• Journal of Chest Surgery
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• v.39 no.12 s.269
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• pp.939-942
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• 2006

Acute mesenteric ischemia after cardiac surgery is a serious complication associated with high mortality. Superior mesenteric artery is most commonly affected artery. Acute obstruction of mesenteric artery generally has an unfavorable prognosis because of late diagnosis. The keys to a successful outcome are early diagnosis and appropriate operative intervention. We successfully treated a patient with acute mesenteric ischemia after aortic valve replacement. Therefore, we report a case with a review of articles.

• Journal of Chest Surgery
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• v.34 no.3
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• pp.252-255
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• 2001

본 30세 여환은 류마치스성 심장판막질환 진단하네 승모판막 및 대동맥판막 치환술 시행후 종격동염 발생하여 지속적 종격동 세척 및 3주간의 항생제 치료후 퇴원하였다. 외래 추적중 다시 감염 및 염증소견 보여 입원하여 혈액배양검사와 흉부전산화 단층촬영시행하였다. 검사상 종격동염의 이후 3주간의 항생제 치료에도 염증 소견이 지속되어 다시 시행한 흉부 전산화단층촬영상 상행대동맥에 거대 가성대동맥류소견보여 재개흉술을 시행하여 초저체온 완전 순환정지 하에 가성대동맥류를 절제한 후, 우심낭편을 이용하여 대동맥 성형술을 시행하였다. 수술후 환자는 순조롭게 회복하였으며 현재 외래에서 추적관리하고 있다.

• Journal of Chest Surgery
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• v.33 no.8
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• pp.643-647
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• 2000

From March 1988 to June 1994, 275 CarboMedics cardiac valve prostheses(199 mitral, 70 aortic and 3 tricuspid) were implanted in 226 consecutive patients(mean age 39 years, male/female 90/136) by one surgical team operating on adult cardiac patients at Kyungpook University Hospital. Total follow up represented 16,848 patient-months(mean 76 months) and follow up rate was 96%. One hundred and forty-nine patients(66%) wer in NYHA functional class III or IV preoperatively, and 204 patients(99.5%) were in class I or II postoperatively. Early mortality was 4.9% and late death was 9.3%. The actuarial survival at 81 months was 86.l2$\pm$3.1%. The linearized incidence of valve-related death, prosthetic valve thrombosis, anticoagulation-related hemorrhage, non-structural dysfunction and reoperation were 0.71%, 0.43%, 0.07%, 0.21%, and 0.14% respectively. The 81-month rate of freedom from all valve related complications and deaths including hospital mortality was 88.1$\pm$2.5%. Thee facts suggest that the CarboMedics cardiac valve has excellent result, low incidence of valve-related complications and no structureal deterioration.

• Journal of Chest Surgery
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• v.31 no.12
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• pp.1172-1182
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• 1998

Background: Primary goal of anticoagulation treatment in patients with mechanical heart valve is the effective prevention of thromboembolism and safe avoidance of bleeding as well. Material and Method: Two-hundred and nine patients with the St. Jude Medical prosthesis operated on between 1984 and 1995, for mitral(MVR 122), aortic(AVR 39) and double mitral and aortic valve replacement(DVR 48) respectively, were studied on the practically achieved levels of anticoagulation and the clinical outcomes. Patients were on Coumadin and followed up by monthly visit to outpatient clinic for examination and prothrombin time measurement to adjust the International Normalized Ratios(INRs) within the low-intensity target range between 1.5 and 2.5. Result: A total anticoagulation follow-up period was 1082.0 patient- years(mean 62.1 months) and INRs of 10,205 measurements were available for evaluation. The accomplished INRs among the replacement groups were not significantly different and only 65% of INRs were within the target range. And, in individual patients, only 37% of patients had INRs included within the target range in more than 70% of tests during follow-up period. The levels of INRs in patients with atrial fibrillation, which was found in 57% of patients, were definitely higher than the ones measured in patients with regular rhythm(p<0.001). Thromboembolisms were experienced by 15 patients with the incidence of 1.265%/patient- year(MVR 1.412%, AVR 0.462% and DVR 1.531%/patient-year) and major bleeding by 4 patients with the incidence of 0.337%/patient-year(MVR 0.424%, AVR none and DVR 0.383%/patient-year). Frequent as well as prolonged missing of prothrombin time tests was the main risk factor strongly associated with the thromboembolic complications(odds ratio 1.99). The proportion of INRs within target range of less than 60% in individual patient was the highly significant risk factor of both thromboembolic and overall embolic and bleeding complications(p<0.004 and p<0.002 respectively). Conclusion: In conclusion, the low-intensity therapeutic target range of INRs was adequate in patients with AVR and in sinus rhythm. However, the patients with replacement of the mitral valve were more likely to require higher target range of INRs, especially in the presence of atrial fibrillation, to achieve the practical levels of anticoagulation enough to prevent thromboembolic complications effectively. For the higher therapeutic target range of INRs between 2.0∼3.0, further accumulation of clinical evidences are required. It is highly desirable to improve the patients' compliance under continuous instructions in visiting outpatient clinic and in taking daily Coumadin without omission and to keep INRs consistently within optimal range with tight control for minimization of chances and of periods of exposure to the risk of complications. And, particularly, patients with high risk of complications and with wide fluctuation of INRs should be better managed with frequent monitoring anticoagulation levels.

