• Journal of Chest Surgery
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• v.41 no.2
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• pp.170-176
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• 2008

Background: Bioprosthetic devices for treating cardiovascular diseases and defects may provide alternatives to autologous and homograft tissue. We evaluated the mechanical and physical conditions of a porcine pericardial bioprosthesis treated with Glutaraldehyde (GA), Ethanol, or Sodium dodecylsulfate (SDS) before implantation. Material and Method: 1) Thirty square-shaped pieces of porcine pericardium were fixed in 0.625%, 1.5% or 3% GA solution. 2) The tensile strength and thickness of these and other bioprosthesis, including fresh porcine pericardium, fresh human pericardium, and commercially produced heterografts, were measured. 3) The tensile strength and thickness of the six treated groups (GA-Ethanol, Ethanol-GA, SDS only, SDS-GA, Ethanol-SDS-GA and SDS-Ethanol-GA) were measured. Result: 1) Porcine pericardium fixed in 0.625% GA the thinnest and had the lowest tensile strength, with thickness and tensile strength increasing with the concentration of GA solution. The relationship between tensile strength and thickness of porcine pericardium increased at thicknesses greater than 0.1mm (correlation-coefficient 0.514, 0<0.001). 2) There were no differences in tensile strength or thickness between commercially-produced heterografts. 3) Treatment of GA, ethanol, or SDS minimally influenced thickness and tensile strength of porcine pericardium, except for SDS alone. Conclusion: Porcine pericardial bioprosthesis greater than 0.1 mm thick provide better handling and advantageous tensile strength. GA fixation did not cause physical or mechanical damage during anticalcification or decellularization treatment, but combining SDS-ethanol pre-treatment and GA fixation provided the best tensile strength and thickness.

• Journal of Chest Surgery
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• v.34 no.9
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• pp.692-697
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• 2001

Background: The left main coronary artery surgical angioplasty has become the choice of surgical procedure in isolated LM disease. We have performed 22 cases of LMCA surgical angioplasy since 1996. We report the immediate and long term result of the surgical angioplasty with their postoperative angiography. Material and Method: Between July 1994 and October 2000, 22 patients(11 men and 11 women) were subjected to surgical patch angioplasty of the LMCA, 1 patient had an additional angioplasty performed on the proximal right coronary artery. The LMCA was approached anteriorly with or without transection of the main pulmonary artery(21 cases), and in a patient who had undergone an aortic valve replacement, LMCA was approached superiorly with transection of the ascending aorta. Additional grafting was required in 5 cases. The on-lay patch was used with autologous pericardium in 6 cases and bovine pericardium in 16 cases. Result: There was no operative mortality. There was 30~50% stenosis of the anastomosis site in 3 cases at the postop. coronary angiography. Coronary angiography was reperformed in 5 cases between 5th months and 15th months postoperatively. There was 40~60% stenosis of the anastomosis site in 2 cases. There was one death at 42nd months postoperatively but the cause was unknown. No patient complained of angina with a mean follow up of 48.$\pm$22.5 months. Conclusion: There were only several coronary angiographic results in long term follow-up but we had relatively good clinical results for LMCA surgical angioplasty in the immediate and long term. The excellence of LMCA surgical angioplasty needs the result of the long term follow-up.

• Journal of Chest Surgery
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• v.32 no.7
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• pp.675-680
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• 1999

We describe here two cases of anterior tracheoplasty utilizing an autologous pericardial patch. One patient was a 9 year-old female who had a congenital long tracheal stenosis associated with major vascular anomalies including pulmonary artery sling. One-stage correction was done under the support of an extracorporeal membrane oxygenation system. She required a prolonged ventilation support for 10 days postoperatively until the implanted pericardium was fixed to the mediastinal structures. The other patient was a 8 year-old male who had acquired tracheal stenosis following a complicated tracheostomy. By applying additional support over the pericardial patch with the costal cartilage, an endotracheal tube could be removed immediately after the operation. Both patients have been doing well in a postoperative follow-up of over a year, and there have been evidences of growth in the reconstructed trachea.

