• Journal of Chest Surgery
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• v.35 no.2
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• pp.113-117
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• 2002

With an increasing awareness of the limitations of both mechanical prostheses and bioprostheses, aortic valvuloplasty has gained attention as an alternative procedure for aortic valve disease. Material and Method: Eight consecutive patients underwent aortic valvuloplasty caused by leaflet prolapse between June 1799 to June 2000. Mean age of the patients was 18.4$\pm$12.6 year. Four paitents(50%) were male. Six patients had tricuspid valves and ventricular septal defect and two patients had bicuspid valves. The extent of aortic insufficiency was 3.5$\pm$0.5 by preoperative Doppler echocardiography. The technique involved triangular resection of the free edge of the prolapsed leaflet, annular plication at the commissure, and resection of a raphe when present in bicuspid valves. Result: There was no in-hospital mortality or morbidity. Mean follow-up was complete at 11.973.6months. There was no late mortality or morbidity. The amount of the severity of aortic insufficiency, as assessed by echocardiography preoperatively, postoperatively and at late follow-up was 3.5$\pm$0.5, 0.6$\pm$0.5 and 0.8$\pm$0.6, respectively(p value : 0.01). There was one patient with grade 2/4 aortic insufficiency and in the other patients, grade 1/2 or trivial aortic insufficiency were detected with late echocardiograms. Conclusion: Triangular resection in the patients with aortic leaflet prolapse offers a good early clinical result, but long-term follow-up is necessary.

• Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging
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• v.40 no.4
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• pp.200-204
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• 2006

Purpose: Determination of pulmonary to systemic blood flow ratio (QP/QS) is important for the management of patients with left-to-right shunt. This study was performed to assess the agreement of Qp/Qs ratio using the radionuclide method and oxymetry, to investigate the factors influencing the agreement, and to know how interchangeable the results of each technique. Materials and Methods: We compared the Qp/Qs measured by single-pass radionuclide angiocardiography and oxymetry during catheterization in 207 patients who underwent both studies. In radionuclide method, Qp/Qs was calculated from the pulmonary time-activity curves using a gamma variate fit. The correlation and Bland-Altman analysis were performed according to the levels of shunt and associated lesions. Results: The mean Qp/Qs was $1.83{\pm}0.50$ by radionuclide, and $1.74{\pm}0.51$ by oxymetry. The overall correlation coefficient was 0.86(p<0.001), and Bland-Altman range of agreement encompassing 4SD was 1.05. For atrial septal defect, ventricular septal defect, patent ductus arteriosus, tricuspid and mitral insufficiency, the correlation coefficient was 0.78, 0.90, 0.84, 0.63 and 0.44, and Bland-Altman range was 1.51, 0.74, 0.96, 1.57, and 1.50, respectively. Conclusion: There is good agreement but wide variance between the Qp/Qs ratios by radionuclide method and oxymetry. Associated atrioventricular valvar insufficiency decreases the correlation coefficient and widens the variance. Wide overall variance suggests that Qp/Qs measurements by two techniques should not be used interchangeably.

• Journal of Chest Surgery
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• v.36 no.11
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• pp.862-865
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• 2003

Obstructive intracardiac lesions, like mitral stenosis or insufficiency (MR), by myxomas of the left atrium have been commonly reported, but the attenuation of MR by myxoma combined with coronary artery disease is very rare. We report a 70-year-old female patient whose left atrial myxoma had attenuated moderate MR to mild MR and required mitral valve surgery after removal of the myxoma. She also had coronary artery disease, severe pulmonary hypertension and moderate tricuspid regurgitation due to the mitral valve lesions obstructed by myxoma. The patient underwent removal of myxoma, mitral and tricuspid valve reconstructions, and coronary artery bypass grafting. She was discharged at the postoperative 14 day without any problems.