• Journal of Chest Surgery
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• v.38 no.11 s.256
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• pp.746-760
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• 2005

Background: Following the implantation of heart valve prostheses, it is important to maintain therapeutic INR to reduce the risk of thromboembolism. The objectives of this study were to determine the causes of nontherapeutic INRs, and to identify the factors associated with nonadherences to warfarin therapy in Korean outpatients with prosthetic heart valves managed by a pharmacist-run anticoagulation service (ACS). Material and Method: A retrospective chart review was completed for all patients enrolled in the ACS at Seoul National University Hospital from March, 1997b to September, 2000. The data on 868 patients (5,304 visits) who were at least 6 months post-valve replacement were included. All possible causes of nontherapeutic INRs were documented for each patient visit. The association of covariates to noncompliance was investigated by univariate analysis. Result: The reasons for nontherapeutic INRs were identified as follows: inadequate dosage adjustment $(21\%)$, nonadherences to dosing regimen $(13\%)$, drug/herbal interactions $(12\%)$, changes in diet $(7\%)$, and indeterminate cause $(42\%)$. Younger age, shorter duration of ACS and longer duration of warfarin therapy were associated with nonadherence. Conclusion: In this study, nonadherence and interactions between diet and medications were found to be important factors influencing nontherapeutic INRs. Longer duration of enrollment in the ACS affected the adherence to warfarin therapy Positively whereas younger age and longer duration of warfarin therapy affected negatively.

• Journal of Chest Surgery
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• v.40 no.9
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• pp.600-606
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• 2007

Background: Infective endocarditis shows high surgical mortality and morbidity rates, especially for aortic endocarditis. This study attempts to investigate the clinical characteristics and operative results of isolated aortic endocarditis. Material and Method: From July 1990 to May 2005, 25 patients with isolated aortic endocarditis (Group I, male female=18 : 7, mean age $43.2{\pm}18.6$ years) and 23 patients with isolated mitral endocarditis (Group II, male female=10 : 13, mean age $43.2{\pm}17.1$ years) underwent surgical treatment in our hospital. All the patients had native endocarditis and 7 patients showed a bicuspid aortic valve in Group I. Two patients had prosthetic valve endocarditis and one patients developed mitral endocarditis after a mitral valvuloplasty in Group II. Positive blood cultures were obtained from 11 (44.0%) patients in Group I, and 10 (43.3%) patients in Group II, The pre-operative left ventricular ejection fraction for each group was $60.8{\pm}8.7%$ and $62.1{\pm}8.1%$ (p=0.945), respectively. There was moderate to severe aortic regurgitation in 18 patients and vegetations were detected in 17 patients in Group I. There was moderate to severe mitral regurgitation in 19 patients and vegetations were found in 18 patients in Group II. One patient had a ventricular septal defect and another patient underwent a Maze operation with microwaves due to atrial fibrillation. We performed echocardiography before discharge and each year during follow-up. The mean follow-up period was $37.2{\pm}23.5$ (range $9{\sim}123$) months. Result: Postoperative complications included three cases of low cardiac output in Group I and one case each of re-surgery because of bleeding and low cardiac output in Group II. One patient died from an intra-cranial hemorrhage on the first day after surgery in Group I, but there were no early deaths in Group II. The 1, 3-, and 5-year valve related event free rates were 92.0%, 88.0%, and 88.0% for Group I patients, and 91.3%, 76.0%, and 76.0% for Group II patients, respectively. The 1, 3-, and 5-year survival rates were 96.0%, 96.0%, and 96.0% for Group I patients, and foo%, 84.9%, and 84.9% for Group II patients, respectively. Conclusion: Acceptable surgical results and mid-term clinical results for aortic endocarditis were seen.

• Journal of Chest Surgery
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• v.38 no.4 s.249
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• pp.319-322
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• 2005

A 45 year-old man who suffered with palpitation and dyspnea for 3 years visited our hospital. He was dianosed as mitral insufficieny due to isolated cleft mitral valve in anterior mitral leaflet on the basis of transthoracic echocardiogram In our case edges of the cleft were relatively thin and smooth. The entire length of the cleft was sutured with 5-0 Prolene? interrupted sutures. We report a case of direct suture repair in a patient with isolated cleft in anterior mitral valve leaflet.

