Search

Background Cardiac Hibernomas are very rare benign tumors and usually remain asymptomatic. Neonatal cardiogenic shock due to cardiac tumors is extremely very rare. Until this date a few cases of cardiac hibernoma have been reported in the literature. Transthoracic echocardiography help in the differential diagnosis, but the definitive diagnosis is histological. The management strategy is not clearly codified. The Aim is to report and discuss the clinical features of a cardiac Hibernoma and review the relevant literature. Case presentation We describe a case of a 2-day-old Caucasian full-term male neonate admitted in neonate intensive care with cardiogenic shock, having fluid resuscitation and inotropic drugs. Ventilatory support was started immediately with the subsequent reestablishment of normal blood pressure. Then he was transferred to the echocardiography laboratory. Transthoracic echocardiography showed two echogenic masses in the right atrium and right ventricle. The masses were extended to the pulmonary trunk. Pulmonary artery flow measurements showed the presence of pulmonary and tricuspid obstruction. Surgery was rapidly considered since the baby was hemodynamically unstable. Intraoperative evaluation showed a mass embedded in the interventricular septum that occupy the right ventricular cavity and the right atrium. The tumor involved also the chordae of the tricuspid. Partial resection was done. Tricuspid valve repair was performed by construction of new chordae from the autologous pericardium. The specimen was sent for histopathological analysis. The baby died immediately after surgery. Histological examination of the surgical specimen revealed clear multivacuolated cells filled with lipid droplets and granular intense eosinophilic cytoplasm which confirms the diagnosis of Hibernoma. Conclusion Cardiac Hibernomas are rare benign tumors. The prognosis and treatment strategy is closely dependent on the location, initial clinical presentation and possible complications. The prognosis can be unfavorable if the tumor was obstructive and infiltrate the myocardium.

Background Cardiac involvement is an uncommon presentation of hydatid disease. In this study, we aim to analyze the experience of surgical treatment of cardiac and great vessels echinococcosis in our cardiovascular and thoracic surgery department. Methods Through a 16-year period, from 2000 to 2015, 27 patients underwent surgery for cardiac and great vessels hydatid disease. The clinical, operative, and postoperative data were analyzed through this retrospective and descriptive study. Results Most of our patients came from a rural area. The most common symptom was chest pain. The diagnosis was mainly made by transthoracic echocardiography, which has shown the right ventricle as the most frequent location of the disease. All patients received surgical treatment under cardiopulmonary bypass, and only six surgeries were performed without cross-clamping the aorta. Inhospital mortality rate was 7.4%. Conclusions Cardiac hydatidosis is a rare but potentially serious condition whose treatment is mainly surgical even for asymptomatic patients owing to its possible fatal complications. The surgery outcomes are usually satisfactory. Follow-up examinations are highly recommended to detect recurrences.

Anomalies of the aortic arch associated with Kommerell diverticulum (KD) are rare congenital malformations. Symptomatic thoracic vascular rings presenting in adults are rare. We report a case of a 39‐year‐old woman who was diagnosed with uncontrolled asthma. She was complaining of worsening respiratory symptoms with dysphagia. Imaging studies and preoperative findings concluded to type II congenital anomaly of the aortic arch or Neuhauser's anomaly: a right‐sided aortic arch with aberrant left subclavian artery, tracheoesophageal compression by KD and ligamentum arteriosum (LA). This compression was relieved by the resection of the LA and KD., We report a rare case of vascular ring with Kommerell diverticulum leading to a misdiagnosis of asthma in a 39‐year‐old woman.

