Senning operation for very low birth weight infant with transposition of the great arteries: one of the smallest cases in the world

We report a case of a Senning operation for very low birth weight infant weighing 1,168 g with transposition of the great arteries. The patient underwent a Senning operation on 62 days, 1,700 g after the first palliation. In this case, the orifice of the left anterior descending artery was located in sinus 1 (left posterior facing sinus), but we could not find orifices of both right coronary artery and left circumflex artery before the Senning operation. The surgical procedure of the Senning operation is typical one, but we used flesh autopericardial patch to cover the roof of the new pulmonary vein chamber to get an enough size. The patient recovered with no cardiac events after the repair.     

A case of biatrial multiple myxomas with glandular structure.

A 45-year-old male, who had been indicated by brain magnetic resonance imaging to have cerebral infarctions, was found by echocardiography to have a tumor in the left atrium. He had experienced several of the constitutional disturbances associated with myxoma. At the ages of 19 and 35 he had had two episodes associated with embolisms, and at the later one he was diagnosed as having multiple cerebral aneurysms. He received an urgent operation in which three left atrial tumors and one right atrial tumor were resected. Histologically, the tumors were myxomas, and the left atrial main tumor had glandular structure. In view of his clinical history, this patient seems to have had cardiac myxomas for a long period. The multiple growths that occurred in this case may be a good argument for allowing this condition to last for so long. To our knowledge, the present case was the first report of cardiac myxoma with glandular structure in Japan.     

Surgical repair of extracardiac unruptured aneurysm of the sinus of Valsalva; report of a case

A 65-year-old man presented with a 6 year history of dyspnea. An unruptured aneurysm of sinus of Valsalva and aortic regurgitation had been detected at another hospital a year previously, and he was referred to our hospital for surgery. At operation, an extracardiac saccular aneurysm was widely localized to the noncoronary sinus of Valsalva and protruded into the left atrium. The aneurysm of the sinus of Valsalva (ASV) was repaired with patch closure using a dacron sheet, and aortic valve replacement was performed with a 21 mm Carpentier-Edward valve. However, there was uncontrollable bleeding from the patch suture line, so ascending aorta replacement and repair of the Valsalva sinus were additionally needed. He was discharged without any postoperative complication 7 weeks after operation. Cases of an ASV protruding into the left atrium are very rare. We recommend remodeling of the aortic root with wide replacement of 1 sinus for extracardiac succular ASV, because the tissue around the ASV is so fragile.     

Surgical correction for partial anomalous pulmonary venous connection with intact atrial septum without using extracorporeal circulation

A 13-year-old boy with partial anomalous pulmonary venous connection (PAPVC) having an intact atrial septum (IAS) is reported. He had open heart surgery 3 years ago at another hospital, but the cardiac septum was intact and PDA was ligated. After his discharge, cardiomegaly and increased right pulmonary vasculature were seen in chest roentgenograms. Our cardiac catheterization data and pulmonary angiograms showed that he had a PAPVC with IAS. Surgical correction was accomplished by utilizing a polytetrafluoroethylene graft with external ring support and interposing it between the right upper pulmonary vein and the left atrium during thoracotomy without the need for extracorporeal circulation. The postoperative course was uneventful and he was discharged on the 14th postoperative day. At 3 months postoperatively, radionuclide studies demonstrated no evidence of pulmonary congestion or graft obstruction. To our knowledge, this is the first clinical report of prosthetic replacement of the pulmonary venous pathway with graft patency demonstrated postoperatively.     

Left atrial free-floating ball thrombus with recent cardioembolic stroke

A 67-year-old man was admitted to a local hospital complaining of hemiparesis. Because of coexisting arrhythmia, he was examined by echocardiography and found to have an oval free-floating thrombus in the left atrium concomitant with mitral and aortic stenosis. He was transferred to our hospital for emergency surgery. He underwent an operation on the ninth day from the onset of neurological dysfunction, when a 2.5 x 2.5 x 3.0 cm ball thrombus was removed, and the diseased mitral and aortic valves were replaced. His postoperative course was uneventful, with no neurological sequelae. Though left atrial ball thrombus is rarely found in patients with mitral valve disease, when it is found, then immediate surgical intervention is recommended to avoid sudden death. However, there is a high risk that any cerebral lesion may worsen due to systemic heparinization. Therefore, the optimal time of surgery in a patient with a recent neurological deficit is controversial.     

