Screening of carotid and intracranial artery diseases by magnetic resonance angiography (MRA) was performed in forty-one adult patients prior to elective cardiovascular surgery. In twenty patients (48.8%), MRA demonstrated significant cerebrovascular lesions: carotid or main cerebral artery stenosis in 7, diffuse cerebral arteriosclerotic change in 6, vertebral artery lesion in 5 and berry aneurysm in 2. Advanced age (over 70 years) and previous cerebrovascular events increased the incidence of cerebrovascular lesions on MRA. Forty patients underwent scheduled surgery under cardiopulmonary bypass, and pulsatile flow perfusion was used in patients in whom significant cerebrovascular lesions were demonstrated on MRA. One patient with aortic arch aneurysm was judged to be an unacceptable candidate for surgery in light of his marked diffuse arteriosclerotic lesions on MRA. In five patients, staged operation was performed from 10 to 30 days after cerebrovascular surgery (bypass surgery for internal carotid occlusion in 2, aneurysm clipping in 2, carotid endarterectomy in 1). Postoperative neurological complications occurred in one patient (2.5%). In conclusion, screening of carotid and intracranial artery diseases by MRA is a safe and useful method for evaluation of cerebrovascular lesions in patients with advanced age, previous cerebrovascular events and/or arteriosclerotic diseases.

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Fifty consecutive patients who underwent elective repair for abdominal aortic aneurysms were preoperatively evaluated on blood coagulation tests and retrospectively classified into three groups. Class I had a normal profile on the tests. Class II had either high FDP (≥20ng/ml), TAT (≥20ng/ml), or positive results on the FM test. Class III had either thrombocytopenia (≤120/μl) or bleeding symptoms with Class II conditions. Operative mortality was 0% (0/26) in Class I, 13% (2/15) in Class II, and 22% (2/9) in Class III patients. This classification is considered to be simple and useful to assess specific coagulopathy for aortic aneurysms.

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Fifteen consecutive patients with true or dissecting aneurysms of the thoracic descending aorta, and thoraco-abdominal aorta were operated upon under left thoracotomy with the support of partial cardiopulmonary bypass, equipment composed of a membrane oxygenator, centrifugal pump, and percutaneous thin wall cannulae which were all coated with covalently bonded heparin. The polyvinyl tube was coated with Biomate. The administration of systemic heparin was determined by an ACT of around 200 seconds. One perioperative death in a case treated by emergency operation for a ruptured descending aortic aneurysm occurred due to acute myocardial infarction. Other patients tolerated their operation well and are alive. No thromboembolic accident, bleeding tendency, nor organ failure were observed postoperatively in any other patients. In conclusion, the cardiopulmonary bypass using an antithrombotic circuit is safe and recommendable for thoracic descending or thoraco-abdominal aneurysm operations.

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In 13 patients who underwent left ventriculography both before and after operation, we investigated regional wall motion of the left ventricle (LV) with the centerline method in LV aneurysmectomy. There were no significant differences between preoperative predicted and postoperative ejection fraction. No significant differences were observed between preoperative predicted and postoperative regional wall motion of all segments in all cases and cases without significant stenosis who did not undergo revascularization of the right coronary artery. Postoperative regional wall motion of the inferior wall was significantly better than the preoperative predicted one in cases who underwent revascularization of the right coronary artery with significant stenosis. It is considered that revascularization of the right coronary artery with significant stenosis in LV aneurysmectomy was effective for the improvement of regional wall motion of the inferior wall.