Left main coronary artery disease is known as the highest risk lesion subset of ischemic heart disease. Several studies have shown a significant benefit following treatment with coronary artery bypass grafting compared with medical treatment. As a result, surgery has been the standard of care for the revascularization of left main disease for a long time. However, with the remarkable improvements in interventional cardiology, percutaneous coronary intervention has become technically feasible and showed favorable clinical outcomes.We sought to evaluate trends in treatment strategies of left main coronary artery disease over time in Sahloul University Hospital and to compare patient's characteristics as well as early, mid-term and long-term adverse outcomes of each therapeutic option.From 2005 to 2016, 260 patients with unprotected left main disease (defined as stenosis of at least 50%) were included. 109 patients underwent PCI (group 1), 102 patients underwent Surgery (group 2) and 49 patients were medically treated (group 3). Major cardiac and cerebrovascular events were defined as the composite of: mortality, nonfatal myocardial infarction, stroke, and need for repeat revascularization. Event rates were estimated with Kaplan-Meier analyses.Over time, the proportion of patients treated with percutaneous coronary intervention rather than coronary artery bypass grafting increased substantially, whereas the proportion of patients who received medical therapy remained steady. Group 1 patients had more cardiogenic shock (6.4% vs 0%, p=0,01) at presentation compared to group 2. More patients treated with surgery had multivessel disease (73% vs 40%; p0.001), more distal left main bifurcation lesions (52.3% vs 73.5%; p=0.001) and higher SYNTAX scores (23.3±9.96 vs 32.5±8.7; p0.001). All the other baseline variables were similar. At follow up, there were no differences, at the adjusted analysis, in the rate of myocardial infarction, cerebrovascular accidents, and the composite endpoint of major cardiovascular and cerebrovascular events (HR: 1, 04; 95% CI: 0.59 to 1.83; p=0.88). Compared to percutaneous coronary intervention group, group 2 has a higher all-cause mortality (p=0.017) driven exclusively by an elevated incidence of operative mortality (13.7% vs. 6.4%; HR: 0.08; 95% CI: 0.017 to 0.43; p=0.003). Nevertheless, long-term advantage of coronary artery bypass grafting over percutaneous coronary intervention was the less need for repeat revascularization (HR: 3.1; 95% CI: 1.26 to 8.12; p=0.014).Our data show that revascularization therapy have evolved remarkably in the favor of percutaneous coronary intervention over the last decade. Angioplasty and coronary artery bypass graft show comparable safety. However, the need for revascularization is more common after percutaneous treatment.

Echocardiography is an important tool for diagnosis of cardiac abnormalities that can impact the management and outcome of the sick newborn in the intensive care unit. A preliminary echocardiogram performed by the neonatologist under the supervision of a paediatric cardiologist for interpretation and review is an alternate when there is not a cardiologist on site. The aim of this study was to evaluate frequency of use, neonatal characteristics, and indications of neonatologist-performed echocardiography in a Tertiary Neonatal Care Centre in Tunisia.Prospective observational study in a tertiary Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) in Monastir (Tunisia) from April 2015 to February 2017.An echocardiography was indicated in these situations: cyanosis, signs of circulatory shock, clinical signs of heart failure, presence of a murmur, arrhythmia, and abnormal pulses in upper and/or lower extremities, suspected persistent pulmonary hypertension in neonates, clinically suspected patent ductus arteriosus, maternal diabetes mellitus and polymalformative syndrome. The findings of echocardiography were confirmed by pediatric cardiologist in case of structural or functional cardiac abnormalities.675 echocardiography were performed among them 535 were normal and 25 revealed a persistent arterial duct treated with E2 postaglandins (Prostine®) or paracetamol according to a pre-established protocol. 80 Congenital heart diseases were retained, which represented an incidence of 7 ‰ live births. The second time of our work consisted to study the 55 cases of cardiac diseases confirmed after exclusion of atrial communication. The antenatal diagnosis was made in 11% of cases. The main signs indicating the echocardiogram were the heart murmur (22 cases) followed by cyanosis (6 cases). A malformation association and / or a chromosomal aberration have been noted in 36% of cases. For half of the patients, the cardiac ultrasound was performed before the first 24 hours of life. This examination was completed by a thoracic angioscan in 9 patients. 31% of newborns had an infusion of Prostaglandins for an average duration of 11 days [2-60 days]. One-third of newborns (35 cases) required respiratory assistance. A palliative surgery was made in 7 cases and curative one in 4 cases. The average age at the time of the intervention was 20 days. The neonatal mortality rate was 40%.Echocardiography is being utilized progressively on the neonatal unit, and has been indicated to have a high return for both structural and functional cardiac abnormalities. It is important to encourage collaboration with pediatric cardiologists to establish standards for training and to develop guidelines for clinical practice in order to improve neonatal care.