• Journal of Chest Surgery
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• v.41 no.6
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• pp.755-758
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• 2008

We report here on a case of performing a redo-operation for a 65-years-old male patient who had prosthetic endocarditis after reconstruction of the fibrous skeleton due to infective endocarditis 8 years earlier. An aortic annular abscess with a 1cm sized subvalvular abscess and mobile mitral valve vegetation with destruction of the fibrous skeleton was shown on the preoperative echocardiography. An emergency operation was performed due to heart failure. Reconstruction of both the aortic and mitral annuli and the fibrous skeleton was done by using two separate bovine pericardial patches and then mechanical valves were implanted. The postoperative echocardiography shows no paravalvular leakage. The patient has been followed up with no symptoms.

• Journal of Chest Surgery
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• v.34 no.4
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• pp.322-328
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• 2001

배경: 우심실 유출로 재건술후에는 폐동맥판막부전이 우심실기능에 나쁜 영향을 미친다. 이를 막기 위해 여러 재료로 판막을 제조하여 사용하는데 가피 형성이 적은 막형 ePTEE(expanded polytetrafluoroethylene, Goretex) 단엽판막의 효과를 알아보고자 연구를 시행하였다. 대상 및 방법; 1996년 3월부터 1997년 2월까지 우심실유출로 재건술을 시행받고 수술 1일까지 우심실 압력을 측정할 수 있었던 47명중 막형 Goretex단엽판막을 사용한 환자(비교군) 19명, 사용하지 않은 환자(대조군) 28명에서 단엽판막의 유용성을 조사하였다. 두 군간에는 나이, 체중 그리고 McGoon ratio 등에는 통계학적 차이가 없었다.(p>0.05) 이전의 수술은 대조군에서 19번, 비교군에서 22번을 시행하였다. 우심실 유출로에 대한 수술은 대조군에서 REV수술 2예, 우심실폐동맥 연결수술 8예, 우심실 유출로 재개건술 2예, 우심실 유출로에 대한 수술은 대조군에서 16예였으며, 비교군에서는 REV 수술 5예, Rastelli 씨 수술 6예, 재우심실 유출로 재건술 5예, 그리고 우심실 재건술 3예였다. 결과: 대동맥 차단 시간이나 총심폐순환시간에는 두군간의 차이는 없었다. 또한 수술직후와 수술후 1일째 측정한 우심실 압력 및 좌심방압력의 차이도 두군간에는 차이가 없었으며 수술후 7일째 시행한 심에코도 결과 ejection fraction., 우심실/ 좌심실 압력비 , 그리고 우심실 유출로의 압력차, 강심제 투여일수, 호흡기 사용 기간 등에서도 두군간의 차이는 없었으나 흉관 삽입기간이 비교군에서 의미있게 짧았다. 추적 조사 기간 중 비교군 1예에서 사망을 하였으나. Goretex 단엽판막에 의한 것은 아니였으며 심초음파검사상 우심실 유출로 압력차이나 재수술은 두군간에 차이는 없었으나 폐동맥 폐쇄부전은 비교군에서 의미 있게 낮은 것을 보이고 있다. 결론; 막형 Goretex 단엽판막의 조기성적은 우수하였으며 폐동맥 폐쇄분전의 정도를 적게 하는 효과를 보이나 앞으로 이들이 성장함에 따라 우심실 유출로에 폐쇄를 일으키는지는 계속적인 추적관찰이 요구된다.

• Journal of Chest Surgery
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• v.30 no.9
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• pp.891-898
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• 1997

Between May 1984 and January 1996, 130 patients were replaced cardiac valve using 150 St. Jude Medical prosthetic valves(42 aortic, 68 mitral, 20 aortic and mitral valve replycements). Follow-up was 97.6% complete. The early mortality rate was 5.4%, and late mortality rate was 4.9%. The valve-related late mortality rate was 3.3%. Of late complications, there were 6 anticoagulant related hemorrhages, 4 thromboembolisms and 1 paravalvular leakage. Linearized rates of late complication and valve-related late mortality were as follows: total late complications, .1.68o per patient-year: anticoagulant related hemorrhages, 0.92% per patient-year: thromboembolism, 0.61% per patient-year: paravalvular leakage, 0.15% per patient-year: reoperation, 0.15% per patient-year: and valve-related late mortalities, 0.61% per patient-year. Actuar al event free rate at 10 years was 87.4 $\pm$ 3.2%. The overall actuarial survival rate was 90.4$\pm$2.7% at 5 years, 87.5$\pm$3.3% at 10 years. Ninety eight percent of the survivors were in the New York Heart Association functional class I or II at the end of follow-up. There was significant improvement of cardiothoracic ratio. In conclusion, this study suggests the excellent durability of the St. Jude Medical Heart valve and remarkable functional benefit for the majority of the patients. However, prosthesisrelated complications are still common. Outcome is strongly related to the patient's preoperative cardiac condition and to the adequacy of anticoagulation control.