Masayuki Mukaida

Postoperative renal function after an abdominal aortic aneurysm repair requiring a suprarenal aortic cross-clamp.

Abstract: We describe herein the postoperative renal functions of patients who required a suprarenal aortic cross-clamp during abdominal aortic surgery. Seven patients required a unilateral suprarenal aortic cross-clamp (group A) and six patients required a bilateral suprarenal clamp (group B). Eighty-three patients who required an infrarenal aortic clamp were assigned to group C. Renal hypothermia with renal perfusion or topical cooling during suprarenal clamp was not performed. No hospital deaths were encountered. In group B, the postoperative creatinine and blood urea nitrogen (BUN) levels remained statistically significantly higher than that of group C until the seventh postoperative day. The postoperative renal dysfunction (serum creatinine level >2.0 mg/dl) was 28.6% in group A and 50% in group B, while it was only 8.4% in group C, although no patient required either temporary or permanent hemodialysis. The postoperative peak BUN over 30 min suprarenal clamp was significantly higher than that within 30 min. In summary, the postoperative renal function was impaired after an extended bilateral suprarenal clamp. These findings suggest that if prolonged renal ischemia is thus expected, then renal preservation should be considered.

Management of infectious endocarditis with mycotic aneurysm evaluated by brain magnetic resonance imaging

OBJECTIVES Cerebral complications of infective endocarditis (IE) [particularly, mycotic aneurysm, visualized as a hypointense spot on T2*-weighted brain magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)] are associated with a high incidence of postoperative cerebral or subarachnoid hemorrhage. We have adopted a policy of performing elective open heart surgery after performing a MRI enhanced by gadolinium in such patients whenever possible after improvement in inflammatory findings around a cerebral aneurysm. METHODS Fifty-six patients (35 men and 21 women, mean age 56 years) diagnosed with active-phase IE between January 2000 and December 2010 were analysed retrospectively. RESULTS Six patients who had not undergone MRI were excluded. The remaining patients were classified into four groups according to preoperative brain MRI findings-Group A (n = 13): cerebral haemorrhage, cerebral infarction, abscess and encephalitis; Group B (n = 7): simple or multiple black dots ( = hypointensive spots) with cerebral haemorrhage or cerebral infarction; Group C (n = 15): simple or multiple black dots alone; Group D (n = 15): no abnormal MRI findings. None of the 12 patients who successfully underwent elective surgery in Groups B and C developed postoperative cerebral complications. CONCLUSIONS Brain MRI is an important tool for the detection of asymptomatic intracranial abnormalities associated with IE and evaluation of the preoperative bleeding risk of patients. Patients with contrast enhancement around black dots are at high risk for bleeding, and performing open heart surgery in such patients whenever possible after the improvement of inflammatory findings reduces the potential risk of cerebral haemorrhage.

Survival and sinus rhythm maintenance after modified Cox/maze procedure and mitral valve operation in patients with chronic atrial fibrillation.

OBJECTIVE Sinus rhythm gained after the Cox/maze procedure concomitant with mitral valve operation has demonstrated long-term attrition during the follow-up, no information exists on whether the type of mitral valve operation--(repair vs. replacement)--affects this sinus rhythm maintenance rate. We retrospectively studied patients undergoing concomitant mitral valve operation and Cox/maze procedure to answer this question. METHODS Between April 1993 and August 1995, 87 consecutive patients--35 men and 52 women (mean age: 59.3 years)--with chronic atrial fibrillation and mitral valve disease underwent the modified Cox/maze procedure and concomitant mitral valve operation, with 56 having mitral valve repair (repair group) and 31 mitral valve replacement (replacement group). Patients were followed up and changes in rhythm studied retrospectively. RESULTS Follow-up for a mean 51.3 +/- 11.6 months was completed in 82 of 83 long-term survivors (99%). Repair group surgery survival was 98.1 +/- 1.9% at 1 year and 94.2 +/- 3.2% at 5 based on the Kaplan-Meier method. Replacement group surgery survival was 85.7 +/- 5.9% at 1 year and 82.9 +/- 6.4% at 5. Probability in sinus rhythm maintenance for the repair group at 1 year was 88.6 +/- 5.4% and at 5 years was 67.6 +/- 9.1%. Probability in sinus rhythm maintenance for the replacement group at 1 year was 95.7 +/- 4.3% and at 5 years was 65.0 +/- 11.1%. CONCLUSIONS Medium-term results after the Cox/maze III procedure concomitant with mitral valve operation are good. The attrition of sinus rhythm maintenance appears similar by the completion of 5-year follow-up.

