Significance of intraoperative monitoring of arterial blood flow velocity and hepatic venous oxygen saturation for performing minimally invasive surgery in a patient with multiple calcified pancreaticoduodenal aneurysms with celiac artery occlusion

Even for patients with multiple pancreaticoduodenal aneurysms, successful treatment with noninvasive operative procedures can be employed, if intraoperative devices are considered. A 73‐year‐old man, without any symptoms, was admitted to our hospital and had computed tomography (CT) scanning to examine his liver for hepatitis C virus (HCV). Selective superior mesenteric artery (SMA) angiography confirmed multiple aneurysms in the anterior inferior pancreaticoduodenal artery (AIPDA), one aneurysm in the posterior inferior mesenteric artery (PIPDA), and another in the occluded celiac trunk, all with severe calcification. All of the aneurysms were thought to communicate with each other. With the celiac artery occlusion, the right hepatic artery (RHA) was revealed to be supplied by collateral arteries from the aneurysms in the AIPDA, and the left hepatic artery was shown to be supplied by collaterals from the left gastric artery. Intraoperative Doppler echography, at the time of the clamping of both IPDAs, demonstrated a marked decrease of blood velocity in all aneurysms (before clamping, >50 cm/s; after, <10 cm/s), although loss of pulsation and a marked decrease of flow in the RHA were inevitable. Therefore, each of these two IPDAs were ligated on the proximal side to the aneurysm, thus preserving the blood flow of the pancreas head fed by the PIPDA; bypass grafting from the AIPDA to the RHA, using the great saphenous vein, was done at the same time. After the creation of an anastomosis, the hepatic venous oxygen saturation (ShvO2) increased from 38% (at the time of ligation of the IPDAs) to 57% under ventilation. The patient's postoperative clinical course was uneventful. We describe and discuss our successful noninvasive operative management of multiple pancreaticoduodenal aneurysms, done while monitoring the blood flow and ShvO2, with some consideration of the literature.     

MR measurement of visceral fat: assessment of metabolic syndrome.

One diagnostic criterion for metabolic syndrome is obesity from the accumulation of visceral fat; others include abdominal circumference and area of visceral fat as measured by computed tomography (CT) at the umbilical level. We evaluated visceral fat using frequency-selective excitation magnetic resonance (MR) imaging SPAIR (spectral attenuation with inversion recovery) water suppression THRIVE (3D T1-high resolution isotropic volume examination). Fifty of 70 slices with 2-mm interval were used to render and measure volume of visceral fat ranging within 10 cm of the umbilicus; the area of visceral fat at the umbilical level was also measured. Imaging was completed using breath hold within 14 s. Image processing was easier than using CT.     

Effects of gender on prognosis of patients with known or suspected coronary artery disease undergoing contrast-enhanced dobutamine stress echocardiography.

BACKGROUND: Gender differences in the predictors of outcome among patients with known or suspected coronary artery disease (CAD) undergoing contrast-enhanced dobutamine stress echocardiography (CE-DSE) have not been completely determined. METHODS AND RESULTS: Follow-up (30+/-17 months) data for 581 men and 309 women with known or suspected CAD who underwent CE-DSE (mean age: 66 years) were obtained. Hard cardiac events included cardiac death and nonfatal myocardial infarction. Total cardiac events included hard cardiac events, unstable angina, congestive heart failure, and late revascularization (>3 months). Cardiac events occurred in 123 male and 50 female patients. Positive results for CE-DSE were associated with worse prognosis in both men and women (2-year total event free rate: 73.5% vs 88.2% in men, p<0.0001, 80.3% vs 91.3% in women, p<0.01). Addition of CE-DSE results, including abnormal left ventricular end-systolic volume response and left ventricular ejection fraction at peak stress <50%, to the clinical and rest echocardiography model provided incremental information for predicting total cardiac events (increase in chi-square value for the model from 60 to 72, p<0.001) in men and (increase in chi-square value for the model from 17 to 32, p<0.001) in women. CONCLUSIONS: CE-DSE provides incremental information for predicting future cardiac events in both men and women.     

Gene polymorphism of myospryn (cardiomyopathy-associated 5) is associated with left ventricular wall thickness in patients with hypertension.

