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Radiotherapy-induced cardiac disease is a progressive condition with symptoms beginning several years after treatment. The following article reports the case of a 48-year-old woman who had undergone mediastinal radiation therapy for Hodgkin's lymphoma at age of 15 and, more than thirty years later, suffered from congestive heart failure due to fibrotic thickening of the mitral valve. She successfully underwent mitral valve repair with patch augmentation of the anterior leaflet. Long-term cardiac follow-up of patients treated by mediastinal radiation therapy is warranted.

Objective: We investigated the survival of patients who had undergone elective reconstruction of the ascending aorta for degenerative aneurysms. The long-term survival was compared to an age- and sex-matched case-control population. An analysis of risk factors, influencing survival was made., Methods and Results: From May 1998 to January 2012, 72 patients underwent elective reconstruction of the ascending aorta for degenerative disease at the department of Cardiothoracic Surgery of the Jessa Hospital, Hasselt, Belgium. Sixty patients were treated with Bentall procedures, whereas 12 received valve-sparing procedures. The average age of the patient group was 65.5 years (range 24-80), with 64% males. Thirty-day mortality was 9.7% (consistent with calculated Euroscore II: 9.2%). The long-term survival was 80.9% at 3, 5 and 10 years. No deaths occurred between 3 and 10 years postoperatively. In an age- and sex case-matched Belgian population, 3-, 5- and 10-year survival were 95.7%, 94.7% and 85.2%, respectively. Long-term survival was not significantly different between both groups. Poor NYHA class at the time of surgery (P = 0.041) and COPD (P = 0.028) had a significant impact on global survival. Valve-sparing operations provide similar long-term survival, avoiding thrombo-embolic complications., Conclusions: Reconstruction of the ascending aorta for degenerative aneurysmal disease restores normal life expectancy, compared with an age- and sex-matched case-control population. Early mortality is consistent with the Euroscore II risk calculation. Whereas late survival progressively declines in the average population, it remains constant in the treated group after 3 years. COPD and poor functional class significantly impair survival. Valve-sparing procedures confer a similar long-term survival as valve replacement.

Objective: Early survival in off-pump coronary artery bypass (OPCAB) patients is reported to be as good as that of conventional coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG). However, it remains unknown whether midterm cardiac outcome after off-pump surgery is similar to that for the on-pump procedure., Methods and Results: One hundred OPCAB patients (67.8 (9.3) y) were compared to a case-matched contemporary group of CABG patients (69.4 (8.8) y). In-hospital and midterm outcome data are presented. Follow-up was 100% complete. The mean number of distal anastomoses per patient was 1.9 (0.8) and 2.4 (1.0) in the OPCAB and CABG group, respectively. Grafting according to treatment plan was 100% in both groups. Peak creatine kinase muscle-brain and cardiac troponin I (cTnI) release were similar in the overall groups, but the cTnI release in the 25 most recently operated patients was significantly lower in the OPCAB group (4.8 (9.1) ng/ml vs. 14.0 (20.5) ng/ml, p = 0.04). Duration of mechanical ventilation, ICU stay and hospital stay were shorter in the OPCAB group. The incidence of atrial fibrillation was similar. There were no differences in in-hospital complications. The actuarial survival at 1, 3 and 5 years was 88% (C.I. 81.6 to 94.3), 78% (C.I. 66.1 to 90.2) and 78% (C.I. 66.1 to 90.2) in the OPCAB and 90% (C.I. 84.0 to 95.9), 84% (C.I. 74.6 to 92.5) and 68% (C.I. 44.7 to 90.6) in the CABG group (log rank p-value = 0.96). Event-free survival at 1, 3, 5 years was 85% (C.I. 77.8 to 91.9), 71 % (C.I. 57.4 to 84.2) and 71 % (C.I. 57.4 to 84.2) in the OPCAB and 85% (C.I. 77.8 to 91.9), 72% (C.I. 61.1 to 82.7) and 58% (C.I. 37.2 to 78.8) in the CABG group (log rank p-value = 0.63). Recurrence of angina (3%) and need for reintervention (2%) in the OPCAB group were low., Conclusions: OPCAB surgery is a safe and reproducible technique, yielding short-and midterm outcomes comparable to conventional CABG.

A patient with severe coronary artery disease and leg ischaemia was successfully treated with a combined revascularization procedure. The coronary arteries were bypassed with three vein grafts, and the bilateral femoral arteries were bypassed with a Dacron graft using the ascending aorta as the source of inflow. The patient recovered well and experienced no angina or claudication two years later.

Phytobezoar after partial gastrectomy. An observation on phytobezoar formation after partial gastrectomy, attended by an intestinal obstruction is presented. According to a review of the literature bezoar formation following gastric surgery seems to develop in the stomach after vagotomy, and rather in the small intestine after partial gastrectomy. The etiopathogenesis of this phenomenon is analysed, and the physiopathology, the clinical manifestation, the diagnosis and therapeutic possibilities of this affection are discussed.