Sachin Kuthe

Aberrant right vertebral artery from descending thoracic aorta.

We present a case of an abnormal origin of right subclavian artery and right vertebral artery distal to the origin of left subclavian artery in a 2-year-old patient who presented with cyanotic congenital heart disease with single ventricle physiology. The anomalous origin of a right vertebral artery from the proximal descending thoracic aorta is very rare. We have described the cine-angiographic identification of its origin and course, its embryologic development, and its clinical relevance.

Surgical removal of a migrated duct occluder device from the right pulmonary artery without cardiopulmonary bypass

As the use of percutaneous intervention is increasing for closure of the patent ductus arteriosus, procedure-related complications are also on the rise. An Amplatzer duct occluder used in a 4-year-old child was dislodged into the right pulmonary artery. It was removed through median sternotomy by temporarily occluding the right pulmonary artery.

A novel surgical technique of repair of posterior wall laceration of thoracic trachea during transhiatal esophagectomy.

Tracheal injury is a rare, dreaded and potentially fatal complication of transhiatal esophagectomy (THE). The close proximity of major airway to esophagus makes it vulnerable to iatrogenic laceration during mediastinal manipulations. Over a period of five years, three patients with injury to membranous trachea during THE, were managed through the cervical incision. There was laceration of membranous trachea ranging from 3.5 to 5 cm in length with minimal loss of tracheal tissue. One of the lacerations was extending up to the right bronchus. All the patients were successfully managed through the cervical incision. The operative repair of trachea lasted for 45-60 min. One patient developed permanent left recurrent laryngeal nerve injury and another had postoperative bronchopneumonia. There was no mortality. Trans-cervical approach is an effective way of repairing thoracic membranous tracheal laceration during THE without any significant increase in the morbidity.

Left atrial myxoma, ruptured chordae tendinae causing mitral regurgitation and coronary artery disease.

Mitral regurgitation is uncommon with left atrial myxoma. The echocardiographic assessment of presence of mitral regurgitation and its severity are impaired by the presence of left atrial myxoma. We describe an uncommon association of left atrial myxoma with coronary artery disease and mitral regurgitation. MR was reported as mild on pre-operative transthoracic echocardiography but found to be severe due to ruptured chordae tendinae during intra-operative transesophageal echocardiography, which lead to change in the surgical plan to mitral valve replacement in addition to excision of myxoma.

Repair of postinfarct ventricular septal defect and total myocardial revascularization in a case of dextrocardia with situs inversus

We report a case of an elderly man who suffered an acute myocardial infarction (MI) with the complication of a post-MI ventricular septal defect (VSD). Situs inversus with dextrocardia was diagnosed during the course of hospitalization. Total myocardial revascularization was achieved using saphenous vein conduits. The VSD was approached through the right ventricle and repaired with a polytetrafluoroethylene patch. Although several cases of coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) in the presence of dextrocardia have been reported in the literature, this is the first case of repair of a post-MI VSD along with CABG.

Simple and Inexpensive Technique for Internal Mammary Artery Harvest

A simple, inexpensive, and easy-to-use method for exposure of the left internal mammary artery is described. Two blades of the conventional four-blade sternal spreader hooking the Adson forceps, which passes through the loops of sternal wires, provides excellent exposure of the IMA. The same retractor is used for the rest of the procedure.

Suture fixation of migrated septal occluder device to prevent further migration: a simple surgical technique

As the use of percutaneous intervention is increasing for the closure of the atrial septal defect, the procedure related complications are also on rise, migration of the device being most common. The migrated devices with failed percutaneous retrieval must be removed surgically under cardiopulmonary bypass. During establishment of cardiopulmonary bypass, the handling of heart may cause further migration of the device into other chambers of heart which leads to difficulty in finding and retrieval of the device. The authors propose a simple and unique technique to prevent further migration of the septal occluder device.