In order to elucidate risk factors in arteriosclerosis obliterans (ASO), histories and physical and laboratory findings were reviewed in 163 patients with ASO, and the results were compared with ischemic heart disease (IHD) patients. Patients with ASO were much older and smoked more than patients with IHD. Such complications as hypertension, cerebrovascular disease were significantly more frequent in ASO patients than in IHD patients. On the other hand, the levels of serum total cholesterol, triglycerides, Apo A-II and Apo B were significantly lower in ASO patients than in IHD patients, although lipoprotein(a) tended to be higher in ASO. In ASO, remnant-like particles cholesterol tended to be higher when other presumable atherosclerotic risk factors were absent. The present results indicate that male gender, aging, smoking habit, hypertension and cerebrovascular disease are major risk factors in ASO patients. Although abnormal lipid metabolism may contribute to the development of ASO, we postulate that it plays a less significant role in IHD.

A patient with mutiple aneurysms of the thoracic aorta in Behçet's disease was treated with transluminally placed endovascular stent grafts. Stent graft devices composed of several units of self-expandable Z stents covered with ultra-thin woven Dacron were inserted through 18 Fr sheaths via the femoral arteries. The stent grafts were deployed successfully and blood flow into the aneurysms was reduced immediately and no blood endoleak was found on aortography. However minor endoleak due to migrations of the stent grafts was recognized in two distal descending aortic aneurysms twenty days after the operation. Extra stent grafts were inserted to interrupt the endoleak and finally all aneurysms were thrombosed without any endoleak. Former surgical replacement of the aorta due to aneurysms associated with vasculo-Behçet's disease often causes anastomotic leakage and pseudoaneurysms. The endoluminal stent graft treatment is a minimally invasive operation in comparison with former surgical operations, and is useful for aortic aeurysms especially for inflammatory aneurysms in Behçet's disease because it requires no anastomotis. However, improvement of the stent graft devices, including components of the delivery system such as the dilator, sheath and pushing rod, and the development of better devices, is required to reduce delivery failure and to make stent graft treatment more reliable.

Ten cases of pseudoaneurysms that developed after thoracic aortic surgery were treated with an endovascular technique using stent grafts for redo operations. All patients were treated under general anesthesia and the stent grafts were implanted through 18 Fr or 20 Fr sheath introducers via femoral arteries under fluoroscopic guidance. The stent graft was composed of several units of self-expanding stainless-steel Z stents covered with an ultra-thin polyester fabric. Stent graft deployment was technically successful in all patients and in 7 of 10 cases exclusion of the aneurysms with no endoleak was achieved within two weeks after the operation (initial success rate: 70%). Minor endoleak was found in 3 patients and one of those finally underwent conventional surgery because of stent graft migration 6 months after the stent graft repair. Two of ten patients died, 10 days and 18 weeks after the operation, due to hemoptysis, which had already been observed before the operation. Endovascular stent graft repair of pseudoaneurysms after thoracic aortic surgery is a minimally invasive operation in comparison with conventional redo surgery with extracorporeal circulation. These results and experiences suggest that stent graft repair can be a safe and useful redo treatment for pseudoaneurysms. However, careful long-term investigations are necessary to prove the value and effect of this endovascular treatment and a new strategy for cases with hemoptysis is required.

A 60-year-old woman with acute Stanford type A dissecting aneurysm underwent Dacron graft replacement of the total aortic arch combined with the modified elephant trunk technique. Follow-up CT and angiogram demonstrated blood flow into the false lumen from the distal anastomosis. In order to interrupt the blood flow, endovascular stent grafting was undertaken. She recovered uneventfully, and was discharged on the 14th postoperative day. Follow-up CT taken in the third postoperative month demonstrated exclusion of the blood flow into the false lumen of descending thoracic aorta. Aortic arch replacement followed by endovascular stent grafting of the descending thoracic component is a potential therapeutic option in patients with dissecting aneurysm.