We examined a gene polymorphism of a novel Z-disc-related protein, myospryn (cardiomyopathy-associated 5). We focused on one haplotype block associated with a tag single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) that covered 16 of 27 coding SNPs with linkage disequilibrium (minor allele frequency 0.413). Screening a myospryn polymorphism (K2906N) in a general health check-up of a rural Japanese population revealed an association with cardiac diseases (p=0.0082). In further analysis of the interaction between K2906N and cardiac function in patients, K2906N was associated with the anteroseptal wall thickness of the left ventricle in a recessive model (p=0.0324) and with the ratio of the peak velocity of the early diastolic filling wave to the peak velocity of atrial filling (A/E) (p=0.0278). In an association study based on left ventricular wall thickness, we found a significant difference in the K2906N genotype between controls and patients with cardiac hypertrophy. These results suggest that the K2906N polymorphism could be clinically associated with left ventricular hypertrophy and diastolic dysfunction independent of known parameters. Although the precise mechanism underlying this association remains to be elucidated, treatment with angiotensin II induced an increase in heart myospryn mRNA level in vitro and in vivo. Our results suggest that the polymorphism of myospryn is associated with left ventricular hypertrophy, and an association between a Z-disc protein and cardiac adaptation in response to pressure overload.     

Alterations of nuclear pores in preneoplastic and neoplastic rat liver lesions induced by 2-acetylaminofluorene

The nuclear pore density and area were measured on freeze-fracturednuclei of ACI/N rat liver altered foci, adenomas and carcinomasinduced by 2-acetylaminofluorene, and compared with those ofnormal hepatocytes. The pore density of nuclei from these preneoplasticand neoplastic lesions was significantly higher than that ofhepatocytes, but there was no difference between lesions. Thearea of nuclear pores of the focus cells did not differ fromnormal hepatocytes, whereas the areas of pores of adenoma andcarcinoma cells were increased. Moreover, the nuclear pore areaof carcinomas was significantly greater than that of adenomas.These results suggest that some changes may occur in nuclearpores in the progress of tumorigenesis.     

Disc and condyle translation in patients with temporomandibular disorder.

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to elucidate causal relationship between disc and condyle range of movement and clinical signs and symptoms in patients with temporomandibular disorders (TMD), using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). STUDY DESIGN: The subjects comprised of a study group of 191 patients with TMD and a control group of 43 asymptomatic patients. The clinical assessment consisted of range of maximum mouth opening (MMO) and preauricular pain during mandibular function. After clinical and radiographic findings assessment, disc and condyle condition were examined by MRI and the range of movement was accordingly classified. RESULTS: Disc displacement was observed in 156/191 (81.7%) of the study group and 9/43 (20.9%) of the control group. When disc and condyle mobility was presented around the eminence, wider MMO range was maintained, P < .05. Presence of osteoarthrosis (OA) was not correlated with preauricular pain, because OA variables were mild in the study group. CONCLUSION: Maintenance of disc/condyle translation is an important factor in TMJ function, irrespective of disc displacement or arthritis.     

Clinical characteristics of thrombotic microangiopathy following ABO incompatible living donor liver transplantation.

Thrombotic microangiopathy (TMA) may develop after living donor liver transplantation (LDLT), but the mechanism is not fully understood. We retrospectively analyzed all patients undergoing LDLT at our center, including TMA patients, to elucidate the clinical characteristics and presentation and to determine which patients have a higher risk of occurrence of TMA. In all, 57 adult patients were reviewed after LDLT at our institution. TMA was diagnosed by sudden and severe thrombocytopenia, followed by hemolytic anemia with fractionated erythrocytes in the blood smear. Clinical features were compared between the TMA group and the non-TMA group. Of the 57 patients, 4 were diagnosed with posttransplantation TMA. ABO blood group (ABO)-incompatibility, cyclophosphamide (CPA), and recipient blood group (type O) were closely correlated with the occurrence of TMA. Thrombocytopenia appeared 1 to 5 days before hemolytic anemia. Coagulative function markers stayed at the same level after TMA, while marked elevation was shown in fibrinolytic function markers such as plasminogen activator inhibitor type 1 (PAI-1). TMA occurred at a higher prevalence in ABO-incompatible graft recipients. Additional factors associated with ABO-incompatible transplantation, such as an overdose of immunosuppressants, may affect the likelihood of TMA. Sudden and severe thrombocytopenia presented before hemolytic anemia and the serum levels of PAI-1 correlated well with the clinical course of TMA. In conclusion, early recognition of thrombocytopenia and elevation of PAI-1 is crucial to diagnose TMA especially in ABO-incompatible LDLT.     

Changes in the volume and histology of retractile testes in prepubertal boys

Testicular development was studied in prepubertal boys with retractile testes. Testicular volume, the diameter of the seminiferous tubules and the number of spermatogonia in the tubules were decreased in cases of unilateral retractile testis, when compared with values for the contralateral normally descended testis. On the other hand, in patients with a unilateral retractile testis and contralateral inguinal testis, there was no difference in the developmental parameters between the two testes. These results suggest that the retractile testis has developmental failures characteristic of a cryptorchid testis and therefore requires orchiopexy.