Introduction. The occurrence of a cardiogenic shock is a rare presentation after scorpion envenomation. The treatment includes classically the use of inotropes and specific vasodilators. Case Presentation. We report a case of an 11-year-old boy presenting with cardiogenic shock and pulmonary edema after a scorpion sting. Despite adequate management at the emergency department and intensive care unit, the patient’s hemodynamic status worsened rapidly, justifying his transfer to our department for ventricular mechanical assistance by venoarterial extracorporeal membrane oxygenation. The following outcomes were favorable and the boy was discharged home on day 29 without aftereffects. Conclusion. This is the first report of successful use of extracorporeal membrane oxygenation for the treatment of cardiogenic shock after scorpion envenomation.

Congenital diseases causing obstruction of the right ventricular outflow tract (RVOT) are common, but the isolated subvalvular pulmonary stenosis is a very rare condition. Its diagnosis is obscure because of difficulty of comprehension of cardiac anatomy. We report a case of a 61-year-old female who presented for increasing shortness of breath on moderate exertion. Echocardiography showed an obstruction in the RVOT during systole by a subpulmonary fibrous ring with a mean gradient of 75mmHg through the ring. Under cardiopulmonary bypass, surgical resection was successfully performed. The patient continued to do well on follow-up in the out-patient clinic, 12 months postoperative.

Le myxome du ventricule droit est une localisation très rare des myxomes cardiaques. Les complications les plus fréquentes sont l'embolie pulmonaire et l'obstruction par la tumeur de la valve pulmonaire. Nous rapportons le cas d'un enfant âgé de 11 ans admis en Cardiologie pour des syncopes à répétition. L'échographie cardiaque met en évidence un myxome du ventricule droit de 2cm, obstruant l'orifice pulmonaire. L'exérèse chirurgicale est pratiquée en urgence sous circulation extracorporelle, avec des suites opératoires favorables. L'examen anatomopathologique de la pièce a permis de confirmer le diagnostic de myxome. Le suivi à 18 mois ne montre pas de récidive tumorale.

L'endocardite du céur droit touche dans la plupart des cas la valve tricuspide, notamment chez les toxicomanes. L'infection isolée de la valve pulmonaire est rarement retrouvée. Nous rapportons dans cette observation le cas d'une jeune femme âgée de 32 ans chez qui le diagnostic d'endocardite communautaire de la valve pulmonaire a été confirmé. Cette observation est d'autant plus intéressante qu'elle survient chez une patiente sans antécédents de toxicomanie, avec néanmoins la notion de communication interventriculaire restrictive. La patiente a été opérée en urgence devant l'image de grosse végétation très mobile sur les données de l'échographie cardiaque transthoracique. La chirurgie a été pratiquée sous circulation extracorporelle et la valve pulmonaire a été remplacée par une bioprothèse. Les hémocultures et la culture de la valve ont retrouvé un staphylococcus aureus sensible à la Méticilline. L'évolution postopératoire a été favorable avec un recul de 06 mois sans récurrence infectieuse.

Resume L’exostose osseuse est une tumeur benigne rare de l’os dont les complications vasculaires peuvent etre d’ordre veineux ou arteriel se traduisent en differents tableaux. Nous rapportons le cas d’un jeune adulte qui presente un faux anevrisme de l’artere poplitee droite associee a une artere poplitee piegee a gauche. Le patient a beneficie d’un traitement chirurgical avec bonne evolution clinique et radiologique.

We report the case of a 64-year-old man with a huge solitary fibrous pleural tumor who presented with breathlessness and recurrent severe symptomatic hypoglycemia. The tumor was safely removed in toto via a median sternotomy. The patient had an uneventful postoperative recovery and no recurrent hypoglycemia.