Surgical treatment of cardiac myxosarcoma

A 36-year-old man suffering from exertional dyspnea was admitted to our hospital. An echocardiogram showed a left atrial tumor, which was excised via the left atrial approach. Histological examination of the surgical specimen revealed that it was a myxosarcoma. Twelve months after the surgery, the tumor recurred in the left atrium, and metastatic tumors were found in the right atrium and right ventricle. Surgery was performed once again, but examinations 5 months after the second surgery showed local recurrences and multiple metastases. Although the patient had received chemotherapy, he died 30 months after the first operation.     

C. Walton Lillehei and the epic of open heart surgery

C. Walton Lillehei (1918-1999) from the Surgery Department of the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis (MN, USA), was the precursor of open heart surgery. He successively introduced heart-lung machine, intracardiac repairs, pacemaker, and mechanical cardiac valves.     

Giant cardiac metastasis of myxoid liposarcoma causing cardiac tamponade; report of a case

We report a very rare case of cardiac metastasis of myxoid liposarcoma. A 55-year-old man presented with dyspnea. Two and a half years ago, he underwent resection of myxoid liposarcoma in the left thigh. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) revealed a giant tumor occupying the pericardiac cavity and pressing the heart and consequently causing cardiac tamponade. The patient underwent surgery through a left thoracotomy approach. The pericardiac cavity was filled with a giant tumor with a stalk from the right ventricle and 2 small nodules on the main pulmonary artery. He was relieved from the symptom: however, he had a recurrence of the tumor at the same site 5 months after the operation. He underwent surgery for the removal of the second tumor; however, he died 49 days after the operation. Although cardiac metastasis is a very rare condition, its awareness is essential for careful long-term follow-up for the early detection of a metastatic cardiac liposarcoma after the resection of the primary tumor.     

Infarct exclusion for postinfarction left ventricular free wall rupture with severe congestive heart failure

A 70-year-old man was transferred to our hospital with severe congestive heart failure and ventricular arrhythmia due to acute myocardial infarction. He had experienced chest pain 3 weeks previously and was admitted to another hospital for dyspnea, where he required assist ventilation, 1 week prior to the transfer. An echocardiogram revealed a broad anteroseptal infarction and very poor left ventricular function with an ejection fraction (EF) of 22%. He remained in a severe congestive heart failure condition despite a full administration of catecholamines. Coronary angiogram findings revealed an occlusion of the proximal left anterior descending coronary artery and 1 week later severe hypotension was suddenly presented. An echocardiogram showed pericardial effusion with signs of cardiac tamponade. A pericardiocentesis was performed and hemodynamic improvement was obtained for a short time, after which the patient underwent urgent open heart surgery. During the operation, exclusion of the anteroseptal akinetic area using an oval patch was performed under a cardiopulmonary bypass and ventricular fibrillation. Severe cardiac failure remained postoperatively and the patient could not be weaned from cardiopulmonary bypass, therefore, we implanted a percutaneous cardiopulmonary support (PCPS) and started intraaortic balloon pumping (IABP). The patient was weaned from PCPS at 26 days after surgery and from IABP at 30 days. Following hospital release, he has continued to do well without heart failure for 39 months after the operation.     

Rapidly Growing Primary Cardiac Leiomyosarcoma: Report of a Case

Primary cardiac leiomyosarcomas are very rare. A 19-year-old man was admitted to a local hospital with dyspnea and hemoptysis. He was later transferred to our hospital because of his worsening dyspnea. An enhanced chest computed tomography scan demonstrated a large mass in the left atrium. A transthoracic echocardiogram showed a large mobile mass in the left atrium. The tumor was totally resected. The pathohistological examination showed leiomyosarcoma. The tumor rapidly recurred, and a second and third operation were performed. After the third operation, the patient was treated with radiotherapy. There was no local recurrence but multiple distant metastases were found 2 months after completion of radiation therapy. Received: October 28, 1999 / Accepted: March 24, 2000 An erratum concerning a duplicate publication of this article is available at .     

