We successfully treated chronic type A dissection and coronary artery disease with a functional midline crossing right internal thoracic artery (RITA) after coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG). A 68-year-old man was incidentally diagnosed as chronic type A dissection by follow-up cardiac catheterization after CABG, with 90% stenosis in the right coronary artery (RCA) No. 2. The dissecting an...

Objective: To compare the results obtained from two distinct surgical approaches in patients undergoing surgical correction of an atrial septal defect (ASD). Method: The study series consisted of 20 patients, with a mean age of 24.1 ± 14.2 years, distributed in two groups. In group A, 10 patients (80% female, with a mean age of 20.9 ± 12.0 years) underwent surgical correction of ASD through a c...

BACKGROUND The aim of this study is to evaluate the clinical and rhythm outcomes of atrial fibrillation (AF) ablation through a port access approach compared with sternotomy in patients with AF associated with mitral valve diseases. MATERIALS AND METHODS From February 2006 through December 2009, 135 patients underwent biatrial AF ablation with a mitral operation via either a port-access appro...

An 8-year-old (35 kg) boy presented with progressive right ventricular outflow tract enlargement (28 mm) and progressive tricuspid regurgitation after transannular repair of tetralogy of Fallot and was scheduled for pulmonary valve replacement. To spare reoperation on full sternotomy, a transverse mini-thoracotomy through the third intercostal space was used to implant an injectable 29-mm stent...

Here, we describe the case of a 56-year-old female patient who was diagnosed with an anterior mediastinal cyst measuring 26 × 16 mm in size. An endobronchial ultrasound-guided transbronchial needle aspiration was performed, and punctures occurred three times. The patient was then prescribed cefditoren pivoxil. Three days after the procedure, the patient developed infective mediastinitis. Panipe...

We investigated the effect of incision and sternotomy on the auditory evoked potential (AEP) and EEG, to try to predict a haemodynamic response to incision or sternotomy using the AEP and EEG in 41 patients undergoing cardiac surgery during propofol and alfentanil anaesthesia. The AEP and EEG were recorded before incision, between incision and sternotomy, and after sternotomy. Peak latencies an...

BACKGROUND Reoperation of cardiac surgery via median sternotomy can be associated with significant complications. Thoracotomy is expected to reduce the risk of reoperation and to enhance the surgical outcomes. We retrospectively analyzed two operative approaches (thoracotomy vs. sternotomy) in cardiac reoperation. MATERIALS AND METHODS From September 2007 to December 2010, 35 patients who req...

Median sternotomy is frequently selected for the resection of pulmonary artery tumor, and pneumonectomy is performed for complete resection. However, it is difficult to see the inferior pulmonary vein and transect it safely via median sternotomy, so additional thoracotomy is often required and this is highly invasive. In the present case, we employed thoracoscopy (which we routinely use for VAT...

Median sternotomy due to its technical simplicity and excellent exposure of the heart, great vessels and pulmonary hila is the most common incision performed in cardiothoracic surgery worldwide [1]. Originally described by Julian more than 100 years ago and re-induced by Milton in 1957, median sternotomy replaced gradually thoracotomy or bilateral transverse sternothoracotomy (clamshell incisio...