• Journal of Chest Surgery
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• v.18 no.1
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• pp.13-18
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• 1985

Cortriatriatum is rare congenital heart disease characterized by the presence of a fibromuscular diaphragm that subdivides the left atrium into a proximal or "accessory" and a distal or "true" left atrial chamber. A 15 year old girl with cortriatriatum underwent surgical correction at the department of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery, Soonchunhyang College in November, 1984. This case was preoperatively diagnosed as a single atrium with functional tricuspid regurgitation But on operation, we found that there were transverse septum in the left atrium through large ASD, low chamber receives the pulmonary veins, and the upper chamber gives rise to the left atrial appendage and leads to the mitral valve. And the anomalous membrane has no fenestrations. We excised completely the anomalous septum, reconstructed atrial septal defect with dacron patch and performed the tricuspid annuloplasty with DeVega method. Postoperative course was uneventful during follow up, during follow up.

• Korean Journal of Radiology
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• v.24 no.7
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• pp.647-659
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• 2023

Objective: The study was conducted to investigate the effect of correct occlusion of the left atrial appendage (LAA) on intracardiac blood flow and thrombus formation in patients with atrial fibrillation (AF) using four-dimensional (4D) flow magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and three-dimensional (3D)-printed phantoms. Materials and Methods: Three life-sized 3D-printed left atrium (LA) phantoms, including a pre-occlusion (i.e., before the occlusion procedure) model and correctly and incorrectly occluded post-procedural models, were constructed based on cardiac computed tomography images from an 86-year-old male with long-standing persistent AF. A custom-made closed-loop flow circuit was set up, and pulsatile simulated pulmonary venous flow was delivered by a pump. 4D flow MRI was performed using a 3T scanner, and the images were analyzed using MATLAB-based software (R2020b; Mathworks). Flow metrics associated with blood stasis and thrombogenicity, such as the volume of stasis defined by the velocity threshold ($\left|\vec{V}\right|$ < 3 cm/s), surface-and-time-averaged wall shear stress (WSS), and endothelial cell activation potential (ECAP), were analyzed and compared among the three LA phantom models. Results: Different spatial distributions, orientations, and magnitudes of LA flow were directly visualized within the three LA phantoms using 4D flow MRI. The time-averaged volume and its ratio to the corresponding entire volume of LA flow stasis were consistently reduced in the correctly occluded model (70.82 mL and 39.0%, respectively), followed by the incorrectly occluded (73.17 mL and 39.0%, respectively) and pre-occlusion (79.11 mL and 39.7%, respectively) models. The surfaceand-time-averaged WSS and ECAP were also lowest in the correctly occluded model (0.048 Pa and 4.004 Pa^-1, respectively), followed by the incorrectly occluded (0.059 Pa and 4.792 Pa^-1, respectively) and pre-occlusion (0.072 Pa and 5.861 Pa^-1, respectively) models. Conclusion: These findings suggest that a correctly occluded LAA leads to the greatest reduction in LA flow stasis and thrombogenicity, presenting a tentative procedural goal to maximize clinical benefits in patients with AF.

• Journal of Chest Surgery
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• v.16 no.3
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• pp.331-336
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• 1983

Cor triatriatum is a rare congenital malformation of the heart, in which a septum stretches in a transverse or oblique plane through the left atrium, thus separating it into two compartments. The upper one connects with the pulmonary veins, and the lower one connects with the left ventricle. Due to the rarity of, and great difficulty in-diagnosing, cor trlatrlatum, data On the surgery of this disease are of necessity very limited and so accurate pre-operative diagnosis was very difficult to make. `We experienced a case of the cyanotic congenital heart disease which was diagnosed as a large atrlal septal defect with streaming venous blood from inferior vena cava to left atrium through atrial septal defect in August, 1982. We found that there were transverse septum in the left atrium through atrlal septal defect, the pulmonary venous drainage were located in the upper chamber of the left atrium, and the lower chamber was connected with the left atrial appendage, mitral valve and `left ventricle. But our case had not any opening in this transverse septum and the right atrium was connected with the upper chamber of the left atrium through the upper part of the atrlal septal defect, and was communicated with the lower chamber of the left atrium through the lower part of the atrlal septal defect. We excised the transverse septum and repair this atrial septal defect with Woven Dacron patch accompanying with the drainage of coronary sinus to right atrium. The post-operative course was not eventful and he was discharged with good result on the post-operative 8th day, and has been in good .condition up to now for longer than 10 months.

• Journal of Chest Surgery
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• v.32 no.12
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• pp.1111-1114
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• 1999

Cor triatriatum is a rare congenital heart disease that is often lethal in children if not correctly identified and properly managed, Characteristically an anomalous membrane divides the left atrium into two chambers one located posterosuperiorly which is connected to the common pulmonary venous trunk and the other anteroinferiorly which is connected to the left atrial appendage and the mitral valve. Eight patients with Cor triatriatum were been seen at our hospital from 1984 to 1999. The clinical presentation diagnostic evaluation and surgical results are outlined in this retrospective review. Resection of the obstructing anomalous atrial membrane was performed using a hypothermic cardiopulmonary bypass in all cases. Right atriotomy was performed in all patients and left atriotomy was performed in a patient who had poor preoperative general conditions and serious cardiac defects(TAPVR & hypoplastic left ventricle) died of low cardiac output during the immediate postoperative period. The postoperative course has been excellent in the remaining. Cor triatriatum is amenable to surgical repair with excellent results when diagnosed early and in those who are not complicated by other complex cardiac anomalies.