Current management of transposition of the great arteries: immediate septostomy, occasional prostaglandin infusion, and early Senning operations

Between January, 1979, and September, 1982, 30 infants with dextro(D)-transposition of the great arteries were managed with the Senning procedure for transposition of ventricular inflow. In 11 infants under 6 months of age, there were no associated cardiac malformations and no hospital deaths. Among 17 infants operated on between the ages of 6 and 12 months, 6 had associated cardiac malformations, and there were 2 hospital deaths. Two infants in the series were over 12 months of age; 1 had an associated malformation, and there were no hospital deaths. Analysis of cardiac rhythms in the postoperative period demonstrates that the first 2 patients operated on continue to have persistent junctional escape rhythm, while the remaining 26 survivors are in sinus rhythm. Twenty-four-hour Holter monitoring performed in 24 patients showed only 9 patients to be in sinus rhythm throughout the entire recording period. Seven patients had occasional atrial and ventricular premature contractions; the remainder had episodes of sinus arrest with junctional escape rhythm. Evidence of pulmonary caval or pulmonary venous obstruction has not appeared in any patient. Recently introduced technical modifications to the Mustard procedure have improved the results of that operation in regard to rhythm disturbances and baffle obstruction to venous return. This series, therefore, does not demonstrate superiority of the Senning procedure over the Mustard procedure. However, since results comparable to those of the Mustard procedure can be obtained in very young infants using the Senning operation along with deep hypothermia and circulatory arrest, the Senning procedure is deemed preferable to the Mustard procedure for this age group because of the ease with which it can be performed and because the procedure eliminates surgical judgment, and thereby surgical error, in the location of suture lines.     

Incidence and results of reoperations following the Senning operation: 27 years of follow-up in 314 patients at a single center

OBJECTIVES: Atrial switch procedures for transposition of the great arteries are associated with reoperations mainly for systemic ventricular dysfunction and baffle complications. This study aims at identifying the results of reoperations following the Senning operation. METHODS: Records of 314 hospital survivors who had undergone the Senning operation were reviewed for details concerning cardiac reoperations. RESULTS: Reoperations were required in 32 patients (systemic ventricular failure n=12, baffle complications n=11, left ventricular outflow tract obstruction n=7, aortic coarctation n=2) during a mean follow-up time of 18.2+/-5.7 years. Freedom from reoperation and survival at 25 years was 88.0+/-2.1% and 90.9+/-2.3%, respectively. Among patients who underwent reoperation for systemic ventricular failure (arterial switch and Senning take-down without prior pulmonary artery banding n=2, with prior banding n=3, banding without conversion n=4, tricuspid valve repair n=3), two patients died at the time of arterial switch and Senning take-down, and two patients died 4 and 16 months after tricuspid valve repair, respectively. Mean follow-up time after the first reoperation was 7.7+/-5.9 years. Survival after reoperation for systemic ventricular failure at 30 days, 1 year, and 10 years, was 91.7+/-8.0%, 83.3+/-10.8%, and 64.8+/-14.3%, respectively. Survival after reoperation for baffle complications and left ventricular outflow tract obstruction at 10 years was 85.7+/-13.2% and 83.3+/-15.2%, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: Reoperations following the Senning operation are rare. Reoperations for baffle complications or left ventricular outflow tract obstruction can be performed with good results in the mid-term. However, reoperations for systemic ventricular failure are demanding, and are associated with a high operative and mid-term mortality.     

