A 70-year-old man who had been followed up in our outpatient clinic for mild aortic regurgitation underwent curative surgery for progression of the regurgitation due to a prolapsed right coronary cusp, associated with annular dilatation and aortic root aneurysm formation. The Operation consisted of subvalvular circular annuloplasty to reduce the size of the aortic annulus, adjustable leaflet suspension for the prolapsed right coronary cusp, and modified aortic root remodeling, which replaced the Valsalva sinus of both non and right coronary cusps while sparing the Valsalva sinus of the left coronary cusp. Coronary artery bypass grafting was additionally performed for the 90% stenosis of the proximal right coronary artery segment. The postoperative course was uneventful with no need of blood transfusion. He was discharged from the hospital 10 days postoperatively. This combination of valvuloplasty with valve-sparing aortic root reconstruction procedure can be useful.

A 53-year-old woman complained of symptoms of congestive heart failure and was admitted to a local hospital. Transthoracic echocardiography showed pericardial effusion and left ventricular aneurysm. The patient was transferred to our hospital for examination for treatment. Coronary angiography demonstrated triple vessels disease. The patient underwent left ventricular reconstruction and coronary bypass grafting. The operative findings showed no adhesion between the aneurysm and the pericardium. The pathological examination after operation indicated a ventricular pseudo-false aneurysm. The differentiation of left ventricular pseudo-false aneurysm from pseudo-aneurysm can be difficult.

A 73-year-old man complained of pain in the right lower abdomen with hypotension. The result of abdominal computed tomography (CT) suggested a rupture of an abdominal aortic aneurysm. Emergency Y graft replacement was performed. During surgery, a perforation of about 1cm in diameter was found in the posterior wall of the abdominal aorta just above the iliac bifurcation. The patient developed postoperative complication of retroperitonitis. The cultures of blood clots collected during surgery grew Bacteroides fragilis, as did postoperative drainage fluid from the retroperitoneum. On the 10th day of illness, axillo-bifemoral bypass was performed and the Y graft was removed. Although continuous lavage of the retroperitoneum was performed, he did not recover from retroperitonitis and died of sepsis 2 months after surgery. Infected abdominal aneurysm is rarely caused by Bacteroides. We discussed the infectious route and treatment of this rare condition with a review of the literature.

We report a successful open heart reoperation of a 14-year-old girl with Alagille syndrome. The patient underwent a living related donor liver transplantation at the age of 9 years in another hospital because of liver failure due to a paucity of interlobular bile ducts. Two years later, because of progression of her aortic valve stenosis, Ross operation and CABG were performed in the same hospital. Afterwards, her neoaortic valve regurgitation developed due to aortic root dilatation and myocardial ischemia developed by anastomosis site stenosis. She started to experience frequent angina attacks. She underwent AVR and redo CABG in our institution in April 2002. Her pre- and postoperative liver function was normal and no special procedure for the liver was needed, and she was discharged on the 18th postoperative day with no complications. In this country, few open heart surgeries for liver transplant recipient have been performed, and no case of reoperation has yet been reported. If pre- and postoperative liver function are normal, pre- and postoperative management of open heart surgery for a transplant may be perfomed conventionally.

A 53-year-old man who had angina pectoris and juxtarenal aortic abdominal aneurysm was referred to our department. Because the coronary angiography showed severe triple vessel disease, coronary bypass grafting was performed prior to aneurysmectomy. Contrast enhanced computed tomography revealed a retroaortic left renal vein located behind the posterior wall of the aneurysm. The postoperative course was uneventful. Because of its complicated embryological development, the anatomy of the renal veins shows extensive variability. The incidence of retroaortic left renal vein was 2%. Large lumbar and retroperitoneal veins often joined it to form a complex retroaortic venous system. These veins are particularly vulnerable to injury during circumferential dissection of the proximal parts of the aorta. Unawareness of this anomaly and vigorous attempts at encircling the aorta with clamps can result in laceration of the vein. Subsequent catastrophic hemorrhage may lead to unfavorable results, nephrectomy or death. Therefore, preoperative evaluation by a contrast enhanced CT scan and adequate intraoperative management based on a understanding of the potential anatomical variations are imperative. We recommend crossclamp of the aorta proximally with a vertical clamp to avoid circumferential dissection with possible injury to a retroaortic left renal vein. Injury may necessitate division of the aorta to obtain exposure for venous repair. In addition, this anomaly may be related to aorto-left renal vein fistula syndrome and left renal vein entrapment syndrome.

The patient was a 15-month-old girl with Down's syndrome. She had a heart murmur on the first day after birth. The echocardiogram revealed that she had the tetralogy of Fallot (TOF) and mitral insufficiency (MI). She was observed because she had no heart failure or cyanosis. However, she developed heart failure with progressive MI. Then, she was admitted to our medical center for surgical treatment. During the operation, it was confirmed that the primary septum was intact and a large ventricular septal defect was located at the inlet to outlet portion with anterior malalignment. Each leaflet of the atrioventricular valve were attached to the same level and the ventricular septum was scooped out. TOF with endocardial cushion defect (ECD) without primary septal defect was diagnosed based on the operative findings. Surgical repair was performed through the right atrium and pulmonary artery. She was discharged 17 days after operation without any complications. This was a very rare combination of TOF with ECD without a primary septal defect. We discussed this rare condition with a review of the literature.

The patient was an 89-year-old male who underwent transcatheter edge-to-edge repair to the mitral valve using MitraClip for severe degenerative mitral regurgitation (MR) one year earlier. Although two clips were implanted, grade III/IV MR still remained. As his heart failure progressed, he was referred to us for surgery. The patient also had aortic stenosis. He underwent mitral valve repair and aortic valve replacement. The postoperative course was uneventful. He was transferred to the referring hospital on postoperative day 14. When performing MitraClip for degenerative MR, it is important to consider carefully not only the operative risk for open surgery but also the anatomical adequacy of MitraClip. When MitraClip fails to control MR, early surgical intervention should be considered.

A 77-year-old man presenting with uremic acidosis was referred to our department for a misplaced vascular access catheter. Computed tomography revealed the catheter was passing through the subclavian artery and terminating in the ascending aorta. Under angio-fluoroscopic monitoring, a VIABAHN stent graft was deployed immediately after removing the catheter. The patient had no hemorrhagic complication although continuous hemodiafiltration was started just after surgery. His postoperative course was uneventful.