There is disagreement regarding the indications of surgery for cases of severe aortic stenosis (AS) with a decrease in left ventricular ejection fraction (EF) and a low aortic pressure gradient (PG), since there is a high perioperative risk associated with this condition. Hence, we investigated the surgical outcome of AS cases with impaired left ventricular function. Our department performed 144 aortic valve replacements (AVRs) for cases of AS and AS-dominant mild regurgitation (ASr) between January 2000 and September 2005. Among these cases, 9 patients had an EF under 35%, and these patients were selected as subjects and compared with a control group with an EF of more than 35%. Patients with accompanying coronary artery diseases that required treatment were excluded to avoid confounding effects on cardiac function. The mean age of the 9 subjects (4 men and 5 women) was 67.8±10.8 years old, with a range from 53 to 80 years old, and the subjects had the following mean background data: EF, 34.4±0.5%; left ventricular end-diastolic dimension (LVDd), 57.3±5.8mm; left ventricular end-systolic dimension (LVDs), 49.3±5.7mm; interventricular septum thickness (IVSth), 11.9±1.9mm; and left ventricular posterior wall thickness (LVPWth), 11.1±2.6mm. Characteristics such as left ventricular dilatation and thinning of the left ventricle myocardium were noted in these data. The cases were classified as severe AS because the mean aortic valve area (AVA) was 0.58±0.2cm², but the peak aortic pressure gradient (peak PG) (65.2±32.7mmHg) in the 9 subjects was lower than that of the control group (97.0±65.2mmHg). All 9 subjects underwent aortic valve replacements (AVRs), with simultaneous mitral annuloplasty (MAP) in 3 cases, mitral valve replacement (MVR) in 1 case and performance of a Maze procedure in 1 case. No deaths occurred while the patients were in hospital. Postoperative complications included 2 cases of transient atrial fibrillation and 1 case of postoperative bleeding requiring rethoracotomy for hemostasis. The EF in the late postoperative period showed improvement in 8 cases and was unchanged in the remaining case; the mean postoperative EF was 56.9% for the 9 subjects. All cases were rated as improved based on the NYHA classification of cardiac performance, and the significant improvement in EF in 8 of the 9 cases suggests that surgery is safe and can improve prognosis for patients with advanced AS with myocardium thinning and decreased EF.

A 77-year-old woman underwent percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) for chronic total occlusion of the left anterior descending artery using a drug-eluting stent (DES). Re-stenosis, stent fracture, and aneurysm were found on follow-up coronary angiography (CAG), and thus implantation of multiple DESs was required. Surgery was indicated because CAG 48 months after first DES implantation revealed enlargement of the aneurysm with other new lesions. She successfully underwent off-pump coronary artery bypass grafting and resection of the aneurysm.

A 62-year-old woman was referred to our hospital for treatment of hemolytic anemia 10 years after total arch replacement for acute aortic dissection. The cause of hemolysis was confirmed to be mechanical damage of red blood cells at the kinked graft. Because aortic valve regurgitation and occlusion of the left subclavian artery were also found, resection of the kinked graft, aortic valve replacement and reconstruction of the left subclavian artery were carried out concomitantly at reoperation. Her postoperative course was uneventful, and hemolysis resolved soon after the operation.

As part of the outreach program of the Welfare Federation of Agricultural Cooperatives in Kumamoto Prefecture, ultrasonographic examinations for abdominal diseases were carried out in rural communities from the beginning of April 1986 to the end of March 1994. A total of 119, 172 people went through the abdomen checkup during the period. In this study, we reviewed the results of the examinations with respect to the followings.
The percentage of those examinees who were found to have some impairment increased from a range of 40% to upwards 50% during the period under review. Those who were told to receive followup examinations accounted for as high as 10% of the total initially, but the percentage dropped to 2. 9%. The percentage of those actually underwent followup examinations once fell to a range of 70%, but later rose to 85%. The rate of detection of malignancies went up steadily from 0. 08 to 0. 12% year by year.
To decrease the percentage of the patients having to receive followup examinations and to increase the malignancy detection ratio, it was deemed necessary to improve echographers' skills, and establish a nost-examination care/guidance system.

