maintained from 4.3 L/min/m2 to 5.8 L/min/m2 with central venous pressure below 10 mmHg by the assistance of intra-aortic balloon pumping. The patient was extubated 30 h after surgery, and was discharged on postoperative day 54. At the time of discharge, total bilirubin was 1.5 mg/dl. At 1.5 post-operative years, the patient is New York Heart Association functional Class II and tricuspid valve regurgitation is mild.