• Journal of Chest Surgery
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• v.49 no.1
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• pp.46-49
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• 2016

The concomitant presence of posterior mitral annular calcification and infectious mitral valve lesions poses a technical challenge with considerable perioperative risk when using previously proposed techniques for mitral valve surgery. Herein, we report a case of the use of a modified surgical technique to successfully treat a patient with mitral infective endocarditis complicated by a subendocardial abscess and extensive posterior mitral annular calcification.

• Journal of Chest Surgery
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• v.48 no.6
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• pp.432-434
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• 2015

Anticoagulation therapy is essential after cardiac valve surgery. However, spontaneous bleeding remains a major concern during anticoagulation therapy. Spontaneous gallbladder (GB) hemorrhage (hemobilia) is a rare occurrence during standard anticoagulation therapy. This report presents a case of GB hemorrhage that occurred shortly after initiating oral anticoagulant therapy in a patient who had undergone mitral valve replacement surgery.

• Journal of Chest Surgery
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• v.42 no.4
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• pp.509-512
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• 2009

Ebstein's anomaly is a complex congenital defect of the tricuspid valve and right ventricle. Various surgical methods to repair the regurgitant tricuspid valve have been reported, and most of them depend on monocuspidalization with using the anterior leaflet. We report here on our first experience with Ebstein's anomaly in a 31-year-old female patient who underwent cone reconstruction of the tricuspid valve with using three leaflets.

• Journal of Chest Surgery
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• v.19 no.3
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• pp.399-406
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• 1986

131 cases of open heart surgery were performed in the Department of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery, Kyungpook National University Hospital in 1985. There were 116 congenital cardiac anomaly and 15 acquired heart diseases. Out of 116 congenital cardiac anomaly, 73 cases of acyanotic group and 43 cases of cyanotic group were noted. In 73 cases of acyanotic group, 17 ASD, 52 VSD and 4 other acyanotic anomaly were noticed. In 43 cases of cyanotic group, 4 Trilogy of Fallot, 34 TOF, 1 Pentalogy, 3 DORV and 1 DCRV were included. Of the 15 acquired valvular heart disease cases, individual incidence was in mitral valve 10, double valve 3, and simple aortic valve 2 cases. Total number of valve replaced was 16, and 13 for mitral, 2 for aortic, and 1 for tricuspid in position, including 1 cases of double valve replacement. Overall operative mortality for 131 cases of open heart surgery was 4.5%, and the operative mortality was 5.5% in congenital acyanotic group, 2.3% in congenital cyanotic group, 0% in TOF group and 6.7% in acquired group.

• Journal of Chest Surgery
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• v.23 no.3
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• pp.514-521
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• 1990

Patient with aortic valvular disease have increased left ventricular work and greater myocardial oxygen demand, which may aggravate the effect of concomitant coronary artery disease. Thus in patient who repair aortic valve replacement, concomitant aortocoronary bypass surgery is often performed when angiographically significant coronary artery disease is present. This approach is supported by reports that revascularization does not increase operative risk when associated coronary artery disease is present and significantly reduce the occurrence of late sudden death. Recently we have experienced one case of aortic valve replacement concomitant with aorta-coronary bypass surgery. The patient was 56 year-old male and admitted with complaint of anterior chest pain especially during his exercise. He was diagnosed as aortic valve stenosis and regurgitation [GIII] with proximal right main coronary artery occlusion We performed aortic valve replacement with aorta coronary bypass surgery by use of saphenous vein. Post operative course was uneventful and chest pain was relieved. Post operative coronary angiogram disclosed good patency of grafted vessel.

• Journal of Chest Surgery
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• v.46 no.4
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• pp.249-255
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• 2013

Background: The continuous suture (CS) technique has several advantages as a method for simple, fast, and secure aortic valve replacement (AVR). We used a simple CS technique without the use of a pledget for AVR and evaluated the surgical outcomes. Materials and Methods: Between October 2007 and 2012, 123 patients with aortic valve disease underwent AVR alone (n=28) or with other concomitant cardiac procedures (n=95), such as mitral, tricuspid, or aortic surgery. The patients were divided into two groups: the interrupted suture (IS) group (n=47), in which the conventional IS technique was used, and the CS group (n=76), in which the simple CS technique was used. Results: There were two hospital deaths (1.6%), which were not related to the suture technique. There were no significant differences in cardiopulmonary bypass time or aortic cross-clamp time between the two groups for AVR alone or AVR with concomitant cardiac procedures. In the IS group, two patients had prosthetic endocarditis and one patient experienced significant perivalvular leak. These patients underwent reoperations. In the CS group, there were no complications related to the surgery. Postoperatively, the two groups had similar aortic valve gradients. Conclusion: The simple CS method is useful and secure for AVR in patients with aortic valve disease, and it may minimize surgical complications, as neither pledgets nor braided sutures are used.