• Journal of Chest Surgery
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• v.32 no.3
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• pp.262-269
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• 1999

Background: To review the middle and long term results of aortic valve replacement(AVR) for 11 years, we surveyed and followed up the patients who underwent AVR. Material and Method: Between Feb. 1986 and May 1997, 134 patients underwent AVR. The patients consisted of 71 men and 63 women whose mean age was 38.9 years, ranging from 17 to 70. Result: The concomitant operations were 62 mitral valve replacement(MVR), 14 MVR + tricuspid valve annuloplasty, 10 Cabrol operation, 16 aortic annulus widening, and so forth. We used 119 mechanical(75 St. Jude Medical, 38 CarboMedics, 6 Sorin) and 15 tissue (Carpentier-Edwards) valves. Early postoperative complications occurred in 35 cases; 9 congestive heart failure, 6 low cardiac output, 5 postoperative bleeding, 5 pleural effusion, and so forth. There were 13 early postoperative deaths(9.7%) due to low cardiac output(5), CHF (2), disseminated intravascular coagulopathy(2), and so forth. The cumulative total follow-up period was 452.7 patient-years with a mean of 3.4${\pm}$3.1 years/patient. There were 9 cases of valve-related complications; anticoagulant-related bleeding(4), prosthetic valve endocarditis(2), thromboembolism(2) and prosthetic valve failure(1) occured at rate of 0.9, 0.4, 0.4, 0.2%/ pt-yr, respectively. Late valve-related death occurred in 3 cases(2.0%/pt-yr) associated with anticoagulant-related bleeding(2) and prosthetic valve endocarditis(1). Conclusion: Actuarial survival rate by Kaplan-Meier method was 91.0${\pm}$4.3 % at 11 years.

• Clinical and Experimental Pediatrics
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• v.50 no.1
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• pp.47-51
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• 2007

Purpose : The early diagnosis of Kawasaki disease (KD) is difficult sometimes, especially in atypical or incomplete cases presenting 4 or less principal clinical features without coronary arterial lesions (coronary arterial ectasia or aneurysm). The authors investigated the incidence of echocardiographic abnormalities in patients with KD to discover whether abnormal echocardiographic findings might be helpful in the early diagnosis of KD. Methods : Echocardiography was done in the acute stage of 103 patients with KD (Kawasaki group) and 40 patients with other acute febrile illnesses (control group). Abnormal echocardiographic findings were classified into 4 categories and defined as follows; 1) significant pericardial effusion, 2) significant valvular dysfunctions, 3) left ventricular systolic dysfunction, 4) coronary arterial ectasia or aneurysm. Results : In the Kawasaki group, significant pericardial effusion was present in 24 patients (23.3 percent), significant valvular dysfunctions in 30 patients (29.1 percent), left ventricular systolic dysfunction in 10 patients (9.7 percent), and coronary arterial lesions in 27 patients (26.2 percent). In the control group, significant pericardial effusion was present in only one patient (2.5 percent). The number of patients with any one of echocardiographic abnormalities was 57 (55.3 percent) in Kawasaki group and one (2.5 percent) in control group. The sensitivity of echocardiography in the diagnosis of KD was 55.3 percent, the specificity 97.5 percent, the positive predictive value 98.3 percent, and the negative predictive value 45.9 percent. Conclusion : If abnormal echocardiographic findings, even if other than coronary arterial lesions, are confirmed in patients in whom KD is suspected, it seems desirable to inifiate specific treatment for KD.

• Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases
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• v.59 no.2
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• pp.170-178
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• 2005

Background : Idiopathic pulmonary arterial hypertension (IPAH) and chronic thromboembolic pulmonary hypertension (CTEPH) are rare but significantly imperative in inducing chronic pulmonary hypertension. Clinically, it is difficult to distinguish between IPAH and CTEPH. However, the treatment of pulmonary hypertension is different depending on the disease. The present study was performed to analyze the similarities and differences in clinical features between IPAH and CTEPH. Methods : During a nine-year period, thirty-three patients with IPAH and twenty-two patients with CTEPH were enrolled. Symptoms, physical findings, chest radiograph, electrocardiograph, pulmonary function test, echocardiograph, perfusion lung scan, right heart catheterization results were analyzed between both the groups. Results : The median age of IPAH group was 33 (6~70) years that was lower than that (52(27~80) years) of CTEPH group. Amongst the IPAH patients, there was female predominance (76 %) and there was no sex difference between the patients with CTEPH. Both the groups exhibited similarity in the results of chest radiograph, electrocardiograph, pulmonary function test, and echocardiograph. In the perfusion lung scan, all IPAH patients exhibited findings with normal (28%) or low probability (72%) of pulmonary embolism and all CTEPH patients exhibited findings with high probability of pulmonary embolism. Conclusion : Although IPAH and CTEPH bear similarities in terms of symptoms, physical signs and general investigation results, there were differences in age distribution, sex predominance and results of perfusion lung scan.

