• Journal of Chest Surgery
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• v.48 no.1
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• pp.95-97
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• 2015

We report the case of a 69-year-old woman who was diagnosed with intracardiac schwannoma without symptoms. Preoperative echocardiography and cardiac magnetic resonance imaging showed a mass attached to the interatrial septum. The initial diagnosis was a myxoma or a bronchogenic cyst. The tumor was successfully excised under cardiopulmonary bypass. However, the pathology of the excised tumor was consistent with schwannoma. We suggest that cardiovascular surgeons consider schwannoma to be a possible differential diagnosis for a mass close to the interatrial septum.

• Journal of Biomedical Engineering Research
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• v.19 no.2
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• pp.163-170
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• 1998

The ultimate goal of total artificial heart is permanent substitute for a failed heart in a patient without any other therapeutic modality. Until now, infection has been the main problem related to the mechanical circulatory support system. The best way to solve this catastrophic complication and to improve the quality of life of TAH patients in terms of tethering must be implantation of TAH totally. The EH-TAH has been developed in NCVC from 1987 for this purpose. The system consists of an energy converter and pumps, which are designed to be placed in abdomen and pericardial space separately for a good anatomical fit. To evaluate the anatomical fit and hemodynamic performance of the EH-TAH, in vivo test was done. General condition of the animal and hemodynamic status had been stable until the TAH stopped on the 11th pumping day. The estimated cardiac output was about 7.7L/min. The values of mean aortic pressure, left and right atrial pressure were 93$\pm$10, 19$\pm$3 and 15$\pm$4 mmHg, respectively. The correlation coefficient between left and right atrial pressure was 0.96, which represents the dynamic function of the interatrial shunt in controlling left-right imbalance of cardiac output. During pumping days, the temperature on the surface of actuator had been maintained at 39.7$\pm$0.4$^{\circ}C$, less than 1$^{\circ}C$ higher than the rectal temperature. The TAH stopped on the 11th day due to mechanical problems. We concluded that the EH-TAH possessed satisfactory basic performance including anatomic fit and hemodynamic adequacy, although there were several mechanical problems to be solved yet.

• Journal of Chest Surgery
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• v.35 no.5
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• pp.329-335
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• 2002

Background: The surgical technique for biventricular assist device(BVAD) implantation has mainly consisted of cannulation procedures. A median sternotomy has been the technique of choice as it gives a surgeon an excellent exposure of the heart. However, considering that most patients require a future sternotomy or already have a previous sternotomy, sternotomy-related complication remains a major concern in BVAD implantation. Based on this consideration as well as the clinical experiences of conventional heart surgery, the authors have hypothesized that the cardiac chambers for BVAD cannulation can be approached from the right side of the heart. The purpose of this studs to develop a novel surgical technique of right thoracotomy for BVAD implantation in an animals study. Material and Method: For last two years, 16 (11 calves, 3 canines, and 2 sheep) out of 30 experimental animals with AnyHeart implantation underwent a right thoracotomy. The device was used as an implantable BVAD in 14 animals, a wearable BVAD in 1, and an implantable LVAD in 1. The chest cavity was entered through the 4th intercostal space or the 5th periosteal bed. As for the BVAD use, a right inflow cannula was inserted into the right atrial free wall and a right outflow cannula was grafted onto the main pulmonary artery. A left inflow cannula was inserted into the interatrial groove and a left outflow cannula was grafted on the innominate artery of the ascending aorta. The connecting tubes were brought out through the thoracotomy wound and connected to the pump located in the subcutaneous pocket at the right flank. Result: Except for the 5 animals for a lilting test or during the early learning curve, all recovered smoothly from the procedures. The inflow drainage allowed the pump output 6.5 L/min at the maximum with 3-3.5 L/min in an average. Of the survivors, there noted no procedure-related mortality or morbidity. Necropsy findings demonstrated the well-positioned cannula tips in the each cardiac chamber