A high-risk abdominal aortic aneurysm patient with multiple complications was treated by a transluminally placed endovascular stent-graft. A tapered stent-graft composed of 3 units of self-expandable Z stents covered with ultra-thin woven Dacron was inserted through an 18 Fr sheath via the femoral artery. The stent-graft was deployed successfully, and endovascular exclusion of the abdominal aortic aneurysm was achieved. The endoluminal stent-graft treatment is an option for minimally invasive operation in comparison with conventional open surgery, and appears to be effective for aortic aneurysms in certain selected cases.

Hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS) is a heterogeneous disorder characterized by hemolytic anemia, thrombocytopenia and renal failure that occurs predominantly in infants and young children. However, HUS in adults has also been described as a complication of various chemotherapy regimens with a relatively poor prognosis. Since cisplatin is now widely used for treatment of solid cancers, it is necessary to take into account the possibility of cisplatin-induced hemolytic uremic syndrome as a rare but potentially fatal side- effect. Herein, we describe our experience with a 67-year old woman being treated for a urothelial carcinoma of the bladder who suffered chemotherapy-induced HUS after a cisplatin-based regimen. Plasmapheresis was carried out five times; however, her serum platelets remained depressed, and she subsequently died. We conclude that there is a high risk potential for HUS in patients undergoing intensive chemotherapy for advanced-stage bladder cancer.
Hemolytic-Uremic Syndrome ; Chemotherapy-Oncologic Procedure ; Cisplatin ; Cancer of Bladder ; regimen

The aim of this study was to develop a new method for the determination of NO2 levels encountered in clinical settings as well as in environmental studies, using a bi−component atmospheric pressure ionization mass spectrometry(APIMS). Hydrogen (1%) diluted in pure argon was ionized by corona discharge in the first ionization component. Fifty ml of the analyte diluted in 250ml of composite air or carbon dioxide (CO2) was introduced into the second ionization component and analyzed. When composite air was used as the sample carrier gas, NO in the analyte was oxygenated and there was an increase in the NO2 content from that in the original analyte. However, when CO2 was used as the sample carrier gas, the level of NO2 in the analyte could be determined because CO2 did not change the NO2 content from that in the original analyte. A calibration curve with good linearity was obtained using the UG−410 APIMS system, with a regression equation of Y(%)=5.513*10-2 X(ppb) and a detection limit of 0.9ppb. Since APIMS detects NO2 directly within its system, the concentration of NO does not need to be measured. This system may be of great help in the accurate detection and determination of the concentration of low levels of NO2 during inhaled NO therapy
Carbon Dioxide ; ionization ; Spectrum Analysis, Mass ; Direct type of resin cement ; Adjudication

Two patients, a 32-year-old man and a 23-year-old woman, underwent successful reoperations 22 and 18 years after radical repair of the tetralogy of Fallot (TOF). The former patient had a diagnosis of pulmonary stenosis and aortic regurgitation due to infective endocarditis. Patch reconstruction of the right ventricular outflow tract (RVOT) and aortic valve replacement were performed. The latter patient was diagnosed as having pulmonary stenosis and a recanalized ventricular septal defect (VSD), followed by patch reconstruction of the RVOT and direct closure of a residual VSD. Reoperation 15 years or more after radical repair of TOF is rare. Only 15 such cases including the present two have been reported in Japan.

A 52-year-old male was diagnosed as having aortic stenosis secondary to a bicuspid aortic valve associated with Klippel-Feil syndrome. Aortic valve replacement was successfully performed without any problems in the surgical or anesthesiological management. Only five such cases including ours, who underwent cardiac surgery have been reported. It is possible to perform cardiac surgery for patients with Klippel-Feil syndrome of their cardiac function can be well preserved.

A follow-up study of 98 patients undergoing abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) repair for 44 months, ranging 2 to 113 months, revealed no difference in 5-year actuarial survival between patients aged 75 or older and patients aged less than 75. The 5-year actuarial survival of ruptured and nonruptured AAA cases was 469% and 71.2%, respectively (p<0.01). Late deaths after the repair of ruptured AAA were all due to atherosclerotic diseases. During a follow-up period after AAA repair, 9 patients were diagnosed as having malignant diseases with a fatal outcome in 6. Careful attention to atherosclerotic and malignant diseases is indispensable for follow-up management after AAA repair.