A 72-year-old man had undergone aorto-bifemoral bypass for Leriche syndrome at age 67, but acute limb ischemia developed three times after the first operation, in January 2008, April 2008, and April 2009. There were no abnormal heart rhythms or thrombotic factors, and he had received anticoagulant therapy with warfarin (target prothrombin time-international normalized ratio : 1.7 to 3.0) since January 2008. Nevertheless, he came to our hospital because of sudden onset of severe pain in the right lower limb in April 2010. Since CT showed occlusions in the right leg involving the aortobifemoral bypass and femoropopliteal bypass graft, emergency thrombectomy and femoropopliteal bypass (below knee), was performed. CT on admission showed enlargement of lymph nodes around the stomach, and gastric cancer was diagnosed by esophagogastroduodenoscopy. Since we considered the hypercoagulability in this patient with cancer to have resulted in repeated acute arterial thrombosis, these episodes were broadly diagnosed as Trousseau's syndrome.

A 60 year old man presented with a history of right leg claudication which occurred after walking a distance of 200 m. He had no history of cardiovascular risk factors or trauma in the lower extremities. Palpation disclosed no right popliteal or pedal pulse. Ankle-brachial pressure index (ABI) was 0.60 on the affected side. Computed tomography (CT) demonstrated the presence of a highly stenotic lesion in the right popliteal artery due to compression from periarterial polycystic masses. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) revealed no communication to the knee joint bursa. Further, angiography showed a beak-like severe stenosis on the knee of the right popliteal artery. Based on the results of these three imaging techniques we confirmed the diagnosis of cystic adventitial disease (CAD). The patient underwent a surgical exploration of his popliteal artery through a posterior approach. Evacuation of all cysts by longitudinal incision of his adventitia yielded yellow mucoid gelatinous material. The popliteal artery was replaced using the great saphenous vein because the previous imaging showed thrombus formation at the cyst site. He had an uneventful postoperative recovery with ABI of 1.10.

We herein report on a case in which we conducted bypass surgery for occlusion of a left axillary artery aneurysm with ischemic symptoms 21 years after the contraction of Kawasaki disease and achieved symptomatic improvement. The case involved a 22-year-old man who had been suffering from Kawasaki disease since the age of one. He had been undergoing antiplatelet therapy for bilateral axillary artery aneurysms by orally taking aspirin for 20 years. He suffered from symptoms of upper limb ischemia 21 years after receiving a diagnosis of peripheral aneurysms and occlusion of a left axillary artery aneurysm upon 3DCTA. We conducted aneurysmotomy, plication, and bypass surgery between the axillary and brachial arteries via the autologous vein. Pathological examination revealed due to the formation of atheroma in the tunica intima and disarrangement of the layer structure in the tunica media : thickening of the tunica media was partially observed. His fatigue upon exertion of his left upper extremity remarkably improved following surgery. Although peripheral aneurysms associated with Kawasaki disease are rare, as seen in this case, peripheral arterial disease remains and progresses even after long periods of time. It is believed necessary to carry out long term follow-up and examine the approaches to therapy including surgery in accordance with the site and degree of the disease.

We report a case of successful anatomical reconstruction with omentopexy of an infected abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) in a patient with a previous history of coronary artery bypass grafting with the right gastroepiploic artery. A 60-year-old man was referred to our institute because of fever and abdominal pain during hemodialysis for chronic renal failure. Antibiotic therapy was started after computed tomography revealed an infected abdominal aortic aneurysm. After infection control, surgical treatment was scheduled. At surgery, left axillo-bifemoral bypass was performed first, because it was unclear whether the omentum was large enough for omentopexy. At laparotomy, adequate omentum and infective AAA were confirmed. AAA repair using a rifampicin-soaked graft, and omentopexy were performed. Enterobacter aerogenes was detected from the resected aortic wall. After the operation, intravenous antibiotic was used for 25 days until CRP was normalized. One year follow-up showed no sign of re-infection.

We report a case of chronic mesenteric ischemia associated with severe aortic valve regurgitation and stenosis (ASR). The patient was a 76-year-old man who had been given a diagnosis of ASR in his 40s. He gradually developed heart failure and chronic kidney disorder due to deterioration of ASR. He had started hemodialysis 1 year before admission and had complained of abdominal pain after meals and weight loss during that period. He was admitted to the Department of Cardiology in our hospital for evaluation of ASR. Severe ASR with low output syndrome (C. I. 2.00 L/min/m²) were confirmed by cardiac catheter examination. In addition, abdominal angiography revealed total occlusion of the superior mesenteric artery (SMA) and severe stenosis of the celiac artery (CA). We considered that low cardiac output due to severe ASR had exacerbated the mesenteric ischemia. We performed AVR and abdominal aorta-SMA bypass at the same time to prevent acute mesenteric ischemia in the perioperative period. The combination of valvular disease and CMI is very rare. This is the first report in Japan of simultaneous valve replacement and mesenteric artery revascularization.

