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A 58-year-old woman was referred to our hospital with progressively increasing breathlessness. She reported a history of bioprosthetic valve implantation for tricuspid valve replacement and direct closure of an atrial septal defect for Ebstein's anomaly, 31 years before presentation. Transthoracic echocardiography revealed prosthetic valve failure, an enlarged coronary sinus, and severe mitral regurgitation. Computed tomography revealed a giant coronary sinus with thrombosis and persistent left superior vena cava. She underwent successful mitral and tricuspid valve replacement; however, severe hemodynamic deterioration necessitated mechanical ventilatory support with extracorporeal membrane oxygenation.

Background and aim of the study We retrospectively studied outcomes after mitral annuloplasty (MAP) combined with subvalvular procedures for patients with functional mitral regurgitation and ischemic dilated cardiomyopathy. We focused on changes in mitral regurgitation (MR) grade, mitral valve tethering, and left ventricular (LV) volume before and after surgery. Methods Thirty-one patients underwent MAP combined with subvalvular procedures including papillary muscle (PM) approximation, PM relocation, and chordal cutting. Fifteen patients underwent left ventriculoplasty. Twenty patients underwent PM approximation, and 11 patients underwent PM relocation. Two patients underwent chordal cutting in addition to PM approximation or relocation. In 25 patients, echocardiographic measurements of MR grade, mitral valve tethering, and LV volume were compared among three time points: before, immediately after, and one year after surgery. Results There were no in-hospital deaths. LV volume as well as both tenting height and area were significantly reduced immediately after and at one year after surgery. Five patients developed recurrent MR at one year after surgery. In comparison with the other 20 patients, the preoperative MR grade was significantly higher (p = 0.018). The postoperative reduction of LV volume was significant in patients without recurrent MR. Conclusions Both tenting height and area could be significantly reduced and maintained after MAP combined with subvalvular procedures. The preoperative MR grade and the presence of a large postoperative LV volume were more likely to result in recurrent MR. However, among patients with recurrent MR, the MR grade does not increase during mid-term follow-up. doi: 10.1111/jocs.12459 (J Card Surg 2015;30:27–34)

Coronary revascularization methods continue to be refined, and the emergence of the drug-eluting stent (DES) has especially changed clinical practice related to ischemic heart disease. For chronic hemodialysis (HD) patients, however, the impact of DES on clinical outcome is yet to be determined. Forty-six consecutive chronic HD patients who underwent myocardial revascularization in our institute were retrospectively reviewed. Twenty-eight patients underwent coronary artery bypass surgery (CABG) and 18 patients underwent percutaneous coronary artery intervention (PCI). Patient characteristics were similar between the two groups. In the CABG group, bilateral internal thoracic artery (ITA) bypass grafting was performed in 27 patients and off-pump CABG was performed in 20 patients. In the PCI group, a DES was used in 12 patients. The number of coronary vessels treated per patient was higher in the CABG group (CABG: 4.25 +/- 1.32 vs. PCI: 1.44 +/- 0.78; p < 0.001). Two-year survival rates were similar between the two groups (CABG: 94.1% vs. PCI: 73.9%; p = 0.41), but major adverse cardiac event-free survival (CABG: 85.9% vs. PCI: 37.1%; p = 0.001) and angina-free survival (CABG: 84.9% vs. PCI: 28.9%; p < 0.001) rates were significantly higher in the CABG group. The one-year patency rate for the CABG grafts was 93.3% (left ITA: 100%, right ITA: 84.6%, sapenous vein: 90.9%, gastro-epiploic artery: 100%), and six-month restenosis rate for PCI was 57.1% (balloon angio-plasty: 75%, bare metal stent 40%, DES: 58.3%). Even in the era of DES, clinical results favored CABG. The difference in clinical results is due to the sustainability of successful revascularization.

