Search

A 78-year-old man underwent pacemaker implantation via the left internal jugular vein 36 years ago. After 30 years, a new device was implanted via the right subclavian vein and the old lead was cut and buried underneath the skin due to infection. This time, the patient presented with persistent lead infection of the left side. We chose open heart surgery to excise the old lead because of severe adhesion and surrounding calcification. The infected lead was completely removed using cardiopulmonary bypass without complication. Old pacemaker leads tend to develop adhesion and calcification within the innominate vein and superior vena cava, and therefore, it is often difficult to remove it with percutaneous technique. It was considered that open heart surgery was useful to excise a very old pacemaker lead.

Regional cerebral oximetry using near-infrared spectroscopy devices is commonly used for detecting cerebral ischemia during cardiopulmonary bypass, and aim to avoid poor cerebral perfusion which may result in perioperative neurological impairment. Today, several devices that can detect cerebral ischemia are commercially available. Although these devices operate on the same measurement principles, their algorithms for detecting and calculating cerebral ischemia are different and no criteria for directly comparing values measured by such different devices exist. From January 2017 to August 2017, 80 adult cardiovascular surgery patients were enrolled in the prospective study. In each patient, preoperative regional cerebral oxygen saturation values were measured by two different devices and their correlations with various preoperative factors were evaluated. Regional cerebral oxygen saturation levels were significantly higher for values of FORE-SIGHT ELITE (CAS Medical Systems, Branford, CT, USA) (F value) than those of the INVOS 5100C (Medtronic, Minneapolis, MN, USA) (I value). Scalp-cortex distance, hemoglobin concentration, and the presence or absence of hemodialysis showed significant correlations with ratios of measured values specific to each device (F/I). An appropriate device should be selected according to preoperative patient characteristics, and factors influencing regional cerebral oxygen saturation values should be considered to ensure the correct interpretation of measured values. This research was conducted with the approval of the ethics committee of our university (approval number: B16-96).

Objectives In this study, we investigated early outcomes of patients who underwent surgical aortic repair for acute Stanford Type A aortic dissection at the Kitasato University Hospital and compared the results of Samurai cannulation (direct true-lumen cannulation) with other cannulation options. Methods Inpatient and outpatient records were retrospectively reviewed. Results Among the 100 patients who were operated on for acute Type A aortic dissection between April 2011 and April 2017, sole Samurai cannulation was used in 61 patients (Group S) and other cannulation options were used in the remaining 39 patients (Group O). No significant difference was observed in preoperative demographics between the groups. True-lumen cannulation was successful in all Group S patients, whereas 3 cannulation-related complications were observed in Group O patients. In Group S, the 30-day and in-hospital mortality occurred in 3 (5%) and 4 (7%) patients, respectively, and in Group O, these occurred in 3 (8%), and 6 (15%) patients, respectively. Four patients in each group (7% and 10%) experienced disabling or fatal strokes. Early mortality or stroke rate between the groups were not significantly different. During follow-up, there was no statistically significant difference between the groups in terms of survival, freedom from aorta-related death or freedom from aortic events. Conclusions Early outcomes of the initial series of surgery for Stanford Type A aortic dissection with Samurai cannulation was favourable with acceptable mortality and stroke rates without cannulation-related complications. Samurai cannulation represents an easy, safe and reasonable option for cardiopulmonary bypass in surgery for acute Stanford Type A aortic dissection.

In the original publication, the length unit of the SCD in Table 1 and Fig. 2 has been incorrectly published as cm. The correct length unit is mm.

This study aimed to evaluate the outcomes of repeat interventions on the aorta and aortic valve after surgery for acute Stanford type A aortic dissection. The hospital records of patients who underwent repeat surgical intervention between April 2011 and March 2017 for late complications after acute type A aortic dissection repair were retrospectively reviewed. We identified 17 patients with mean age of 62 ± 8 years; 13 were men. The mean interval from the initial emergency aortic repair to the repeat intervention was 5.8 ± 5.4 years (range 133 days–16.6 years). Ten patients had dilatation or rupture of the residual type B aortic dissection; six of them had retrograde type A aortic dissection at the onset and did not undergo resection of the primary entry. Five patients had a pseudoaneurysm at the anastomosis; four of them were receiving anticoagulation medication. Three patients had aortic regurgitation; two of them were associated with the gelatin-resorcinol-formaldehyde glue that was used during the initial surgery. There was no early mortality after repeat intervention and no late death after a mean follow-up period of 3.3 ± 2.0 years. Repeat surgical intervention on the aorta and aortic valve after repair of acute type A aortic dissection had favorable early and mid-term outcomes and was not associated with early or late death. Long-term follow-up with imaging and echocardiography was considered to be essential for early detection of residual type B dilatation, anastomotic pseudoaneurysm, and aortic regurgitation after initial aortic repair.