• Journal of Chest Surgery
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• v.40 no.12
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• pp.817-824
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• 2007

Background: There are two choices for heart valve replacement-the use of a tissue valve and the use of a mechanical valve. Using a tissue valve, additional surgery will be problematic due to valve degeneration. If the risk of additional surgery could be reduced, the tissue valve could be more widely used. Therefore, we analyzed the risk factors and mortality of patients undergoing repeated heart valve replacement and primary replacement. Material and Method: We analyzed 25 consecutive patients who underwent repeated heart valve replacement and 158 patients who underwent primary heart valve replacement among 239 patients that underwent heart vale replacement in out hospital from January 1995 to December 2004. Result: There were no differences in age, sex, and preoperative ejection fraction between the repeated valve replacement group of patients and the primary valve replacement group of patients. In the repeated valve replacement group, the previously used artificial valves were 3 mechanical valves and 23 tissue valves. One of these cases had simultaneous replacement of the tricuspid and aortic valve with tissue valves. The mean duration after a previous operation was 92 months for the use of a mechanical valve and 160 months for the use of a tissue valve. The mean cardiopulmonary bypass time and aortic cross clamp time were 152 minutes and 108 minutes, respectively, for the repeated valve replacement group of patients and 130 minutes and 89 minutes, respectively, for the primary valve replacement group of patients. These results were statistically significant. The use of an intra aortic balloon pump (IABP) was required for 2 cases (8%) in the repeated valve replacement group of patients and 6 cases (3.8%) in the primary valve replacement group of patients. An operative death occurred in one case (4%) in the repeated valve replacement group of patients and occurred in nine cases (5.1%) in the primary valve replacement group of patients. Among postoperative complications, the need for mechanical ventilation over 48 hours was different between the two groups. The mean follow up period after surgery was $6.5{\pm}3.2$ years. The 5-year survival of patients in the repeated valve replacement group was 74% and the 5-year survival of patients in the primary valve replacement group was 95%. Conclusion: The risk was slightly increased, but there was little difference in mortality between the repeated and primary heart valve replacement group of patients. Therefore, it is necessary to reconsider the issue of avoiding the use of a tissue valve due to the risk of additional surgery, and it is encouraged to use the tissue valve selectively, which has several advantages over the use of a mechanical valve. In the case of a repeated replacement, however, the mortality rate was high for a patient whose preoperative status was not poor. A proper as sessment of cardiac function and patient status is required after the primary valve replacement. Subsequently, a secondary replacement could then be considered.

• Journal of Chest Surgery
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• v.20 no.4
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• pp.655-658
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• 1987

Aortic annulus size was measured by two-dimensional echocardiography [2DE] in 29 patients undergoing aortic valve replacement or double valve replacement in order to predict prosthetic aortic valve size. Fifteen patients had aortic stenoinsufficiency, eleven had aortic insufficiency, and three had aortic stenosis. 2DE measurements of aortic annulus diameter, as determined from the parasternal long-axis view, demonstrated a high correlation with actual prosthetic valve size implanted at surgery [r=0.85, p<0.05]. 2DE exactly predicted actual prosthetic valve size in 8 of 29 patients [27.6%], was within 1mm of prosthetic valve size in 11 of 29 patients [37.9%], was within 2mm of prosthetic valve size in 8 of 29 patients, and was within 3mm of prosthetic valve size in 2 patients.

• Journal of Chest Surgery
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• v.27 no.10
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• pp.858-861
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• 1994

Prosthetic valve thrombosis is rare but it is one of fatal complication after heart valve surgery. Improvements of the valve design and the material have decreased the frequency of thrombosis but have not eliminated completely. And some cases of prosthetic valve thrombosis during pregnancy were reported inspite of adequate anticoagulation therapy.Urgent surgical intervention is indicated for prosthetic valve thrombosis but it is associated with high operative risk, therefore medical thrombolytic therapy such as urokinase or streptokinase therapy is regarded as an alternative therapy. This is a case report of the successful thrombolytic therapy for valve thrombosis in a pregnant patient after mechanical mitral valve replacement.

• Journal of Chest Surgery
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• v.48 no.1
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• pp.7-12
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• 2015

Background: Mitral regurgitation is one of the leading causes of cardiovascular morbidity in pediatric patients with Marfan syndrome. The purpose of this study was to contribute to determining the appropriate surgical strategy for these patients. Methods: From January 1992 to May 2013, six patients with Marfan syndrome underwent surgery for mitral regurgitation in infancy or early childhood. Results: The median age at the time of surgery was 47 months (range, 3 to 140 months) and the median follow-up period was 3.6 years (range, 1.3 to 15.5 years). Mitral valve repair was performed in two patients and four patients underwent mitral valve replacement with a mechanical prosthesis. There was one reoperation requiring valve replacement for aggravated mitral regurgitation two months after repair. The four patients who underwent mitral valve replacement did not experience any complications related to the prosthetic valve. One late death occurred due to progressive emphysema and tricuspid regurgitation. Conclusion: Although repair can be an option for some patients, it may not be durable in infantile-onset Marfan syndrome patients who require surgical management during infancy or childhood. Mitral valve replacement is a feasible treatment option for these patients.