• Journal of the Korean Society of Radiology
• /
• v.81 no.5
• /
• pp.1204-1209
• /
• 2020

Cases of undifferentiated pleomorphic sarcoma of the thoracic aorta are rare, and usually present with embolic events, renovascular hypertension, or back pain. Mural-based undifferentiated pleomorphic sarcomas that present as ruptured saccular aneurysms are extremely rare and are difficult to differentiate from mycotic aneurysms or penetrating atherosclerotic ulcers. Herein, we report a case of histopathologically proven undifferentiated pleomorphic sarcoma arising from the wall of the descending thoracic aorta that manifested as a mass after thoracic endovascular aortic repair for the treatment of a ruptured saccular aneurysm. We present findings obtained by CT and PET to provide helpful information for the accurate diagnosis and appropriate treatment of future cases.

• Journal of Chest Surgery
• /
• v.53 no.6
• /
• pp.353-360
• /
• 2020

Background: Most abdominal aortic aneurysms are degenerative atherosclerotic aneurysms. Inflammatory or infected abdominal aortic aneurysms, which show a slightly different clinical course, are rarely encountered in clinical settings. Therefore, we aimed to investigate the clinical course of these variants of abdominal aortic aneurysms. Methods: This retrospective study included 32 patients with atypical inflammatory or infected abdominal aortic aneurysms who underwent emergent graft replacement between November 1997 and December 2017. Patients were followed up at the outpatient clinic for a mean period of 4.9±6.9 years. We analyzed the patients' clinical course and compared it with that of patients with atherosclerotic abdominal aortic aneurysms. Results: There was 1 surgical mortality (3.0%) in a case complicated by aneurysmal free rupture. In 2 cases of infected abdominal aortic aneurysms, anastomotic complications developed immediately postoperatively. During the follow-up period, 10 patients (30%) developed graft complications, and 9 of them underwent reoperations; of these, 2 patients (22.2%) died of postoperative complications after the second operation, whereas 2 patients survived despite graft occlusion. Conclusion: Patients with inflammatory abdominal aneurysms frequently develop postoperative graft complications requiring secondary surgical treatment, so they require close mandatory postoperative follow-up.

• Journal of Chest Surgery
• /
• v.49 no.1
• /
• pp.42-45
• /
• 2016

Thrombosis at the left ventricular outflow tract occurs without any detectable heart disease or predisposing factors only extremely rarely. A 48-year-old male visited Konkuk University Medical Center with loss of consciousness one month prior to presentation. Before he visited our hospital, he had been diagnosed with a cardiac tumor, which was located between the left atrium and posterior aortic root, and which was adjacent to both the aortic and mitral valves. Cardiac transplantation was recommended at the other hospital because of the high risk of cardiac dysfunction induced by both aortic and mitral valvular dysfunction after surgical resection. Based on preoperative transthoracic echocardiography, cardiac computed tomography, cardiac magnetic resonance imaging, and intraoperative transesophageal echocardiography, we considered it to be a benign tumor. Complete resection was achieved and the pathology confirmed organizing thrombus. We report a case of organizing thrombus mimicking a cardiac tumor, which was located at the mitral-aortic intervalvular fibrosa of the left ventricular outflow tract without any heart disease.

• Journal of Chest Surgery
• /
• v.45 no.5
• /
• pp.330-333
• /
• 2012

Aortoenteric fistula is a rare but potentially fatal condition causing massive gastrointestinal bleeding. In particular, double primary aortoenteric fistulae are vanishingly rare. We encountered a 75-year-old male patient suffering from abdominal pain, hematochezia, hematemesis, and hypotension. His computed tomography images showed abdominal aortic aneurysm and suspected aortoenteric fistulae. During surgery, we found two primary aortoenteric fistulae. The one fistula was detected between the abdominal aorta and the third portion of the duodenum, and the other fistula was detected between the abdominal aorta and the sigmoid colon. We conducted the closure of the fistulae, the exclusion of the aneurysm, and axillo-bifemoral bypass with a polytetrafluoroethylene graft. The patient was discharged with no complications on the 21st postoperative day.