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One of the complications after Dacron vascular reconstruction for both occlusive disease and aneurysmal disease is anastomotic false aneurysm. We reviewed 22 aneurysms of 13 patients who underwent aorto-femoral reconstruction in our department during the past 14 years. The indication for initial prosthetic reconstruction had been an atherosclerosis obliterans (ASO) in 12 patients and infrarenal aortic occlusion with liver abscess in 1 patient. The mean interval from initial surgery was 40.6 months (range, 2 to 142 months). Seven anastomotic pseudoaneurysms occurred within 6 months after operation and the remaining fifteen occurred in the late follow-up period (22 to 142 months). Unilateral aneurysm was found in 7, bilateral in 5 and 5 in one patient. Distal femoral anastomotic symptoms at presentation included critical limb ischemia in one, inguinal pain in three, abscess in two, mass in seven and asymptomatic in seven. Proximal aortic anastomotic symptoms included abdominal pain in one case and another case was asymptomatic. The asymptomatic aneurysm was diagnosed by routine sonographic surveillance. Surgical management in all patients included aneurysmectomy with aneurysmoplasty in 2 and prosthetic graft interposition or bypass in 11 as an elective operation, graft extirpation with extraanatomic bypass in one and graft replacement in one as an urgent operation, and thrombectomy and/or graft replacement in 6 as an emergency operation. All of the aneurysms are pseudoaneurysms were confirmed by pathological examination. Host arterial-wall degeneration was the main cause of aneurysm formation in most cases (85.7%). In our opinion, patients should be periodically studied after aortic grafting with abdominal ultrasonography for early detection of this potentially serious complication. Early diagnosis and elective repair of these aneurysms should be recommended whenever possible because of their propensity to develop serious complications.

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Those women underwent removal of splenic artery aneurysm. One of them was admitted because of intraperitoneal bleeding. Further examination showed rupture of a splenic artery aneurysm with the delayed rupture phenomenon. Emergency laparotomy was perfomed. Splenic aneurysmectomy and splenectomy were successfully carried out. The two other cases of splenic artery aneurysm were detected accidentally. One was complicated by aortic abdominal aneurysm and the other by cholelithiasis. Each patient received two different types of operations at the same time. Splenic aneurysm is likely to be overlooked because of lack of symptoms. However, even a small aneurysm has the possibility of rupture. Therefore, an early operation is recommended.

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A 62-year-old man with a complete type of Behçet's disease suffering from lower abdominal pain was admitted to our hospital. Abdominal CT and angiograms demonstrated a right isolated iliac aneurysm. When his general conditions had become stable, we evaluated the activity of Behçet's disease, especially inflammation and the existence of intestinal lesions, and found no abnormalities. He underwent graft replacement for the iliac aneurysm. The postoperative course was uneventful. Angiograms revealed good opacification of the graft and no abnormality of the anastomotic site. Some reports have emphasized anastomotic complications of vascular surgery associated with Behcet's disease. We should periodically check for inflammatory signs, anastomotic aneurysm and other recurrent aneurysms.

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A 60-year-old man who had undergone aortic arch replacement 9 years prerviously was admitted complaining of motor and sensory disturbance of bilateral lower extremities. Bilateral femoral arteries were not palpable and he showed acute panperitonitis just after admission. Enhanced CT and arteriography revealed that the lower half of the body was severely ischemic due to the compression of the graft by a pseudoaneurysm of the proximal anastomotic portion of the aortic arch, and therefore performed an urgent operation. Recognizing acute bowel necrosis of the inferior mesenteric artery (IMA) area on laparotomy, Hartmann's operation was performed. After that, a right axillo-bifemoral bypass was also made in order to improve the perfusion of the lower half of the body. Though acute renal failure occurred because of DIC and myonephropathic metabolic syndrome (MNMS) postoperatively, the intensive therapy was eventually effective and he recovered.

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A 24-year-old woman had been injured in an automobile accident. The chest X-ray showed widening of the mediastinum and computed tomography showed mediastinal hematoma around the aortic arch. Aortic rupture was suspected, so we performed aortography, which revealed pseudoaneurysm of the descending aorta. Moreover, she also had splenic rupture and pelvic fracture. She underwent an emergency operation 4 hours after the accident. Medial tear of the descending aorta was replaced with a graft under temporary bypass without heparin. Simultaneously, splenectomy was performed. Her postoperative course was uneventful. We consider that temporary bypass without heparin is a useful method during repair of the descending aortic rupture due to trauma.

