A diagnosis of active aortic valve endocarditis was made in a 52-year-old man who presented with fever and edema. Blood cultures were positive for Streptococcus gallolyticus subsp. pasteurianus. The infection was treated successfully using antibiotics and dental care, but a mobile vegetation-like structure on the aortic valve and severe aortic regurgitation, mainly due to aortic annulus dilatation, remained and required surgery. During the surgical procedure, the aortic valve leaflets were seen to be almost normal, and the regurgitation was found to be mainly due to aortic annulus dilation. Regurgitation could be managed with external suture annuloplasty alone, although a second session was necessary to reduce the annular size by one size. The annular size has been stable for over 1 year after surgery without re-operation of the aortic valve. This procedure not only reduces the operation time but also decreases the surgical stress and avoids the need for prosthetic valve replacement.

Anomalous origin of the right coronary artery from the pulmonary artery (ARCAPA) is a rare congenital coronary anomaly. Although asymptomatic in most cases, with the anomaly only being detected incidentally, surgical correction should be considered before onset of severe myocardial ischemia in such cases. Here, we present a 70-year-old man who was referred to our department due to chest pain on effort and was given a diagnosis of ARCAPA concomitant with mild aortic stenosis. As the symptoms and the degree of aortic stenosis deteriorated during follow-up, the patient underwent direct re-implantation of the right coronary artery into the ascending aorta and aortic valve replacement. The patient's postoperative course was uneventful, and the symptoms disappeared. Postoperative myocardial perfusion scintigraphy revealed improvement of the myocardial ischemic area.

Here, we present a case of successful aortic valve repair of traumatic aortic regurgitation (AR). A man in his early twenties had a chest blunt trauma due to a bicycle accident 6 years earlier and suffered sternum fracture. He recovered without cardiovascular complications. Three months previously, a new diastolic murmur was detected on medical checkup. Transthoracic echocardiography (TTE) showed severe AR, and the left ventricular end-diastolic-/end-systolic dimension was 69/51 mm. Transesophageal echocardiography showed severe AR with perforation of the non-coronary cusp and dilatation of the aortic annulus (29.6 mm). Aortic valve repair was performed with an autologous pericardial patch and external suture annuloplasty. Postoperative TTE showed normal aortic valve function with trivial AR. He was discharged on postoperative day 11. Three months later, TTE showed trivial AR along with a reduced left ventricular dimension and improved left ventricular ejection fraction.

Surgical cases for pulmonary artery aneurysm after palliative operation for congenital heart disease are rare. A man in his 40s underwent Waterston operation (side-side anastomosis of the ascending aorta and right pulmonary artery) for pulmonary atresia and ventricular septal defect at the age of one. Medical follow-up was continued at a local clinic without definitive repair. He had complained of exertional dyspnea and cough for one month. CT scan on admission showed a large right pulmonary artery aneurysm and atelectasis of the right lung. An urgent operation was planned for the huge pulmonary artery aneurysm. Under cardiac arrest, the proximal end-to-side anastomosis to the aorta was conducted using a Y-shaped vascular prosthesis at the previous Waterston anastomosis. The peripheral pulmonary arteries were reconstructed by inclusion technique. Percutaneous cardiopulmonary support was necessary for one day after operation due to unstable hemodynamics. He was extubated on postoperative day (POD) 4 and transferred to our general ward on POD 5. He was discharged home on POD 38. He is now free from heart failure symptoms and recurrence of aneurysm one year after surgery. Careful follow-up is necessary for the dilatation of the pulmonary artery and aortic root. A definitive operation—Rastelli and closure of the ventricular septal defect—may be considered in the future if the pulmonary artery resistance is suitable for the repair.