• Journal of Chest Surgery
• /
• v.39 no.3 s.260
• /
• pp.194-200
• /
• 2006

Background: Thoracoabdominal aortic replacement is an extensive operation that opens both the pleural cavity and abdominal cavity, which has high mortality and morbidity rate. The authors have reported 9 cases of the thoracoabdominal aortic replacement in 2001. Since 2003 we have applied the deep hypothermic circulatory arrest to the Crawford type I and II thoracoabdominal aortic replacement. Therefore, we analysed the effect of the changes in operative techniques. Material and Method: Between 1996 and 2005, we have performed 20 cases of thoracoabdominal aortic replacement. The underlying diseases were 8 cases of atherosclerotic aneurysm with 4 cases of ruptured aneurysm and 12 cases of aortic dissection with 10 cases of a previous operations. According to Crawford classification, there were 2 cases of type I, 7 cases of type II, 1 case of type III, 7 cases of type IV, and 3 cases of type V. We compaired the results of the patients who underwent thoracoabdmoninal replacement before 2001 which already has been reported and after then. Result: Before 2001 we have performed 9 cases of thoracoabdominal replacement and 5 patients were died of the operation. All three patients with type I and II were died. There was no case of thoracoabdominal replacement between 2001 and 2002, but after 2003 we have performed 11 cases of thoracoabdominal replacement which involved 1 case of type I, 5 cases of type II, 1 case of type III, 2 cases of type IV and 2 cases of type V. There was no mortality and no fetal complications. Conclusion: The deep hypothermic circulatory arrest is a safe method of extended thoracoabdominal aortic replacement.

• Journal of Chest Surgery
• /
• v.43 no.6
• /
• pp.758-763
• /
• 2010

In current era, thoracic endovascular aortic repair (TEVAR) has gained popularity. But, it bears the risk of serious complications such as treatment failure from endoleak, retrograde aortic dissection caused by injury of aortic wall at landing zone, or aortic rupture resulting from stent graft infection. We report two cases of surgical repair of retrograde aortic dissection after TAVAR applied to acute Stanford type B aortic dissection or traumatic aortic disruption.

• Journal of Chest Surgery
• /
• v.52 no.5
• /
• pp.376-379
• /
• 2019

Concomitant Loeys-Dietz syndrome (LDS) and hematologic malignancies are exceptionally rare. This is the first report of a patient operated on for aortic root dilation who had been previously diagnosed with LDS and B-cell-lymphoma. After completion of chemotherapy and complete remission, an elective valve-sparing aortic root replacement (using the David-V method) was performed. Due to the positive family history, preoperative genetic counseling was conducted, and revealed LDS with a TGFBR1 (transforming growth factor beta receptor type I) mutation in 6 probands of the family, albeit in 1 of them posthumously. This missense mutation has been previously described in relation to aortic dissection, but a causative relationship to malignancy has so far neither been proposed nor proven.

• Journal of Chest Surgery
• /
• v.42 no.4
• /
• pp.524-527
• /
• 2009

A stent graft has been accepted as an alternative method for treating aortic diseases or to reduce the extent of surgery. We report here on a one-stage Management of Ascending Aorta Replacement and Percutaneous Endovascular Repair for the seperate aneurysmal lesions on the ascending and descending aorta.

• Journal of Chest Surgery
• /
• v.13 no.1
• /
• pp.72-76
• /
• 1980

A successful repair of transected descending thoracic aorta was performed in a 44-year-old man. The patient had once been hospitalized in a local clinic for 7 days after a steering wheel injury. Dealing with right Colle`s fracture, he was transferred to this hospital to rule out aortic injury. On admission, a chest PA film and concomitant aortogram revealed an aneurysm of the descending thoracic aorta just distal to the origin of the left subclavian artery measuring 6 cm in diameter and 8 cm in length. He underwent urgent thoracotomy and the injured part of the aorta was replaced with a woven Dacron graft utilizing a Gott`s heparinized aortic shunt. The postoperative course was very smooth except hoarseness and left phrenic nerve palsy due to a blind clamping of the proximal aorta during the operation.

• Journal of Chest Surgery
• /
• v.54 no.5
• /
• pp.425-428
• /
• 2021

Aortobronchial fistula (ABF) induced by an infected pseudoaneurysm of the thoracic aorta is a life-threatening condition. As surgical treatment is associated with significant mortality and morbidity, thoracic endovascular aneurysm repair (TEVAR) may be an alternative for the treatment of ABF. However, the long-term durability of this intervention is largely unknown and the recurrence of ABF is a potential complication. We experienced a case of recurrent ABF after stent grafting as an early procedure for an infected pseudoaneurysm of the thoracic aorta. Remnant ABF, bronchial and/or aortic wall erosion, vasa vasorum connected with ABF, and recurrent local inflammation of the thin aortic wall around ABF might cause recurrent hemoptysis. As a result, we suggest that TEVAR should be considered as a bridge therapy for the initial treatment of ABF resulting from an infected pseudoaneurysm, and that several options, such as second-stage surgery, should be considered to prevent the recurrence of ABF.