• Journal of Chest Surgery
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• v.36 no.9
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• pp.646-650
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• 2003

Many surgical techniques for ischemic mitral regurgitation (IMR) have been used with their excellent results and advantages. Here, we report our simple posterior annuloplasty techniques using vascular graft strip with their early results. Material and Method: Twenty two patients (13 male) underwent the operations for IMR (excluding the papillary muscle rupture) from December 2001 to January 2003. Preoperative risk factors were low ejection fraction (<35％, n=9), hypertension (n=13), diabetes (n=9), and renal failure (Cr>2.5, n=4). The wide dissection beneath the both vena cavae and interatrial groove after bicaval cannulation enabled the easy exposure of mitral valve even in the small left atrium. After eight or nine interrupted sutures in posterior annulus for anchoring the 6 mm width vascular graft strip, symmetric (n=8) or asymmetric (n=14) annuloplasty were done. Combined surgeries were CABG (n=21), Dor procedures (n=3), tricuspid valve annuloplasty (n=1), Maze operation (n=1), and aorto-right subclavian artery bypass (n=1). Result: Except for one surgical mortality, all the patients were doing well and the mean grade of regurgitation was decreased from 2.95 to 0.88, however the ejection fraction had not changed significantly just before discharge. Post-operative valve function evaluated before discharge revealed no residual regurgitation in 8 (including 1 patient with mild stenosis due to over reduction), minimal in 11, mild in 2, and mild to moderate regurgitation in 1. One patient who had ischemic cardiomyopathy and renal failure died of the arrhythmia during the hemodialysis. Conclusion: These observations suggest that the annuloplasty with vascular graft strip could be a safe and cost effective techniques for ischemic mitral regurgitation. However, the long term evaluation for the mitral valve function should be defined for the final conclusion.

• Journal of Chest Surgery
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• v.35 no.12
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• pp.862-870
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• 2002

The surgical results of the patients with single ventricle(SV) associated with total anomalous pulmonary venous connection(TAPVC) has been reported with high mortality and morbidity due to their morphologic and hemodynamic complexity. A retrospective review was undertaken to report the outcome of the first-stage palliative surgery in our institution and to determine the factors influencing early death. Material and Method: Between January 1987 and June 2002, 39 patients with SV and TAPVC underwent surgical intervention with or without TAPVC repair. Age at operation ranged from 1day to 10.7months (median age, 2.4month), and 29 patients were male. Preoperative diagnosis included 20 right-dominant SV, 15 SV with endocardial cushion defect, 3 left-dominant SV, and 1 tricuspid atresia. The pulmonary venous connection was supracardiac in 22, cardiac in 5, infracardiac in 11, and mixed in 1, Obstructed TAPVC was present in 11. First-stage palliative surgery was performed in 37. Repair of TAPVC, either alone or in association with other procedures, was performed during the initial operation in 31. Univariate and multivariate analyses were performed to analyze the risk factors influencing the operative death. Result: A mean follow-up period of survivors was 34.3 $\pm$ 43.0(0.53 ~ 146.2)months. Overall early operative mortality was 43.6%(17/39). The causes were low cardiac output in 8, failure of weaning from cardiopulmonary bypass in 3, sepsis in 2, pulmonary hypertensive crisis in 1, pulmonary edema in 1, pneumonia in 1, and postoperative arrhythmia in 1. Risk factors influencing early death in univariate analysis were body weight, surgical intervention in neonate, obstructive TAPVC, preoperative conditions including metabolic acidosis, and need for inotropic support, TAPVC repair in initial operation, operative time, and cardiopulmonary bypass(CPB) time. In multivariable analysis, body weight, age at initial operation, surgical intervention in neonate, preoperative conditions including metabolic acidosis, need for inotropic support and CPB time were the risk factors. Conclusion: In this study, we demonstrated that the patients with SV and TAPVC had high perioperative mortality. Preoperative poor condition, young age, the length of operative and CPB time, the presence of obstructive TAPVC had been proven to be the risk factors. This fact suggests that the avoidance of unnecessarily additional procedures may improve the surgical outcomes of the first-stage palliative surgery. However further observation and collection of the data is mandatory to determine the ideal surgical strategy.