Total correction of complete transposition of the great arteries (d-TGA) and Fontan procedure for tricuspid atresia(TA)

Since 1975, 87 patients underwent total correction consisting of 35 cases of Mustard procedure with 6 early deaths (17.1%), 36 Senning with 2 deaths (5.6%), 12 Rastelli operations with 4 deaths (33.3%), and Jatene procedure on 4 cases without mortality. Sixteen patients out of 63 early survivors following intraatrial repair resulted in fatal outcome. In 17 with a modified senning procedure with a pedicled autologous pericardial patch on the functional left atrium, 8 died of pulmonary venous obstruction caused by thickening and calcification of pericardium. However, no death was seen in 17 patients with original Senning procedure. Right ventricular function remained poor in cases with intra-arterial repair and accounted for relatively poor long-term results. Although Rastelli operation carried high early mortality, late death was seen only in 1. Jatene procedure was performed in 4 ranging in ages from 5 months to 6 years without mortality. Fontan procedure was done on 22 patients with 2 early deaths and no late death in tricuspid atresia. Average cardiac index after surgery was 2.6 +/- 0.6. Cardiac index showed close correlation with preoperative cross sectional area of both pulmonary artery divided by body surface area (PA-index), but had poor correlation with right atrial pressure or left ventricular volume.     

Primary cardiac synovial sarcoma —A case report—

We report a case of cardiac synovial sarcoma, a very rare primary tumor of the heart. The patient was a 29-year-old man with chief complaint of dyspnea. On echocardiography, a tumor 42 mm in diameter occupying the most space of the left atrium was found. The tumor was obstructed the opening of the mitral valve. He was diagnosed with heart failure due to disturbance of the pulmonary venous return and hemodynamic mitral valve stenosis, and underwent surgery. The tumor was a 5-cm sphere originating in the left atrial posterior wall, and was covered with a sheath and solid. The atrial posterior wall was covered with a peel that appeared to be tumor tissue, and this tissue expanded toward the openings of the pulmonary veins bilaterally and the posterior cusp of the mitral vavle. The tumor was resected together with the posterior wall. On pathologic examination, the tumor was diagnosed as a synovial sarcoma. Since no other primary focus was found, this tumor was judged to be a primary sarcoma of the heart. The patient was discharged with elimination of symptoms. The sarcoma recurred after 4 months, and the patient underwent a second operation. The recurrent tumor began from the site of resection of the previous operation and expanded up to the inferior pulmonary veins bilaterally. A wide area of the left atrial wall including the tumor was resected, and he was discharged again. The sarcoma recurred again, and he died of progression of heart failure and aggravation of general conditions after 8 months from the first operation.     

Pierre Petit (1905-2002), pioneer of pediatric surgery and academic in spite of himself

Initially a general surgeon for children, like his predecessors such as Louis Ombredanne, Pierre Petit devoted all his time to his young patients in Saint Raphael Clinic and Saint Vincent de Paul Hospital where, in 1943, he succeeded Victor Veau, famous specialist of hare lip surgery. Each of the children who entered his hospital was his own patient. He did everything by himself, especially when it concerned babies who would bear the marks of his operation for the rest of their life. He performed the first successful operation for esophageal atresia. He greatly valued independence, declined honors and never participated in academic competition. However, he was among the first ones to understand the necessity of specific knowledge, and encouraged his collaborators to acquire a large specialization in the different fields which were complementary within a closely knit team. In 1957, he came out of his isolation and associated with the birth of the French Society for pediatric surgery, which greatly contributed to the unification, development and renown of french pediatric surgery.     

Recurrent cardiac arrest after splenectomy in a patient with ITP and diabetes mellitus