Background: Allergic reaction to pacemaker compounds is a rare complication of cardiac pacing. Initial management is difficult because accurate diagnosis is often delayed. The tendency is to initially suspect a bacterial infection, rather than to quickly rule out an allergy to the pacemaker components. Management of this condition is difficult and not well established. Case presentation: A 75-year-old man underwent a dual chamber pacemaker implantation. The patient needed two generator re-implantations because of sterile skin necrosis. Pace maker allergic reaction was suspected despite non-conclusive skin patch testing. The patient underwent pacemaker system removal and re-implantation of poly-tetra-fluoro-ethylene sheet coated generator in a retropectoral position. Subsequently, there has been no externalization or recurrence in nine years of follow-up. Take-away lesson: Contact allergy to pacemakers is often unrecognized. Once infection has been excluded, allergy testing must be performed. The only valuable treatment is the removal of all the system components, followed by a replacement with hypoallergenic material. Polytetrafluoroethylene coated materials can be effective to prevent recurrence.

Introduction: Primary cardiac tumors are uncommon during infancy and childhood. Myxomas originating from the right ventricle are even less common in pediatric patients. Case presentation: Here we describe a case of an 11-year-old Tunisian boy who was referred for syncope. Transthoracic echocardiography revealed a large mobile mass attached to his right ventricle, obstructing his right ventricular outflow tract. Complete surgical excision of the mass with preservation of the pulmonary valve was performed. The diagnosis of myxoma was histologically confirmed. Conclusion: Cardiac myxomas located in the right ventricular outflow tract are rare and can present unusual diagnostic and therapeutic challenges.

Background Surgical management of ventriculo-aortic disconnection and aortic root abscesses after prosthetic aortic valve endocarditis carries high mortality and morbidity. Initial experience with translocation of the aortic valve and distal coronary artery bypass grafting was disappointing in terms of short-term and long-term success in the few published reports. We describe a technique of translocation of the aortic valve into the ascending aorta with direct antegrade myocardial revascularization. Methods Between 1980 and 1992, we included 21 patients and evaluated their long-term outcome. The surgical technique included extracting the aortic valve prosthesis, resecting all infected tissue, restoring the left ventricular outflow tract, and translocating the aortic valve into the ascending aorta, associated with myocardial revascularization of the left main trunk and the proximal right coronary artery. Results All patients required emergency surgery: 15 patients were in severe congestive heart failure, 3 patients were in cardiogenic shock, and 3 patients had multiple neurologic and peripheral signs of distal embolization. Fifteen patients had active prosthetic valve endocarditis. Intraoperative findings dictated the translocation. The overall hospital mortality was 14%. None of the 18 hospital survivors had prosthetic aortic valve endocarditis recurrence. All patients were observed from 12 to 22 years, are alive, and have resumed normal activities. Conclusions In severe forms of prosthetic valve endocarditis, this technique provides a safe and reliable alternative to homograft replacement. The long-term results are satisfactory.

Congenitally corrected TGA (CC-TGA) is characterized by discordant atrioventricular and ventriculo arterial connections. In absence of right ventricular outflow tract obstruction (RVOTO), repair by atrial and arterial switches remains a challenging procedure for which long term follow-up is uncertain.From 1995 to 2007, 20 patients (median age: 26 months) with CC-TGA had double switch procedure. Segmental anatomy was {SLL} in all patients, dextrocardia in two patients, mesocardia in two patients. Ventricular septal defect was present in 17 patients, aortic coarctation in 2 patients and interrupted aortic arch (IAoA) in 1 patient. Five patients had tricuspid valve regurgitation. Six patients had AV blocks, 4 patients had pacemaker implantation prior to repair. Pulmonary artery banding was performed in 17 patients, for congestive heart failure (14 patients) or left ventricular retraining (3 patients). Three patients, including one patient with IAoA had primary repair. After LV retraining, repair was performed when indexed LV mass to LV volume ratio was above 1.5. A median follow-up of 60 months was achieved in all.There were no deaths. Postoperative pacemaker implantation was required in four patients. Reoperation for Senning obstruction was necessary in one patient, and pacemaker battery replacement in another patient. One patient had mild neoaortic insufficiency, two had mild tricuspid regurgitation and two had mild mitral regurgitation. All were in NYHA I-II. Actuarial survival at 10 years was 100% and freedom from reoperation at 5 and 10 years were 93% and 77.4%, respectively.Double switch for CC-TGA without RVOTO can be performed with no mortality and low morbidity. Since these results seem to last for several years, it should be considered as the optimal procedure.

