• Journal of Chest Surgery
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• v.46 no.6
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• pp.464-466
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• 2013

Floating thrombi in the aortic arch are very rare and an unusual source of systemic embolism. Herein, a case of a 3-cm thrombus in the aortic arch is reported. It was a floating, highly mobile thrombus attached to the lesser curvature of the aortic arch. The patients had a hypercoagulable disorder induced by protein C and S deficiency. The thrombus was operatively removed with a favorable outcome.

• Journal of Chest Surgery
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• v.49 no.1
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• pp.42-45
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• 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
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• v.18 no.3
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• pp.446-455
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• 1985

A total and consecutive 156 patients have undergone cardiac valve surgery including 13 closed mitral commissurotomy, 13 open mitral commissurotomy, one mitral annuloplasty, 75 mitral valve replacement, one aortic annuloplasty, 24 aortic valve replacement, 3 tricuspid valve replacement, 25 double valve replacement and one triple valve replacement. 155 prosthetic valves were replaced in a period between September 1976 and August 1985. There were 68 males and 88 females with age range from 8 to 69 yrs [mean 36.5 yr]. Out of replaced valves, 61 was tissue valve including 54 Carpentier-Edwards, and 4 was mechanical valves including 74 St. Jude Medical, and the position replaced was 101 valves for mitral, 46 for aortic and 8 for tricuspid. Single valve replacement in 102 cases, double valve replacement in 25 cases [17 for AVR+MVR, and 8 for MVR+TVR], and only one case was noted in the triple valve replacement. Early mortality within 30 days after operation was noted in 11 cases [7%]; 7 after MVR, 2 after DVR, and each one after open mitral commissurotomy and mitral annuloplasty. Cause of death was valve thrombus, cerebral air embolism, low output syndrome, uncontrollable arrhythmia, parapneumonic sepsis, acute cardiac tamponade and left atrial rupture. 7 late deaths were noted during the follow-up period from 1 to 104 months [average 48 month]; three due to valve and left atrial thrombus formation, two due to CVA from overdose of warfarin, and each one due to congestive heart failure and chronic constrictive pericarditis, Anticoagulants after prosthetic valve replacement were maintained with warfarin, dipyridamole and aspirin to the level of around 50% of normal prothrombin time in 79 cases, and Ticlopidine with aspirin in 47 cases to compare the result of each group. There were 11 major thromboembolic episodes including 3 deaths in the warfarin group. Two cases of CVA due to overdose of warfarin was noted in the warfarin group. In the ticlopidine group, there was only one left atrial thrombus confirmed at the time of autopsy. Among the survived 138 cases, nearly all cases[136 cases] were included in NYHA functional class I and II during the follow-up period. In conclusion, surgical treatment of the cardiac valve disease in 156 clinical cases revealed excellent result with acceptable operative risk and late mortality. Prevention of thrombus formation with anti-platelet aggregator Ticlopidine has better result than warfarin group presently with no specific side effect such as bleeding or gastrointestinal trouble.

• Journal of Chest Surgery
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• v.43 no.3
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• pp.300-303
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• 2010

A thrombus in the aorta is a rare condition that is generally detected after cerebral, visceral or peripheral emboli. We reported here on two cases of aortic thrombus with myocardial infarction.

• Journal of Chest Surgery
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• v.21 no.5
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• pp.899-904
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• 1988

In Behcet syndrome, cardiac involvements are rare and have been reported pericarditis, myocarditis, right heart endocardial fibrosis, right ventricle mural thrombus with pulmonary embolism, active endocarditis, granulomatous endocarditis, conduction disturbance, acute aortic insufficiency, mitral valve prolapse. Our three patients underwent AVR because of aortic insufficiency and ascending aorta enlargement combined with Behcet syndrome. Two patients had mitral regurgitation too. So one underwent MAP and the other underwent MVR concomitantly. One who underwent AVR have been well for 50 months. Another who underwent AVR+MAP and redo AVR due to aortic paravalvular leakage was died of congestive heart failure. The other who underwent AVR+MVR and repeated AVR three times because of aortic paravalvular leakage is in condition of aortic paravalvular leakage. Paravalvular leakage is considered to recur due to progressive dilatation and fragility of aortic root that is the result of pathologic change of Behcet syndrome in it. If Open heart surgery is needed in Behcet`s syndrome during inflammatory reaction is active, postoperative complications such as paravalvular leakage or suture line rupture may be prevented with pre- and postoperative anti-inflammatory management.

• Journal of Chest Surgery
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• v.44 no.1
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• pp.72-75
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• 2011

Aortic thrombi are important because it can cause the central and peripheral embolizations. Aortic thrombi can occur anywhere in the aorta but extremely rare in ascending aorta without atherosclerosis, aneurysm, cardiosurgical or traumatic state. Systemic sclerosis (SSc) is an autoimmune disorder of connective tissue and it can involve multisystem. Enhanced coagulation pathways, decreased fibrinolysis, and endothelial dysfunction probably contribute to vascular events in SSc. We report a case of a highly mobile thrombus in the ascending aorta, presented as an acute embolic stroke in the patient with systemic sclerosis. Surgical removal was performed to prevent recurrent embolic events.

