Objectives : Mediastinitis results in significant morbidity in pediatric patients after cardiac surgery. The management of mediastinitis is not well established in the pediatric population. Our strategy for pediatric mediastinitis after cardiac surgery consists of rapid introduction of simple vacuum-assisted drainage system and sternal closure without plombage under aseptic conditions. The efficacy of our strategy was examined. Methods : The records of 7 pediatric patients with mediastinitis after cardiac surgery managed with this drainage system from May 2006 to May 2013 were retrospectively reviewed. The median age of the patients was 20.5 months and median body weight was 9.7 kg. Mediastinitis occurred 1-3 weeks after surgery. The mediastinum was re-explored immediately under general anesthesia after the diagnosis was made, and continuous drainage was used after extensive debridement was performed. We developed a simple vacuum-assisted drainage system consisting of conventional polyurethane foam, surgical drape containing povidone-iodine, and 1 to 3 silicone drainage tubes connected to a drain aspirator (-99 cmH₂O). Patients were allowed oral intake and resumption of daily activity after extubation. The components of the drainage system were exchanged every 2-3 days. The sternum was closed without the use of the omentum or muscle for plombage of the mediastinum after two negative topical swab cultures were obtained. Results : Negative topical swab cultures were obtained in all cases (3-12 days after the drainage commencement) and the sternum was closed 7-19 days after the drainage commencement. The median duration of hospital stay was 31 days (range, 14-47). Although one patient with prenatal infection died of aortic rupture, the remaining six children survived and did not experience recurrence after hospital discharge. Conclusion : The simple vacuum-assisted drainage system enabled rapid control of wound bacterial infection and sternal closure in postoperative pediatric mediastinitis without the need for special, and expensive devices.

This case report describes a 20-year-old man, who was a drug abuser, and was treated surgically for tricuspid valve endocarditis. He presented with fever, caused by tricuspid valve endocarditis with a lung abscess. Blood culture detected Staphylococcus aureus and cardiac ultrasonography showed tricuspid insufficiency and tricuspid valve vegetation. He was treated with intravenous antibacterial agents, but the inflammation signs did not improve. He had a large number of puncture scars, as a consequence of self-injection of drugs in his lower arm. He underwent tricuspid valve plasty, and recovered successfully. He was discharged 2 weeks after surgery, and we instructed him to return for follow-up examination in our hospital. However, he did not return to our hospital because he was arrested for drug possession. In such cases, it is necessary to consider the operative method relative to reuse of drugs in the postoperative management of medication.

A 48-year-old man underwent an non-anatomical bypass surgery for aortic coarctation when he was 38 years old, when a bypass laid between the left subclavian artery and the descending aorta with a prosthesis (10 mm, internal diameter). Four years after the first surgery, aortic aneurysms at the proximal and distal sites of the coarctation were detected. Six years from then, we decided to perform another surgery when the maximum diameters of the proximal and distal sites exceeded 60 and 47 mm, respectively. We performed the aortic replacement from the proximal left subclavian artery to the descending aorta at eighth thoracic vertebra. The approach to the aortic aneurysm was through the extended left thoracotomy with the transection of the sternum. The cardiopulmonary bypass was established with an antegrade aortic perfusion (from the ascending aorta) and drainage from the right atrium. The circulatory arrest was obtained under deep hypothermia at 20°C measured by deep body temperature. After the surgery, the pressure differences between upper and lower extremities decreased to 10 mmHg, which had been 40 mmHg before surgery. Macroscopic observation showed the coarctation site was completely obstructed by an old thrombus. From this observation, we surmise that one of the reasons for the aneurysmal formation at the proximal site of coarctation might be an insufficient depressurization by the non-anatomical bypass grafting from the left subclavian artery to the descending aorta at the first surgery. We consider that a severe coarctation might become thrombotic sooner or later after a non-anatomical bypass surgery due to a change of blood flow, and a radical anatomical surgery would be recommended for adult coarctation cases.

We report two cases of pseudoaneurysms occurring at the anastomotic sites that had to be repaired several times after the original Bentall and Cabrol procedure. Case 1. A 62-year-old man had surgery to repair pseudoaneurysms at the anastomotic sites of the distal ascending aorta and right coronary artery 22 years after undergoing the original Bentall procedure. The anastomosis of the left coronary artery was normal at the time of the operation ; however, he was given a diagnosis of a pseudoaneurysm at the anastomotic site of the left coronary artery 2 years after the operation. Case 2. A 61-year-old man with Marfan syndrome underwent surgery twice to repair pseudoaneurysms at the anastomotic sites of the aortic annulus and the left coronary artery 2 and 11 years, respectively, after the original Cabrol procedure. In addition, 23 years after the Cabrol procedure, he was given a diagnosis of a pseudoaneurysm at the anastomotic site of the distal ascending aorta. Their pseudoaneurysms were successfully treated by the reanastomosis of new grafts. Computed tomography detected no recurrence of the pseudoaneurysm in the follow-up period. However, continual close observation for the recurrence of a pseudoaneurysm in the remaining anastomotic sites is necessary.

Background : The surgical repair of acute aortic dissection type A [AAD (A)] by reconstructing the left subclavian artery (LSCA) is sometimes difficult because of the deep surgical field and the occurrence of left recurrent nerve palsy or bleeding. In Japan, since 2014, a commercially available open stent graft (J-graft OPEN STENT) has been used for promoting thrombosis of the false lumen in the descending aorta. This report presents an efficacy evaluation of the surgeon-made in situ Fenestrated Open Stent (FeneOS) for LSCA reconstruction in a patient with AAD (A). Method : We performed surgery with FeneOS using the open stent graft by first deploying it from the entry of the LSCA into the descending aorta and manually making a hole on the LSCA side of the stenting portion ; then, the four-branched J graft was anastomosed between the left common carotid (lt. CCA) and SCA (ZONE 2). At our institution, 47 patients with AAD (A) underwent this surgery with FeneOS from 2014 to 2019 (FeneOS group) and 97 patients with AAD (A) underwent a normal open-stenting procedure from 2008 to 2014 (non-FeneOS group). We analyzed the postoperative results of patients in the FeneOS and non-FeneOS groups. Results : Preoperative characteristics of patients in both groups were similar. Patients in the FeneOS group had an acceptable postoperative course, with no 30-day or in-hospital deaths. The mean operation time, cardiopulmonary bypass time, selective cerebral perfusion time, and open distal anastomosis time were significantly shorter in patients in the FeneOS group (p＜0.01). None of the patients had left recurrent nerve palsy, and postoperative computed tomography or arterial echo showed that the blood flow through the LSCA was intact and revealed no endoleakage. Conclusion : FeneOS is simple, fast, and less invasive for the reconstruction of the LSCA without the risk of left recurrent nerve palsy and can be effective for treating patients with AAD (A).