Objective : Prevention of gastrointestinal bleeding is imperative in perioperative management of open-heart surgery. Although both proton pump inhibitors (PPIs) and Warfarin are often prescribed to patients following cardiac surgery, the US FDA warns that PPIs increase the international normalized ratio (INR) when used concomitantly with Warfarin, by being metabolized by cytochrome P-450 (CYP) 2C19. We assessed whether this drug interaction depends on the genotype of CYP2C19 (Extensive Metabolizer, EM ; Intermediate Metabolizer, IM ; Poor Metabolizer, PM) or the type of PPI. Methods and Results : In this observational prospective study, the CYP2C9, CYP2C19, and VKORC1 genotypes of 78 patients were analyzed. After excluding cases with ^*1/^*3 of the CYP2C9 genotype and those with C/T of the VKORC1 genotype, 60 patients were assigned to Warfarin+Rabeprazole (RB group, 30 cases) or Warfarin+Lansoprazole (LP group, 30 cases). Warfarin was started with an initial dose of 3 mg, and INR values were measured on days 4, 8, 14, 28, and 56. There was no significant difference in median Warfarin dose between the LP group (2.5 mg/day) and RB group (3.0 mg/day), (p=0.88). The time in the therapeutic range (TTR) (Rosendaal) was significantly higher in the RB group (83.7%) than in the LP group (49.4%), and the time in the over range was significantly higher in the LP group (41.9%) than in the RB group (0.0%). In the LP group, TTR values were higher in CYP2C19 Extensive Metabolizers (EMs) than in Intermediate Metabolizers (IMs) and Poor Metabolizers (PMs), but there was no statistically significant difference between them. Conversely, in the RB group, there was no difference in the values of any CYP2C19 genotype. A multivariate analysis showed that high age and low TTR were risk factors for bleeding. Conclusion : We consider it possible that lower TTR values in the LP group were affected by the CYP2C19 genotype. In an aging society, Rabeprazole is safer and more effective as a proton pump inhibitor after open-heart surgery.

A 76-year-old man with hypertension had an enlarged distal aortic arch aneurysm with a maximum dimension of 55 mm. Coronary computed tomography angiogram showed none of stenosis in a coronary artery, but penetrating atherosclerotic ulcer at ascending aorta. We performed open surgical repair combination of ascending aortic replacement and less invasive quick open stenting (LIQS) to reduce operative risk, because of his advanced age. The operation was carried out without any complications (Operation time : 242 min, Cardiopulmonary bypass time : 154 min, Aortic cross clamp time : 71 min). The patient's postoperative course was unremarkable, and he was discharged 19 days after surgery. LIQS is effective to reduce operative risk for high-risk patients, and it can be easily combined with other procedures.

It has been reported that the left internal thoracic artery (LITA) should be used for CABG when its free flow is more than 40-80ml/min. In the past 6 years, 120 cases of CABG have been performed in our institution. In 71 of these 120 cases, LITA was anastomosed to the left anterior descending coronary artery (LAD). These 71 cases can be divided into the following two groups: Group L consists of 14 cases, in which LITA-FF was less than 20ml/min. Group H consists of 57 cases, in which LITA-FF was 21ml/min or more. In all cases, LITA was dissected by electrocauterization. Papaverine administration and balloon dilation of LITA were not employed. We performed a comparison study between the groups based on post operative coronary angiographic findings. In group H, LITA graft occlusion was identified in 3 cases, and “string sign” in 7 cases. In group L, “string sign” was identified in only 1 case, and there was no LITA graft occlusion. There was no significant difference between the two groups. Satisfactory results of early graft patency were achieved as follows: 94.7% in group H, 100% in group L. These results suggest that LITA can be used for CABG, even when the free flow is less than 20ml/min.

We investigated the clinical results of coronary arterial bypass grafting (CABG), using a terminal warm blood cardioplegia (TWBCP) for myocardial preservation. In the past 6 years, 102 cases of CABG have been performed at our institution. These 102 cases were divided into the following two groups; (1) Group T, consisting of 41 cases, in which TWBCP was employed; (2) Group non-T, consisting of 61 cases, in which TWBCP was not employed. We performed a comparative study between the groups on the perioperative cardiac function and so on. Between the two groups, there were no significant differences in age, gender, preoperative ejection fraction (EF), operative time, cardiopulmonary bypass time (CPBT) and the level of CPK-MB. In group T, the number of grafts was significantly more than that in group non-T (p=0.002). Aortic cross-clamp time was significantly longer in group T. However, the duration of assisted circulation after aortic declamp was significantly longer in group non-T than that of group T (p=0.01). The incidence of ventricular fibrillation after release of aortic clamp in group T was 9.8%, while it was 67.2% in group non-T, showing a significant difference. Furthermore, the postoperative cardiac index in group T was significantly higher than that in group non-T. These results suggest that it is important for the myocardium, to recover from its ischemic damage caused by VF after release of aortic cross-clamp. In conclusion, we consider it effective to employ TWBCP in CABG to improve postoperative cardiac function.

The Japanese adult cardiovascular database (JACVSD) contains details of all adult cardiovascular surgeries performed in Japan. This database has the potential to make data from all of Japan available to the world in the future. However, it is time consuming to enter several items from an individual terminal for all cases ; adding further pressure to already busy routine work. In our facilities, an original system using Filemaker Pro has been developed and used since 2004. This system has various functions integrated into it, and currently, the input system of JACVSD has been added. As a result, it becomes possible to automatically enter more than half the data of JACVSD, and excellent results can be reported. Intellectual property rights have been owed by Nihon University since 2007.

A 66-year-old woman with aortic stenosis and idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura (ITP) underwent concomitant splenectomy and aortic valve replacement (AVR). High-dose trans-venous gamma-globulin therapy (400mg/kg/day) was performed for five days before surgery. The number of platelet, which was 6.0×10⁴/mm³ on admission slighty increased to 7.0×10⁴/mm³ before surgery. The aortic valve was replaced by an ATS 19mm prosthesis using cardiopulmonary bypass. Platelets were transfused postoperatively. Perioperative hemorrhage was moderate, and the postoperative course was uneventful. This was the second case we treated by concomitant cardiac surgery and splenectomy. It was safely performed after high-dose trans-venous gamma-globulin therapy.

A 63-year-old man suffered from type A acute aortic dissection associated with descending thoracic aortic aneurysm and coronary stenosis. He was treated surgically 49 days after onset of acute aortic dissection. Deep hypothermic selective cerebral perfusion was carried out for brain protection. It revealed the aneurysm, 51mm in diameter, located just distal to the aortic arch, and an intimal tear of the dissection located posterior wall of aneurysm. The total arch was replaced with 24mm vascular graft and CABG (LITA-to-seg. 8) was carried out. The postoperative course was uneventful and he was discharged on the 18th postoperative day.