• Journal of Chest Surgery
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• v.41 no.5
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• pp.643-646
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• 2008

Congenital intrapericardial left atrial appendage aneurysms (LAAA) are very rare. Most cases are asymptomatic and this malady is generally incidentally diagnosed in older patients. LAAAs are usually accompanied with supraventricular arrhythmias and life-threatening systemic embolism. Complete surgical correction is recommended immediately after the diagnosis to prevent significant complications, and even for the asymptomatic patients. We report here on the case of a 45-year-old man who presented with cerebral embolism due to LAAA. The patient was successfully treated with a resection of the aneurysm.

• Korean Journal of Clinical Laboratory Science
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• v.56 no.3
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• pp.273-276
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• 2024

Spontaneous echo contrast is a swirling, smoke-like echographic pattern observed in B-mode ultrasound imaging, typically arising in areas of blood stasis or low-flow states. This hemodynamic disturbance generates low shear stress due to sluggish flow, leading to endothelial dysfunction and facilitating the activation of fibrinogen, a coagulation factor. Consequently, blood cells, including erythrocytes, readily aggregate, forming a spontaneous echo contrast, a precursor to thrombus formation. Spontaneous echo contrast is primarily found in the left atrium of patients with left atrial enlargement or the left atrial appendage of patients with atrial fibrillation. While less common, it can also be observed in the carotid arteries. This case report presents the imaging findings of spontaneous echo contrast detected during carotid duplex ultrasonography in a patient with metastatic cancer and discusses its clinical implications.

• Journal of Chest Surgery
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• v.53 no.3
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• pp.127-131
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• 2020

Background: This study was conducted to evaluate the safety and efficacy of left atrial appendage (LAA) excision using a vascular stapler. Methods: Fifty consecutive patients (mean age, 68±9 years) who underwent LAA excision using a vascular stapler during concomitant cardiac surgery were enrolled. In all patients, the excision site was evaluated using computed tomography at a median of 7 days (interquartile range, 5-13.3 days) postoperatively. The safety endpoint of this study was the occurrence of LAA excision-related events, which were defined as bleeding from the excision site that required reinforcement sutures or reoperation due to excision site bleeding. The efficacy endpoint was LAA excision failure, which was defined as a remnant LAA (a stump >1 cm in maximum length) or extravasation of radiocontrast dye. Results: LAAs were excised using 60- and 45-mm vascular staplers in 49 patients and 1 patient, respectively. Reinforcement sutures were needed in 4 patients due to staple-line bleeding and in 4 patients due to bleeding of the surrounding tissues. No patient underwent reoperation due to staple-related bleeding. A remnant LAA was observed in 2 patients, while extravasation of radiocontrast dye was not observed in any patients. Conclusion: LAA excision using a vascular stapler may be an effective technique for LAA exclusion. Delicate handling of the stapler device and LA tissue is required to prevent procedure-related complications.

• Korean Circulation Journal
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• v.53 no.8
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• pp.566-577
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• 2023

Background and Objectives: The left atrial appendage (LAA) can contribute significantly to LA mechanical contraction. Nevertheless, the preventive effect of LAA occlusion during the maze procedure against cerebral infarction remains controversial. In this study, we compared the surgical, cardiac hemodynamic, and neurologic outcomes between LAA preservation and occlusion performed during the maze procedure. Methods: Between January 2015 and August 2021, 252 patients underwent the maze procedure using cryoablation at our medical center. After excluding patients according to our exclusion criteria (i.e., mechanical prosthesis implantation, preexisting LAA thrombus), LAA was preserved in 113 patients (non-occlusion group) and occluded in 75 patients (occlusion group). Outcomes were compared using propensity score matching (PSM). Results: PSM did not reveal significant intergroup differences in baseline characteristics between the non-occlusion (n=53) and occlusion (n=53) groups. During a median follow-up of 44 months, 2 patients in the non-occlusion group (3.8%) experienced ischemic strokes. There was no significant difference in the rate of freedom from stroke (p=0.19) and major adverse cardiac events (p=0.43) between the 2 groups. Through echocardiography at 1-year follow-up, a statistically significant difference in LA mechanical contraction was observed between the non-occlusion group and occlusion group (24 of 33 [72.7%] vs. 18 of 37 [48.6%], respectively; p=0.04). Conclusions: In this study, preservation of the LAA during the maze procedure resulted in better LA function than LAA occlusion, with similar rates of stroke.

• Journal of Chest Surgery
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• v.18 no.4
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• pp.569-573
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• 1985

A 18-year-old female underwent surgical correction of tricuspid atresia and complete transposition of great arteries combined with atrial 8 ventricular septal defect and pulmonary stenosis. After the transection of main pulmonary artery just above the pulmonic valve, proximal portion of main pulmonary artery was closed with running suture and distal portion of main pulmonary artery anastomosed with right atrial appendage without valve insertion. Atrial septal defect was closed with running suture. Postoperative course was uneventful and she discharged on 18th postoperative day. Her condition is in very good until present. Modified Fontan`s operation without valve placement [in the condition of low pulmonary vascular resistance and good left ventricular function] may has a good result.

• Journal of Chest Surgery
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• v.53 no.3
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• pp.140-143
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• 2020

Primary cardiac sarcoma is rare, and intimal sarcoma is an extremely rare and highly lethal disease. We report a case of a 62-year-old woman who was incidentally diagnosed with a primary cardiac sarcoma originating from the left atrial appendage and extending to the left superior pulmonary vein. The location of the tumor was very complicated, posing a major challenge for complete resection. We successfully performed complete resection of the cardiac sarcoma via cardiac autotransplantation with left pneumonectomy. The patient recovered uneventfully, without any adjuvant therapy as of 6 months postoperatively. Autotransplantation of the heart may be suggested as a reasonable surgical option for extensive left atrial tumors.