A 31-year-old man fell into syncope caused by compression by a machine in his factory. He was taken to the nearest hospital at once for treatment. His chest X-ray seemed normal and his general condition improved. He received no medical treatment and was allowed to return home. Two days later, he went to the hospital for further investigation, and contrast-enhanced chest computed tomography (CT) was performed. Chest CT showed aortic dissection from the ascending aorta to the aortic arch. Therefore, he was admitted for bed rest with antihypertensive therapy. He was discharged on the 35th day after the accident. However, the diameter of the ascending aorta was found to have become dilated, and so he underwent ascending aorta and hemiarch replacement at our hospital. His postoperative course was uneventful, and he was discharged on the 16th postoperative day. We report a rare case of an acute aortic dissection caused by blunt chest trauma.

A pseudoaneurysm of the thoracic aorta after cardiac surgery is a rare complication, but can be life-threatening when it is ruptured. The pseudoaneurysm itself presents no symptoms in many cases, or may be similar to an atherosclerotic aortic aneurysm. Therefore, it is usually found incidently during imaging studies. We encountered 3 cases of pseudoaneurysm of the thoracic aorta that developed during the long-term follow-up after congenital cardiac surgery. None of the patients experienced specific symptoms associated with the pseudoaneurysm, and were diagnosed by chest roentgenograms and computed tomography. Most patients who undergo surgery for congenital heart defects as adolescents are free from medical treatment, and do not regularly see a doctor after the surgery. It is important to consider the possibility of a pseudoaneurysm in patients having a history of cardiac surgery.

Subclavian artery aneurysm (SCAA), a peripheral arterial aneurysm, is a rare entity. The surgical procedure and approach depend on the location of the aneurysm. We present a case of the endovascular therapy combined with cross axillary bypass. The patient was a 75-year-old man with a small abdominal aortic aneurysm. Multi-detector computed tomography (MDCT) revealed an intrathoracic right SCAA 38 mm in diameter. The operation was performed successfully under general anesthesia. After cross bypass of bilateral axillary artery, the orifice of the right subclavian artery was covered with a stent-graft inserted into the right common carotid artery-brachiocephalic artery and the right subclavian artery was occluded with coils distal to the aneurysm. Post operation angiogram showed complete exclusion of the SCAA and patency of the right common carotid and right vertebral artery. We thought this hybrid treatment for the intrathoracic SCAA could be a useful surgical strategy.

Aortic dissection with rupture into the right atrium is an extremely rare and rapidly fatal condition. We report the case of a 59-year-old man with a history of double valve replacement 2 years earlier at another hospital. Although the previous postoperative course had been uneventful, the patient had experienced facial edema and general fatigue for 10 days before admission to our hospital because of heart failure. The diagnosis of chronic aortic dissection with rupture into the right atrium was confirmed by intraoperative transesophageal echocardiography. At operation, we observed an aortic dissection that originated from a tear in the original aortic incision line. The fistula extended from the false lumen to the right atrium. The aortic adventitia were partially defective. The aortic dissection had ruptured and a pseudo-aneurysm had formed. We performed ascending aortic replacement and closure of the aorta-right atrium fistula under hypothermic arrest on cardiopulmonary bypass. The postoperative course was uneventful and the patient was discharged on the 17th postoperative day.

An 83-year-old woman underwent stent graft endovascular repair using a Medtronic TALENT device for a saccular aortic aneurysm in the distal arch. The landing zone which targeted the proximal side was directly distal to the orifice of the left common carotid artery (Z2), and the stent graft was placed at the targeted position. However, a decline in the right radial arterial pressure was observed immediately following this, and a retrograde dissected ascending aorta was observed on a transesophageal echocardiogram. The endovascular surgery was immediately converted to open surgery, and an intimal tear to the lesser curvature of the arch, caused by a bare spring (bare stent) of the proximal stent graft, was observed. Total arch replacement was performed by means of the concomitant use of the placed stent graft. Sometimes a TALENT stent graft exhibits specific movements (e.g. a misaligned opening) on its initial deployment. It is therefore believed that special attention is necessary when placing it in the aortic arch.