• Journal of Chest Surgery
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• v.42 no.3
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• pp.305-310
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• 2009

Background: The Ross procedure is known as a good surgical option for a young age group with aortic valve problems, but few reports on the Ross procedure are available in the Korean literature. This study is a review of our midterm results of 10 year experience with the pediatric Ross operation in Asan Medical Center. Material and Method: From March 1997 to October 2008, eighteen patients who were aged less than 16 years underwent the Ross procedure. There were 11 males and 7 females. The patients median age was 8.5 years (range: $0.5\sim14.0$). The aortic valve pathophysiology was 6 patients with aortic insufficiency, 4 patients with aortic stenosis, 7 patients with mixed aortic stenoinsufficiencey and 1 patient with infective endocarditis. The valve morphology was bicuspid in 11 and tricuspid in 7. All the patients were operated on with the root replacement technique. All the pumonic valves were replaced with an allograft except for one pericardial monocusp valve. The mean follow up duration was 52.8 months (range: 5.8$\sim$138.2 months). We reviewed the echocardiographic data with focusing on the, auto-graft dysfunction and reoperation. Result: There was no hospital mortality and late mortality. According to the last echocardiographic data, 2 autografts showed aortic regurgitation grade 2, 4 autografts showed aortic regurgitation grade 1 and the others were less than trivial. Reoperation of the pulmonic position conduit was performed 4 times in three patients. The rate of freedom from reoperation at 5 years was 72.2%. On the serial follow up, the Z-values of the aortic annulus/aortic sinus were changed from $1.6{\pm}1.7/0.9{\pm}1.7$ at preoperation to $1.8{\pm}1.6$(p=0.64)/$2.2{\pm}0.9$ (p=0.01) at the last follow-up. There was no significant relation between the growth of the neoaortic root and neoaortic insufficiency. Conclusion: Our midterm results of the Ross procedure in pediatric patients showed good autograft function and growth potential. Vet reoperation due to allograft dysfunction was a major concern.

• Journal of Chest Surgery
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• v.38 no.3 s.248
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• pp.214-220
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• 2005

Extended transseptal approach can provide an excellent view of the mitral valve but the safety of this approach is controversial because this incision requires transaction of the sinus node artery, which in most cases and can result postoperative arrhythmia. The purpose of this study was to evaluate perioperative and longterm conduction disturbances and the cardiac rhythms of patients who underwent an extended transseptal approach for mitral valve surgery. Material and Method: Postoperative cardiac rhythms were analyzed in the 164 consecutive patients who received mitral valve replacements with a extended transseptal approach between March 1992 and July 2003. Result: Of the 84 patients in normal sinus rhythm, 34 ($39\%$) had developed transient junctional rhythm and atrial fibrillation after operation, lasting less than 72 hours in most of cases. No intractable arrhythmias occurred. Most of these arrhythmia were not detected at the time of discharge and only 8 patients ($9\%$) had atrial fibrillation at discharge. Postoperative PR intervals increased for 1 week, then decreased within 2 weeks postoperatively, and returned to normal range by 6 months postoperatively. During the postoperative period, 4 of the 78 patients with preoperative atrial fibrillation developed normal sinus thythm. Conclusion: The post-operative arrhythmias were temporary and showed no significant complications after extended transseptal approach for the mitral valve surgery.