Le monitorage hémodynamique par cathéter de Swan-Ganz est utile surtout en cas de fonction cardiaque altérée. La mise en place de ce cathéter peut être accompagnée par des complications sévères dans 3 à 4.4% des cas tel qu'un pneumothorax, un hémothorax, une rupture de l'artère pulmonaire, une atteinte valvulaire, des troubles de la conduction ou rarement une formation d'un n'ud intracardiaque. Nous rapportons un cas de cathéter de Swan-Ganz compliqué d'un n'ud formé à son extrémité et nous discutons les éventuels moyens diagnostiques et thérapeutiques de cette complication.

Le monitorage hémodynamique par cathéter de Swan-Ganz est utile surtout en cas de fonction cardiaque altérée. La mise en place de ce cathéter peut être accompagnée par des complications sévères dans 3 à 4,4% des cas tel que la rupture de l'artère pulmonaire, l'atteinte valvulaire, les troubles de la conduction, le pneumothorax, l'hémothorax et rarement la formation d'un nœud intracardiaque. Nous rapportons un cas de cathéter de Swan-Ganz compliqué d'un nœud formé à son extrémité et nous discutons les éventuels moyens diagnostiques et thérapeutiques de cette complication.

Combination of ruptured sinus of Valsalva aneurysm (SVA), and a coexisting asymptomatic adult aortic isthmic coarctation is extremely rare. The timing and sequence of surgical and/or interventional repair of these two pathologies are controversial. We present a case of a 37-year-old male who was admitted to our department because of severe acute congestive heart failure and signs of ruptured aneurysm of the SV into the right ventricle. Transthoracic and transoesophageal echocardiography confirmed the communication between an important right coronary SVA and right ventricle, bicuspid aortic valve, mild aortic regurgitation, and revealed severe aortic coarctation. Because of the severe dilation of right sinus of Valsalva a surgical repair of the ruptured aneurysm was performed. Aortic coarctation was treated four weeks later by a percutaneous stent-graft implantation. This case report supports the concept that hybrid approach is feasible in patients with ruptured SVA and aortic coarctation in adulthood.

Objective: Postoperative left ventricular outflow tract obstruction (LVOTO) after arterial switch operation (ASO) is rare. In this retrospective study, we reviewed the cases of 10 patients with LVOTOs post-ASO and analyzed the options used for the LVOTOs corrections and the patients' outcomes. Methods: From December 1982 to December 2006, 1689 consecutive ASO were performed. Ten patients presented with postoperative LVOTOs (0.59% of all ASO and 7.62% of ASO for Taussig-Bing anomaly (TBA)) leading to reoperations. Before ASO they presented with significant subaortic gradients (n = 4) or predisposing anatomical features (n = 9) such as: conal septum malalignment (7/9), abnormal tricuspid cords insertions (4/9), muscular bundle hypertrophy (3/9) and mitral accessory tissue (2/9). Results: No patient was lost in the follow-up: 117 ± 33 months. Subaortic gradients had developed between 5 months and 14 years after ASO (mean 41 ± 35 months) leading to reoperations. Most LVOTOs post-ASO were due to fibrotic membranes or fibro-muscular hypertrophy, removed at first reoperation. After their first reoperations, seven patients (70%) had non-significant or low gradients and were not reoperated for LVOTO. Three patients underwent iterative surgical procedures for LVOTOs leading to two aortic valve replacements associated with LVOTO release or Konno procedure. Conclusion: Postoperative LVOTO after ASO is rare but happens more frequently in TBA. Most of them can benefit from resections of subaortic obstacles or septal plasties. In more complex cases iterative surgical procedures may lead to complications such as block or severe aortic valve regurgitation.

