Texas Heart Institute journal
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Case Reports
Two scimitar veins in an adult: repair through a right thoracotomy without cardiopulmonary bypass.
Scimitar syndrome is a rare but serious congenital condition that consists of anomalous pulmonary venous drainage of the right lung to the inferior vena cava. The appearance on chest radiography resembles a curved Turkish sword, or scimitar. Scimitar syndrome is associated with other anomalies, including hypoplasia of the right lung, dextroposition of the heart, anomalous systemic arterial supply to the right lung, and atrial septal defect. ⋯ Classical surgical repair involves diversion of the scimitar venous flow into the left atrium with a baffle, requiring the use of cardiopulmonary bypass and deep hypothermic circulatory arrest. Herein, we report the case of a 42-year-old woman with 2 scimitar veins who underwent corrective surgery at our center without the use of cardiopulmonary bypass. We also comment on the importance of a patient's lung hypoplasia in the decision to repair the defect through a right thoracotomy.
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Case Reports
Spontaneous remission of ruptured intramyocardial hematoma detected upon serial multidetector computed tomography.
Intramyocardial hematoma is a rare sequela of percutaneous coronary intervention after acute myocardial infarction. Clinical outcomes of intramyocardial hematoma vary from asymptomatic remission to cardiac death. Close follow-up is imperative. ⋯ After 1 year, this method of imaging showed complete remission of the hematoma. To the best of our knowledge, this is the 1st use of serial multidetector computed tomography to document the remission of an intramyocardial hematoma that ruptured after complicated percutaneous coronary intervention. We believe that multidetector computed tomography is useful in tracing the natural history of intramyocardial hematomas.
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Patients with idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura have safely undergone cardiac surgical procedures; however, platelets were transfused in 20 of 24 reported instances, and no point-of-care testing of coagulation status was performed. Herein, we report the case of a patient with idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura who required urgent coronary artery bypass grafting and intra-aortic balloon pump support. ⋯ No preoperative prophylactic transfusion of allogeneic platelets was necessary, and in fact the patient required no allogeneic blood products during his hospitalization. We believe that point-of-care coagulation tests such as thromboelastometry warrant further evaluation regarding their usefulness in the clinical decision of whether to transfuse platelets and other blood products.
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Case Reports
The risk of performing cardiopulmonary bypass in malaria patients: a small case series.
The effects of cardiopulmonary bypass on patients who have active or dormant malaria are unknown. What is known is that malaria-induced hemolysis can be exacerbated by cardiopulmonary bypass. We report 3 cases in which patients with active or dormant malaria underwent open-heart surgery. ⋯ We suggest preoperative quinine prophylaxis for patients with a history of malaria whose blood smears are negative for parasites, and we advocate more radical preoperative treatment with quinine for patients whose blood smears are positive at presentation. These measures appear to prevent hemolysis and fever during both the preoperative and postoperative periods. However, there is need of a multicenter study to ascertain the actual effects of cardiopulmonary bypass on patients with malaria.
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Case Reports
Coronary ostial stenosis after aortic valve replacement: successful treatment of 2 patients with drug-eluting stents.
Coronary ostial stenosis is a rare but potentially serious sequela after aortic valve replacement. It occurs in the left main or right coronary artery after 1% to 5% of aortic valve replacement procedures. The clinical symptoms are usually severe and may appear from 1 to 6 months postoperatively. ⋯ Both patients were asymptomatic on 6-to 12-month follow-up. We attribute the coronary ostial stenosis to the selective ostial administration of cardioplegic solution during surgery. We conclude that retrograde administration of cardioplegic solution through the coronary sinus may reduce the incidence of postoperative coronary ostial stenosis, and that stenting may be an efficient treatment option.