1.A Case of Acute Aortic Dissection after Aortic Valve Replacement for Aortic Stenosis
Toshihiro Fujimatsu ; Hajime Osawa ; Fumie Takai
Japanese Journal of Cardiovascular Surgery 2007;36(3):170-173
A 63-year-old man who underwent aortic valve replacement (AVR) for aortic stenosis (AS) associated with mildly dilated ascending aorta 28 months previously was admitted to our hospital because of severe chest pain. Computer tomography showed aortic dissection expanding from the sinus of Valsalva to the abdominal aorta. Bentall's procedure and ascending aorta-aortic arch replacement were successfully performed and his postoperative course was uneventful. The surgical management of patients with aortic stenosis associated with ascending aortic dilatation is a controversial issue. We think that Bentall's procedure may be considered as one of the strategies for AS associated with moderate dilation of the aortic root (≥50mm diameter). Following AVR, we should have regularly controlled the patient by ultrasonic cadiogram (UCG) and electively reperformed Bentall's procedure when progression of the enlargement of aortic root had been detected.
2.An Operative Case of Idiopathic Nonspecific Inflammatory Aneurysms of the Abdominal Aorta
Hiroyuki Suzuki ; Toshihiro Fujimatsu ; Hajime Oosawa
Japanese Journal of Cardiovascular Surgery 2010;39(4):206-210
We report a case of surgical treatment for idiopathic nonspecific inflammatory aneurysms of the abdominal aorta (AAA) with high-dose steroid therapy. The patient was a 35-year-old man who underwent steroid therapy (30 mg/day prednisolone) for idiopathic nonspecific inflammatory AAA and right common iliac artery aneurysm (CIAA) for 5 months. However, the sizes of the aneurysms were slowly increasing, and they were sacculated types, so surgical replacement was performed. Before the operation we continued to give 30 mg/day prednisolone, because decreasing the medicine made the c-reactive protein (CRP) value rise. Perioperatively the therapy continued, and the postoperative course was uneventful. With appropriate steroid therapy, replacement of idiopathic nonspecific inflammatory aneurysms of the abdominal aorta can be performed. It is also important to follow up the patient from long-term, to monitor for pseudoaneurysms from anastomosis or new aneurysms.
3.A Case of Pseudoaneurysm of the Left Ventricle after Patch-and-Glue Repair of Postinfarction Left Ventricle Free Wall Rupture
Hiroyuki Suzuki ; Toshihiro Fujimatsu ; Hajime Oosawa ; Fumie Takai ; Masaki Hashimoto
Japanese Journal of Cardiovascular Surgery 2009;38(5):323-326
We report a case of surgical treatment for pseudoaneurysm 4 years after Patch-and-Glue Repair of left ventricle free wall rupture (LVFWR) due to acute myocardial infarction (AMI) in 2004 in a 74-year-old woman, she had been followed in our hospital. And 2 years later, echocardiography and MRI showed a pseudoaneurysm at the repair spot which was growing very slowly. Since we found a thrombus in the pseudoaneurysm, a redo operation was performed in 2008. The pseudoaneurysm was successfully extirpated, under cardiopulmonary bypass. The infracted area had degenerated to scar tissue and we could suture tightly without worrying about a fissure in the wall. We can use Patch-and-Glue Repair to rescue the LVFWR patients due to AMI in the acute stage because it is possible to remove the pseudoaneurysm in the future, on pseudoaneurysm excision in a firmly infarcted area is possible in the chronic stage.
4.Spontaneous Left Main Coronary Artery Dissection Treated by Emergency Coronary Artery Bypass Grafting
Hajime Osawa ; Toshihiro Fujimatsu ; Fumie Takai ; Hiroyuki Suzuki
Japanese Journal of Cardiovascular Surgery 2010;39(6):314-317
Spontaneous coronary artery dissection is a rare but often fatal cause of acute myocardial ischemia that occurs in young or middle-aged and otherwise healthy patients. We report a case of spontaneous left main coronary artery dissection in a young woman who was treated with emergency coronary artery bypass grafting. She improved after surgery but required a long recuperative period because of her cardiac failure and multiple organ failure, developed expiring on the 78th postoperative day. Spontaneous coronary artery dissection is unpredictable, and sudden death is the usual mode of clinical presentation. Prompt diagnosis and coronary artery revascularization are essential in order to achieve a favorable outcome in such cases.