We report a case of 58-year-old man who had repeated cardiac arrests on the first post-operative day. The patient underwent splenectomy due to ITP (idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura). He also had diabetes mellitus and nephrotic syndrome. There was no abnormal finding at the preoperative examination, except bleeding time of 6 minutes. The operation was finished without complications under general anesthesia. Midnight on the day of surgery, the first cardiac arrest occurred, and lasted for about 10 seconds. He recovered soon from the incident, but at 6 o'clock next morning, he developed severe bradycardia and cardiac arrest. He recovered again, but around 10 o'clock, he developed bradycardia and arrest again, and fell into a fit of convulsions and lost his consciousness. Again he recovered soon and no bradycardia and cardiac arrest occurred after this episode. Two years later, he was scheduled for vitrectomy due to diabetic retinosis. There were a few PACs and PVCs in his Holter-ECG, but no typical bradycardia and ST changes. During the operation, we injected atropine sulfate, dopamine hydrochloride and bucladesine sodium to increase his heart rate above 60 per minute. The operation was finished smoothly and there was no trouble perioperatively. A year later, he also underwent bilateral cataract extraction under local anesthesia without any troubles.     

John H. Gibbon, Jr., the inventor of the first successful heart-lung machine

May 6th, 2003 marked the 50th anniversary of the first successful use of the heart-lung machine. It was an event that would dramatically change the field of cardiac surgery and the approach to the treatment of cardiac disease. It was also the culmination of years of work of Dr. John H. Gibbon, Jr. We take a look at the life of this remarkable man.     

Primary cardiac angiosarcoma: presenting with cardiac tamponade followed by cerebral hemorrhage with brain metastases

A 49-year-old man presented with palpitation and shortness of breath. He was seen to have a massive pleural and pericardial effusion on radiography and echocardiography. Computed tomography (CT) scanning showed that cardiac tumors arose from the right atrium with epicardial and endocardial extension. Pathology examination of samples at pericardiotomy revealed them to be angiosarcoma. Two days after the surgery, he developed left hemiparesis. CT scans showed a large cerebral hemorrhage on the right temporal lobe with midline shift by brain metastases. He died 37 days after the surgery. At autopsy, he had metastases in the brain, multiple bones, and soft tissues but no lung or left-side heart involvement. Primary cardiac angiosarcoma is rare, and mostly arises from the right side of the heart. Common metastatic sites are the lungs and liver. There are only a few reports of brain metastases. In conclusion, this is a rare report of cardiac angiosarcoma presenting with pericardial tamponade. There were rapid brain and multiple bone metastases but no lung or left-side heart lesions.     

Undifferentiated pleomorphic sarcoma in the left atrium; report of a case

Primary cardiac sarcomas are rare. A 41-year-old woman complaining of dyspnea was admitted to our hospital. Echocardiography and computed tomography (CT) showed a primary cardiac tumor in the left atrium. During surgery, the tumor was noted to be arising from the anterior wall of the left atrium, under the aortic sinuses. Histological and immunohistochemical studies revealed an undifferentiated pleomorphic sarcoma. Eleven months later, echocardiography and CT showed recurrence of the cardiac sarcoma in the left atrium. The patient underwent wide resection of the left atrium and mitral valve replacement because the tumor extended to the mitral valve leaflet. The patient died 3 months after the 2nd surgery because of the 2nd recurrence of the cardiac sarcoma. Although most tumors that develop in the left atrium are benign myxomas, preoperative differential diagnosis is important. It is especially necessary to suspect a sarcoma in the case of a non-septal orgin of the mass.     

Floating ball thrombus in the left atrium with mitral stenosis

We report, a case of a floating ball thrombus in the left atrium with mitral stenosis in a 76-year-old woman. The patient had been followed-up at our hospital due to mitral valve stenosis for several years, and was recognized to have atrial fibrillation and a left atrial mural thrombus by echocardiography. She was admitted to our hospital for right cerebral infarction. Echocardiography showed a floating ball thrombus in the left atrium. After the treatment of cerebral infarction, she was referred to cardiac surgery, and a semi-urgent operation was performed. Removal of the ball thrombus and mitral valve replacement were performed simultaneously. The thrombus was single round, soft, relatively smooth surfaced, and about 30×30×30 mm in diameter. The postoperative course was uneventful. Left atrial ball thrombus appears to be uncommon. This is a rare case, in which it was documented that a pre-existing left atrial mural thrombus was thought to drop off spontaneously, to be a cerebral embolic source, and to develop into a ball thrombus in the left atrium.