• Journal of Chest Surgery
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• v.14 no.3
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• pp.247-253
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• 1981

A total and consecutive 46 patients have undergone cardiac valvular surgery including 8 open mitral commissurotomy and 38 mitral, aortic, mitral-aortic, mitral-tricuspid, tricuspid valve replacements using 46 artificial valves in a period between September 1976 and July 1981. They were 19 males and 27 females with the age ranging from 16 to 50 (mean 32.6) years. Out of 46 valves replaced, 6 were prosthetic valves and 40 were tissue valves, and 33 were replaced in mitral, 9 in aortic and 3 In tricuspid position. Isolated replacements were 33 mitral valves, 6 aortic valves and 1 tricuspid valve; double valve replacements were 6 mitral-aortic valves and 2 mitral-tricuspid valves. . Early mortality within 30 days after operation was noted in 4 cases; 3 after MVR and 1 after open mitral commissurotomy. Causes of death were thrombus obstruction of Beall-Surgitool, Cerebral air embolism, acute renal shut down due to low output syndrome, and left upper pUlmonary vein rupture after open mitral commissurotomy (early mortality 8.7%). 3 late deaths were noted during the follow-up period from 2 to 59 months; 1 due to cerebral hemorrhage from warfarin overdose 3 months, 1 due to miliary tuberculosis 9 months, and another 1 due to cardiac failure after open mitral commissurotomy 42 months postoperatively. Total survival rate 59 months after valvular surgery was 84.8%; there were no early and late death in the group of AVR, TVR and double valve replacements. Preoperative NYHA Class III & IV were 35 cases (76%) out of total 46 cases, and 38 cases (94.8%) out of 39 survival cases were included In NYHA Class I & II during the follow-up period.

• Journal of Chest Surgery
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• v.17 no.4
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• pp.666-671
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• 1984

During a fire-year period from March 1979 to February 1984, 559 patients underwent surgical treatment for rheumatic mitral valve disease at Seoul National University Hospital. Left atrial thrombus was found at surgery in 74 of these patients, an incidence of 13.2%. This report outlines the surgical experience with these seventy-four patients. They were 32 men and 42 women, and their age ranged between 23 and 57 with mean of 42 years old. All except one had the findings of atrial fibrillation on the preoperative electrocardiogram. Ten [13.5%] had experienced embolic events before surgery. A history of one or more episodes of cardiac failure requiring digitalis and diuretics was noted in all patients Nineteen were associated with the aortic and/or tricuspid valve disease and closed mitral commissurotomy had been performed previously in four patients. The average cardiac index was 2.68L/min/M2 [1.59 to 3.47 L/min/M2] The mean systolic pulmonary artery pressure was 57mmHg [26 to 120 mmHg]and pulmonary capillary wedge pressure 21.5 mmHg [12 to 40 mmHg]. There were no significant hemodynamic findings to suggest the presence of the left atrial thrombus. Operative mortality was acceptable with two early deaths [2.7%]. The follow-up of the hospital survivors has shown excellent functional status.

• Journal of Chest Surgery
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• v.49 no.5
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• pp.397-400
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• 2016

Essential thrombocytosis (ET) is a myeloproliferative disorder characterized by an anomalous increase in platelet production. Many patients with ET are asymptomatic. Few studies have reported ET-associated thromboembolism in large vessels such as the aorta. We report a patient with ET who presented with peripheral embolism from an abdominal aortic thrombus and developed acute limb ischemia. The patient underwent aortic replacement successfully. The patient's platelet count was controlled with hydroxyurea, and no recurrence was noted over 2 years of follow-up.

• Korean Journal of Radiology
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• v.24 no.10
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• pp.974-982
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• 2023

Objective: Recent studies have highlighted the active and potential role of perivascular adipose tissue (PVAT) in atherosclerosis and aneurysm progression, respectively. This study explored the link between PVAT attenuation and abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) progression using computed tomography angiography (CTA). Materials and Methods: This multicenter retrospective study analyzed patients with AAA who underwent CTA at baseline and follow-up between March 2015 and July 2022. The following parameters were obtained: maximum diameter and total volume of the AAA, presence or absence of intraluminal thrombus (ILT), maximum diameter and volume of the ILT, and PVAT attenuation of the aortic aneurysm at baseline CTA. PVAT attenuation was divided into high (> -73.4 Hounsfield units [HU]) and low (≤ -73.4 HU). Patients who had or did not have AAA progression during the follow-up, defined as an increase in the aneurysm volume > 10 mL from baseline, were identified. Kaplan-Meier and multivariable Cox regression analyses were used to investigate the association between PVAT attenuation and AAA progression. Results: Our study included 167 participants (148 males; median age: 70.0 years; interquartile range: 63.0-76.0 years), of which 145 (86.8%) were diagnosed with AAA accompanied by ILT. Over a median period of 11.3 months (range: 6.0-85.0 months), AAA progression was observed in 67 patients (40.1%). Multivariable Cox regression analysis indicated that high baseline PVAT attenuation (adjusted hazard ratio [aHR] = 2.23; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.16-4.32; P = 0.017) was independently associated with AAA progression. This association was demonstrated within the patients of AAA with ILT subcohort, where a high baseline PVAT attenuation (aHR = 2.23; 95% CI, 1.08-4.60; P = 0.030) was consistently independently associated with AAA progression. Conclusion: Elevated PVAT attenuation is independently associated with AAA progression, including patients of AAA with ILT, suggesting the potential of PVAT attenuation as a predictive imaging marker for AAA expansion.