Background The internal thoracic artery (ITA) is considered to be the conduit of choice for coronary artery bypass grafting surgery (CABG). In triple-vessel–disease patients, CABG can be performed exclusively using both ITAs in a Y fashion with multiple sequential side-to-side coronary anastomoses. The aim of this prospective study was to evaluate by early postoperative angiographic control, the patency and particularly the quality of ITA grafts and coronary anastomoses in this configuration. Methods Between October 2002 and October 2003, 92 triple-vessel–disease patients underwent CABG with this technique and consented to immediate postoperative angiographic control. The right ITA was divided at its origin and connected to the in-situ left ITA (ITA-Y anastomosis). The left ITA was anastomosed to anterior coronary arteries and the right ITA was anastomosed to lateral and inferior coronary arteries, for a total of 374 coronary anastomoses (4.1 anastomoses per patient; range, 3 to 6). Results There was 1 hospital death by septic shock. Two patients were reoperated on for superficial wound infection. There was no postoperative myocardial infarction or stroke. On postoperative angiograms, all ITA-Y (92) and ITA-coronary anastomoses (374) were patent. Competition of flow in right ITA to the moderately stenosed right coronary artery was observed in 9 patients, and there were 4 distal ITA-coronary stenoses, both without clinical consequences. Conclusions In triple-vessel–disease patients, this procedure allows CABG without increasing operative risk. ITA-Y anastomoses and multiple sequential side-to-side ITA-coronary anastomoses are safe to perform and demonstrate excellent patency and quality in early postoperative angiographic control, particularly when coronary artery stenoses are significant (>70%).

Six cases of cortriatriatum operated between January 1990 and April 2004. Their ages ranged from 3 months to 22 years. Associated lesions are present in 4 patients. They consisted mostly of interatrial defects. The echocardiography has been considered the procedure of choice for the diagnosis. Results of surgery were excellent for all patients with a mean follow up of 5 years.

We studied fifty one patients (40 men and 11 women) under going valve replacement from 1990 to 2002 for aortic regurgitation and had left ventricular dysfunction. 45% patients were in class III or IV of New York Heart Association (NYHA). All patients were investigated by echocardiography (left ventricular ejection fraction [LVEF]50%) - Peroperative mortality was 5.8% due to myocardial failure. 81.4% of survivors were followed duering a mean period of 24 months (rangis from 3 to 67 months) after valve replacement.

Chronic ischemic mitral regurgitation (IMR) is characterized by restricted leaflet closure with increased leaflet tethering caused by displaced attachment of the papillary muscle (PM). Generally, the posterior PM is displaced by ventricular remodeling after posterolateral myocardial infarction. IMR carries a significantly negative prognostic effect for cardiac mortality within 5 years, even in patients without signs of established heart failure. A variety of surgical techniques of repairing or replacing the mitral valve have been advocated. These techniques are generally technically demanding and necessitate opening the left side of the heart. Experimental work on ventricular remodeling through reduction of the left ventricular circumference by plication of the left ventricle (LV) can restore mitral geometry toward a normal level. Recently, an external device that repositions the PM has been shown to reduce IMR without compromising LV function. We report the first 3 cases in human subjects of chronic IMR treated by means of plication of the fibrotic infarct in the posterolateral wall of the LV simultaneously with a coronary revascularization procedure without mitral annuloplasty.

From May 1991 to July 2003, 19 patients (9 men and 10 women), of 30 years average age were operated in our department service for surgical cure of cardio-pericardial hydatid cysts. The TEE constitutes the examination of choice in the cardio-pericardial diagnosis of hydatid cyst. The surgery under CPB is the technique of choice, we practiced used 15 times. The left ventricular localization is most frequent. We deplore only death into post-operative immediate. The post-operative was course simple at the majority of our patients. 17 patients could be controlled remotely of the intervention with 35.5 months an average passing. We deplore 2 late deaths. No relapse was observed.

basic fibroblast growth factor impregnated in gelatin hydrogels. J Control Release. 1994;31:189-99. 4. Marui A, Tabata Y, Kojima S, Yamamoto M, Tambara K, Nishina T, et al. A novel approach to therapeutic angiogenesis for patients with critical limb ischemia by sustained release of basic fibroblast growth factor using biodegradable gelatin hydrogel: an initial report of the phase I-IIa study. Circ J. 2007;71:1181-6. 5. Litbarg NO, Gudehithlu KP, Sethupathi P, Arruda JA, Dunea G, Singh AK. Activated omentum becomes rich in factors that promote healing and tissue regeneration. Cell Tissue Res. 2007;328:487-97. Brief Technique Reports