胸部外科

Quadricuspid aortic valve is a rare congenital disease. We experienced 3 surgical cases of quadricuspid aortic valve. Patient 1 was a 72-year-old man who was noted to have a quadricuspid aortic valve associated with aortic regurgitation and an ascending aortic aneurysm（51 mm in diameter）. He underwent replacement of the aortic valve and the ascending aorta. Patient 2 was a 71-year-old man with severe aortic stenosis, regurgitation, and coronary triple vessel disease. He underwent aortic valve replacement and coronary artery bypass grafting. Preoperative echocardiography revealed no abnormalities in the number of valve leaflets, but quadricuspid aortic valve was identified during surgery. Patient 3 was a 79-year-old man with severe aortic regurgitation, who underwent aortic valve replacement. In all patients, the 4 valve cusps were approximately of the same size. Multi-detector computed tomography is useful for evaluation of valve morphology. Indication of prophylactic ascending aorta replacement in patients with aortic dilatation requires further study.

Video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery has been used to treat lung cancer. However, pleural adhesions may increase the risk of lung injury while making the access port. We report a case of lung cancer in which preoperative lung ultrasound sonography was used to predict the pleural adherence area. An octogenarian man had undergone chest surgery for right spontaneous pneumothorax 20 years ago. He was recently diagnosed with a right middle lobe carcinoma and thoracoscopic surgery was scheduled. On preoperative lung ultrasound sonography, adhesion in the area surrounding the previous incision line was predicted to be strong. However, a sliding lung sign was observed in the pleura on the caudal side, where no adhesions were expected. The thoracoscopic findings during the operation revealed that adhesions were present in the upper and middle regions of the pleural cavity in the locations and to the extent predicted before surgery, but no adhesion was observed on the caudal side. We were able to make an access port avoiding the adherence area in the pleural cavity. Lung ultrasound sonography was useful for detection of the adherence area between the parietal and visceral pleura in this case.

We herein report 2 cases of radical operation for synchronous double cancer of the thoracic esophagus and each side of the lung. Case 1：A 71-year-old woman with synchronous double cancer of the thoracic esophagus （Mt, T3N2M0, StageⅢ） and right lung （M, T2aN0M0, StageⅠB） underwent esophagectomy concomitantly with right middle lobectomy through right thoracotomy （single-stage operation） after 2 courses of systemic chemotherapy with docetaxel, cisplatin and 5-fluorouracil（ DCF regimen）. Case 2：A 72-year-old man with synchronous double cancer of the thoracic esophagus（ MtLt, T3N2M0, StageⅢ） and left lung（ U, T1aN0M0, StageⅠA） underwent 2-stage operation after 2 courses of the DCF therapy. Esophagectomy through right thoracotomy was performed followed by left upper lobectomy through left thoracotomy 3 months later. Treatment strategy for synchronous double cancer of the thoracic esophagus and lung is discussed based on our experiences and previous reports.

We report a case of IgG4-related periaortitis of the descending aorta manifested as a contained rupture of penetrating atherosclerotic ulcer（PAU）. A 67-year-old male was admitted to our hospital complaining about chest pain. Computed tomography（CT） and magnetic resonance imaging revealed PAU with extravasation of the descending aorta and thickening of surrounding tissues. Fluorodeoxyglucose-positron emission tomography （FDG-PET） CT demonstrated abnormal accumulation of FDG at the thickening sites, and serum IgG4 value was abnormally high. The descending aorta replacement was performed and intraoperative findings showed a marked thickening of the mediastinal tissue around the descending aorta and the ulceration of the intima penetrating to the mediastinum. In histopathological examination, the adventitial thickening due to marked fibrosis and the ulceration of the intima accompanying infiltration of IgG4 positive plasma cells were observed. IgG4-related thoracic periaortitis can invade not only to the adventitia but to the intima, and can cause PAU. For aortic diseases with thickening of periaotic tissues, it is necessary to keep in mind the possibility of IgG4-related aortic disease, and serum IgG4 values are useful for diagnosis.

We experienced 2 emergency surgical cases of severe mitral valve regurgitation due to papillary muscle rupture. Case 1：a 69-year-old man presented with respiratory and cardiac failure due to mitral regurgitation. He had no history of myocardial infarction. Mitral valve repair with artificial cords was performed. The papillary muscle of the anterior leaflet was ruptured. The postoperative course was uneventful. Case 2：a 80-year-old man came to our hospital with cardiac arrest. Emergency coronary intervention was performed to the right coronary and intraaortic balloon pumping was inserted. However his condition remained unstable. Severe mitral regurgitation was found by teansesophageal echo cardiography, and he underwent emergency mitral valve repair and single coronary bypass grafting. His cardiac function recovered quickly, but severe brain damage remained.

A 68-year-old woman underwent replacement of the ascending aorta for acute type A aortic dissection. She was then diagnosed with postoperative methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus （MRSA） infection, and the infected aortic graft was replaced with a rifampicin-soaked vascular prosthesis, which was followed by continuous irrigation using a 0.1％ povidone-iodine solution. The postoperative course was uneventful, and she has been doing well for 5 years with no recurrence of infection. Prosthetic graft replacement using a rifampicin-soaked graft followed by continuous irrigation with povidone-iodine is useful for treatment of an MRSA-infected prosthetic vascular graft.