Heterogeneous double cardiac tumor is rarely encountered. We present a case of simultaneous resection of myxoma and papillary fibroelastoma. Transesophageal echocardiography showed typical characteristics of each tumor. The myxoma was completely excised with a surgical margin, and the papillary fibroelastoma was shaved, preserving the cusp of the aortic valve. Pathohistologic examination confirmed the diagnosis. We discuss the echocardiographic characteristics and preferred surgical approaches for the two tumors.(J Card Surg 2010;25:35-37)

Background There are many options for proximal anastomosis during off-pump coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG), but the efficacies of these procedures have not been well clarified. Therefore, we examined the clinical impact of our strategy to modify the proximal anastomosis procedure for aortic atherosclerosis. Methods We retrospectively reviewed 535 consecutive patients undergoing off-pump CABG between 2004 and 2007. The patients were divided into three groups depending upon the type of proximal anastomosis procedure: 241 patients with normal or mild atherosclerosis underwent partial clamping (clamp group), 81 patients with moderate atherosclerosis underwent the procedure with Heartstring (Guidant Corporation, Santa Clara, CA, USA), 28 patients underwent with Enclose II (Novare Surgical Systems, Inc., Cupertino, CA, USA) (device group), and 185 patients underwent the procedure without clamping, including six with severe atherosclerosis (no-touch group). Results There were seven in-hospital mortalities (1.3%) and five strokes (0.9%). There was no difference in the mortality rate (clamp, 1.2%; device, 1.8%; no-touch, 1.1%; p = 0.42) or stroke rate (clamp, 0.8%; device, 2.8%; no-touch, 0.5%; p = 0.09) among the three groups. Graft patency was similar regardless of the method (clamp, 94.7%; Heartstring, 96.7%; Enclosed II, 96.0%; p = 0.80). Conclusions Our strategy to modify the proximal anastomosis procedure resulted in a low stroke rate. Aortic clamping could be performed safely in patients with normal or mild atherosclerotic aorta. In patients with moderate atherosclerosis, the result of an anastomotic device may need a further investigation.

BACKGROUND There has been a debate, whether mild or moderate ischemic mitral regurgitation (IMR) should be repaired at the time of coronary bypass surgery. We assessed the early and midterm outcomes of patients with mild or moderate IMR who underwent isolated off-pump coronary artery bypass grafting (OPCAB). METHODS We retrospectively reviewed records of 602 patients who underwent OPCAB between April 2001 and July 2004. Of those, 96 patients had mild or moderate MR (IMR group), and 506 had none or trivial MR (no IMR group). Preoperative and postoperative characteristics were compared between the groups. Furthermore, fates of grade of MR and functional status were investigated in patients with IMR. RESULTS The preoperative mean New York Heart Association (NYHA) classes were 2.7 +/- 1.0 and 2.4 +/- 0.9 in the IMR and no IMR groups, respectively (p < 0.01). Operative mortality was similar between groups (1.0% in the IMR group and 0.4% in no IMR group, p = 0.41). The cumulative survival rate for the IMR group was 93.7% at 1 year and 90.1% at 4 years. The mean NYHA class was 1.1 +/- 0.4 (p < 0.0001) at 28.8 +/- 11.4 months after operation for the IMR group. The mean grade of mitral regurgitation diminished (from 2.2 +/- 0.4 to 1.1 +/- 0.6, p < 0.0001) soon after operation in patients with IMR, and remained so (1.1 +/- 0.8, p < 0.0001) during the follow-up period. CONCLUSIONS Mild or moderate IMR could be improved with isolated OPCAB. The early and midterm functional outcomes of these patients were favorable.

We report a rare case of concomitant pulmonary embolectomy and excision of a left atrial myxoma. A 64-year-old obese woman developed a pulmonary embolism 13 days after an operation for a brain tumor. Echocardiography revealed a 3-cm left atrial mass attached to the atrial septum. Urgent surgery, including pulmonary embolectomy and excision of the left atrial mass, was performed. Histopathology confirmed that the mass was a left atrial myxoma. The postoperative course was uneventful.