The Annals of thoracic surgery
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Case Reports
Three-dimensional transesophageal echocardiography of a thrombus entrapped by a patent foramen ovale.
The substrate of paradoxic embolization is a patent foramen ovale allowing right-to-left passage of embolic material. A thrombus in transit entrapped by a patent foramen straddling an atrial septal aneurysm is an exceedingly transient condition rarely documented on imaging studies. ⋯ Intraoperative real-time three-dimensional transesophageal echocardiography allowed accurate spatial characterization of the thrombus and correlated closely with surgical findings. It provided more realistic intraoperative guidance compared with conventional two-dimensional transesophageal echocardiography.
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Case Reports
Surgical repair of a left atrial-esophageal fistula after radiofrequency catheter ablation for atrial fibrillation.
Left atrial-esophageal fistula is a highly lethal complication of ablative therapy for atrial fibrillation. Because of its unusual rate of occurrence, there has not been a uniform approach to either the diagnosis or corrective therapy. We offer 1 such surgical option based on presumptive and early diagnosis-left atrial repair with cardiopulmonary bypass followed by repair of the esophagus with an omental wrap and supported with decompressive gastrostomy and feeding jejunostomy.
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Case Reports
Modification of a stented bovine jugular vein conduit (melody valve) for surgical mitral valve replacement.
We report the use of a Melody valve as a surgical implant in the mitral position in 2 infants, one with severe mitral regurgitation and another with mitral stenosis, where other prostheses are not small enough to be implanted in the mitral position nor expandable as the child grows.
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Aberrant subclavian artery is a rare abnormality that often occurs in association with Kommerell's diverticulum. The optimal surgical treatment is exclusion and reconstruction of the dilated diverticulum or aberrant subclavian artery. To accomplish such a radical operation in a single stage, we have introduced total (or partial) arch replacement using deep hypothermic circulatory arrest and the arch-first technique through a bilateral submammary thoracotomy (the clamshell approach). This technique provides excellent exposure of the neck arteries and the entire thoracic aorta.