Successful valve repair in traumatic aortic valve regurgitation

Case 1 was a 20-year-old male who had been involved in a traffic accident and developed aortic regurgitation (AR) eight months later. He was admitted with dilatation of the left ventricle. Transesophageal echocardiography (TEE) showed severe AR with perforation of the right coronary cusp. Case 2 was a 50-year-old male who had fallen from a height four months previously, and was admitted with congestive heart failure due to severe AR. TEE showed severe AR due to rupture of the right coronary cusp. In the former patient, valve repair was performed with a patch of autologous pericardium. In the latter patient, cusp reconstruction was performed with autologous pericardium and the commissural plication technique, achieving successful aortic valve repair.

Aortic translocation using the hemi-mustard procedure for corrected transposition.

The management of congenitally corrected transposition of the great arteries and associated lesions is frequently challenging. Restrictive ventricular septal defect and mild pulmonary stenosis are contraindications to the double switch procedure, including the atrial-Rastelli switch procedure, due to the production of postoperative left ventricular outflow tract obstruction. We describe a case of aortic translocation using the hemi-Mustard procedure after left ventricular training in order to prevent postoperative left ventricular outflow obstruction.

Severe stenosis of the true lumen in the abdominal aorta after an ascending aorta reconstruction for an acute type a dissection: report of a case.

Abstract.We encountered a case of severe symptomatic stenosis of the abdominal aorta after a surgical repair of an ascending aortic dissection. A 75-year-old woman underwent a reconstruction of the ascending aorta to treat a Stanford type A acute aortic dissection and cardiac tamponade. Eight hours postoperatively, the patient was anuric. An abdominal computed tomography scan revealed severe stenosis of the true lumen of the suprarenal abdominal aorta due to a dilatation of the false lumen. The patients ischemic symptoms progressed to include a weakening femoral pulse and, as a result, an emergency right axillofemoral artery bypass was performed. We hypothesize that the stenosis of the true lumen of the abdominal aorta was secondary to the mechanical obstruction due to a false lumen, which already existed because of the thoracic dissection, and its size increased postoperatively as a consequence of uncontrolled postoperative hypertension.

Three cases of right-sided active endocarditis with multiple pulmonary infarction

We have experienced three patients with right-sided active endocarditis combined with multiple pulmonary infarction. Ventricular septal defect (VSD), aortic regurgitation (AR), tricuspid regurgitation (TR) and congestive heart failure were present in case 1. TR was present in case 2. VSD, TR and patent ductus arteriosus were present in case 3. alpha-Streptococcus caused endocarditis in case 1 and 3; Candida albicans caused endocarditis in case 2. Antibotic therapy had no effect in case 2 and 3. Case 1 and 3 developed pulmonary hemorrhage, which resolved before the operation in case 1, but not in case 3. Our three patients underwent surgery and recovered successfully. They were discharged on the 43th, 58th and 32th postoperative day and are presently free of clinical symptoms. These experiences suggest surgery should be undertaken in the following situations: 1. antibiotic therapy has no effect on the infection, 2. hemodynamics are worsening, and 3, pulmonary infarction and pulmonary hemorrhage occur repeatedly.

Total arch replacement in a patient with a tracheostoma through a reverse L-shaped partial sternotomy

A conventional median sternotomy in a patient with a tracheostoma is susceptible to postoperative mediastinitis or graft infection after total arch replacement (TAR). An optimal surgical procedure has still not been established to circumvent these complications in such patients. We report a successful case of a 74-year-old man with a tracheostoma who received TAR through a reverse L-shaped partial sternotomy. This incision was simple and enabled us to secure an adequate operative field similar to that of a conventional median sternotomy. The patient was discharged without any evidence of infection or any other complications.

Two-stage surgery to repair a dissecting abdominal aortic aneurysm in a severely obese patient: Open bifurcated graft replacement after laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy

With the increasing prevalence of severe obesity worldwide, surgical treatment for severely obese patients is becoming more popular. Bariatric surgery has occasionally been performed as a precursor to major operations for serious diseases to make these difficult surgeries safer for severely obese patients. We present the case of a severely obese patient with a dissected abdominal aortic aneurysm and left iliac artery aneurysm. Initially, we performed bariatric surgery on this patient to reduce perioperative risk and then subsequently performed bifurcated graft replacement. A 54‐year‐old man presented at our hospital for bariatric surgery before open abdominal aortic aneurysm repair. Laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy was performed; 15 months later, the patients weight and BMI had decreased from 139.0 kg to 97.6 kg and from 48.7 kg/m2 to 34.2 kg/m2, respectively. Bifurcated graft replacement was performed safely without postoperative complications. Bariatric surgery was also effective in controlling the patients blood pressure during the interval between surgeries.