To evaluate a comparison for endovascular repair (EVAR) versus open repair (OR) for the treatment of abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA). Data of all patients with infrarenal AAA treated electively, both with OR (107 cases) and EVAR (24 cases), at our institute between January 1999 and March 2004 were retrospectively reviewed. No difference was found between the 2 groups for sex, age, and AAA size. Cases of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (20.8% vs 6.5%, p<0.04) and frequencies of laparotomy (25% vs 2.8%, p<0.001) were significantly more in the EVAR group than the OR group. In the initial results, deployment of the stent grafts was successful in all cases and complete thrombosis of the aneurysm was achieved in 21 cases (87.5%). One graft occlusion and a wound infection occurred in the EVAR group. OR was successfully performed in all cases. These were 6 cases of paralytic ileus, 1 of re-operation for hemorrhage, 1 of respiratory failure, and 1 of ischemic colitis in the OR group. One hospital death occurred in each group. Mean blood transfusion (0ml vs 238±345ml) and operation time (131±53min vs 250±76min) were significantly less in the EVAR group than the OR group. In the long term results, the cumulative survival rate was 88.0±6.5% at 1 and 2 years, 80.6±9.2% at 3 years in the EVAR group; 99.0±0.9% at 1 year, 94.1±2.6% at 2 years, 87.7±3.9% at 3 years in the OR group, with no difference between the 2 groups regarding survival rate. Four new endoleak and 3 graft infections were encountered in the EVAR group. Freedom from stent graft-related complications was 81.3±8.5% at 1 year, 61.4±11.9% at 2 years, 47.8±12.6% at 3 years in the EVAR group, but 100% at 1, 2 and 3 years in the OR group. Freedom from procedure-related complications in the EVAR group was significantly lower than that in OR group. In the long term results, EVAR was associated with more procedure-related complications. This finding may justify reappraisal of currently accepted EVAR for AAA management strategies.

A 74-year-old man undergone mitral valve plasty. After cessation of cardiopulmonary bypass, bleeding persisted from the cardioplegia injection site and dilatation of the ascending aorta with discoloration was observed. The diagnosis of type A aortic dissection extending to the descending aorta was made by transesophageal echocardiogram. Replacement of the ascending aorta was performed under deep hypothermic circulatory arrest. The postoperative course was uneventful. The false lumen of the aortic arch and descending aorta was thrombosed completely on postoperative computed tomography. Intraoperative aortic dissection is a rare but fatal complication of cardiopulmonary bypass. Prompt recognition and appropriate surgical management are of prime importance.

We report a case of aortic arch replacement and extraanatomic bypass from a branched graft to both bifemoral arteries in a patient with aortic dissection complicated by ischemia in the lower extremities. A 61-year-old woman was found to have thrombosed type II aortic dissection by enhanced computed tomography (CT). Because she had no clinical symptoms, we chose conservative pharmacotherapy. A year later, she suddenly felt severe back pain and dyspnea. CT demonstrated type IIIb aortic dissection. She developed lower extremity ischemia because the true lumen in the abdominal aorta was severely compressed by the false lumen. Two weeks after onset, we planned a bilateral axillo-femoral bypass because the right lower limb ischemia had worsened, with severe pain. However, CT showed ascending aortic dissection. Hence, emergency graft replacement of aortic arch was required. A T-shaped graft was anastomosed to the bilateral femoral arteries, and was used as a delivery line during cardiopulmonary bypass. Although distal anastomosis of the arch was constructed only to the true lumen, leg ischemia persisted. Therefore, the T-shaped graft was connected to the branched graft used for antegrade systemic perfusion. We used INVOS as an indicator of intraoperative lower limb ischemia, which was useful for judging whether or not revascularization of lower extremity was achieved. After the operation, the bypass graft was patent, and ischemia in the lower extremities disappeared.