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A 22-year-old woman with pseudocoarctation of the aorta as a complication of disal arch aortic aneurysm and aberrant right subclavian artery was successfully treated. She was the elder of identical twins, with a past history of spontaneous closure of the ventricular septal defect. Preoperative angiograms suggested pseudocoarctation of the aorta complicated by distal arch aortic aneurysm with aberrant right subclavian artery. At operation, the distal arch was replaced with a 14mm woven dacron graft and the left subclavian artery was reconstructed by interposition of 6mm IMPRA graft between the vessel and ascending aorta. The postoperative angiograms indicated successful reconstructions. Contrast-enhanced CT scans of the younger identical twin showed no anomaly of the thoracic aorta.

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We experienced two rare cases of acute aortic dissection with leg ischemia after Y graft repair of the abdominal aortic aneurysma. Case 1 was a 63-year-old woman who had received Y graft repair at age 55, and case 2 was a 28-year-old man with Marfan's syndrome who received a Y graft repair at age 21. Both patients sustained DeBakey type I dissections terminating at the suture line of the Y graft and had symptoms of acute arterial occlusion of bilateral lower extremities. Emergency operation was performed 8 hours after onset in case 1 and 6 hours after in case 2. Case 1 could not be weaned from cardiopulmonary bypass because of intraoperative rupture and acute heart failure, but case 2 underwent successfully aortic root replacement and total arch replacement under selective cerebral perfusion.

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A 24-year-old woman with patent ductus arteriosus underwent division of the ductus. On the fifth postoperative day (POD 5), MRSA was detected in pus from the wound. On POD 8, an emergency operation was performed for left tension hemothorax due to a ruptured aorta with MRSA infection. The bleeding site in the descending aorta was covered with a viable omental flap under deep hypothermic circulatory arrest. Although MRSA was detected in the pleural effusion and the aortic wall, the patient recovered from pyothorax, and pneumonia caused by Pseudomonas aeruginosas and acute renal failure. On POD 37, a pseudoaneurysm of the descending aorta was found and graft replacement was performed on POD 56 due to enlargement of the aneurysm. However, MRSA was not detected in the left pleural effusion. The postoperative course was uneventful. Omental transfer should be considered for the treatment of severe aortic wall infection, even in the presense of MRSA infection.

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A 69-year-old man was admitted because of pyrexia and increased ESR and CRP. Blood culture was positive for Staphylococcus, and CT scan and aortography revealed irregularly shaped abdominal aortic and left common iliac artery aneurysms which grew rapidly. An urgent operation with exclusion and bypass grafting was performed because aneurysms tightly adhered to the surrounding tissues and dissection appeared to be extremely difficult. Administration of antibiotics was continued intravenously, then orally for three months postoperatively, and pyrexia and the increased ESR and CRP disappeared.

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A 67-year-old man was hospitalized due to congestive heart failure. The blood pressure was 180/72mmHg in the right arm and 100/70mmHg in the right leg. Aortography revealed that the aortic arch was completely interrupted just distal to the origin of the left subclavian artery and the descending aorta was clearly outlined by contrast medium coming from well-developed collateral vessels. There was no congenital anomaly such as PDA or VSD except for the interruption of the aortic arch. The final diagnosis was solitary interruption of the aortic arch (type A). An extra-anatomical bypass using a 16mm woven Dacron graft was placed from the ascending aorta to the descending aorta at the level of the diaphragm with cardiopulmonary bypass. The pressure gradient across the interruption disappeared immediately after opening the graft. Although he had perioperative myocardial infarction in the area of the right coronary artery, he recovered fully and when discharged he was in NYHA class 1 condition.

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A 74-year-old woman presented with a pulsatile mass and pain in the right mid-thigh. Angiography demonstrated a ruptured solitary aneurysm at the superficial femoral artery (SFA), 45mm in diameter. The operation consisted of replacement of the aneurysm with a saphenous vein bypass grafting to the SFA. The pathological examination of the resected arterial wall revealed degenerative changes due to cystic medial necrosis. In the literature, there has been no report, as far as we know, on true aneurysm of the superficial femoral artery caused by cystic medial necrosis. Therefore, it is considered that our case is a very rare presentation of aneurysm with this particular etiology which occurred in the peripheral artery of a lower extremity.

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