• Journal of Chest Surgery
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• v.49 no.3
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• pp.195-198
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• 2016

We report a 72-year-old male with known myelodysplastic syndrome who presented to the emergency department with a 7-day history of fever and dyspnea. Echocardiography revealed a round echogenic mass $13{\times}16mm$ in size attached to the atrial side of the tricuspid valve. Considering the high risk of infective endocarditis in the patient with a low absolute neutrophil count ($130/mm^3$), emergency surgery was performed. Intraoperatively, a single gelatinous neoplasm was resected, and subsequent reconstruction of the involved leaflet was accomplished using autologous pericardium. The tumor was pathologically confirmed as papillary fibroelastoma with no evidence of infective endocarditis. Papillary fibroelastoma is a rare cardiac neoplasm that occurs in either the mitral or aortic valves. Interestingly, a few cases of tricuspid valve papillary fibroelastoma have been reported so far. Similar echocardiographic findings between vegetation and tricuspid valve neoplasm make it difficult to distinguish these two disease entities.

• Journal of Chest Surgery
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• v.24 no.1
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• pp.15-25
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• 1991

From February 1988 to December 1990, 42 patients underwent so called REV operation for pulmonary stenosis or atresia with or without anomalies of ventriculoarterial connection and truncus arteriosus. The principles of operative technique are mobilization of pulmonary arterial tree beyond the pericardial reflection, transection of pulmonary trunk between the pulmonary ventricle and pulmonary artery, suture of distal pulmonary arterial stump to the upper margin of Pulmonary ventriculotomy site with absorbable suture, and anterior patch with 0.625% glutaraldehyde fixed autologous pericardium with monocusp inside it. Age at operation ranged 3-156months [mean 41.8 month] with twelve of whom infants. Operative indications were pulmonary atresia, with ventricular septal defect[16], and pulmonary stenosis with double outlet right ventricle[8], with ventricular septal defect[16], with double outlet right ventricle[8], with complete transposition of the great arteries[8], with corrected transposition of the great arteries[6], with Fallot`s tetralogy[3], and truncus arteriosus[1]. There were six hospital deaths[14%] and no late death. Twenty-four of 36 survivals were followed up more than 12 months with good clinical results. Postoperative angiocardiogram was performed in fifteen patients. Hemodynamically, two patents had residual pressure gradients along the pulmonary outflow tract, one patient showed severe pulmonary regurgitation; morphologically, there were six significant stenosis of left pulmonary arterial tree, two of whom showed significant pressure gradients. Our present experience with REV operation suggests that this technique make it possible to perform anatomic repair in a wide variety of congenital anomalies of abnormal ventriculoarterial connection associated with pulmonary outflow tract obstruction without using the prosthetic material, even in infants, with relatively low mortality and morbidity.

• Journal of Chest Surgery
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• v.35 no.2
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• pp.149-152
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• 2002

We report successful application of dual trachcobronchial stcnt to the diffuse tracheal stenosis. An one-month-old boy was transferred to the emergency room due to tachypnea and respiratory difficulty with COB retention. Preoperative computed tomography revealed pulmonary artery sling with diffuse tracheal stenosis. We found that the diameter of the both main bronchus was less than 3mm and the trachea was a complete ring. We divided the left pulmonary artery and implanted it to the main pulmonary artery under cardiopulmonary bypass. After that, tracheoplasty was performed with autologous pericardium. However, after the initial measures, CO2 retention and respiratory difficulty persisted due to the granulation tissue and dynamic obstruction of the airway ensued by the overlying pericardial flap. Therefore, we decided to apply a single tracheal stunt. After the insertion of tracheal stent, residual stenosis of the both main bronchus opening continued to cause respiratory difficulty Finally we applied dual tracheobronchial stent and resolved the airway obstruction.

• Journal of Chest Surgery
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• v.39 no.1 s.258
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• pp.68-71
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• 2006

We operated on a 41-year-old man using venous bypass shunt for superior vena cava (SVC) syndrome caused by mediastinal fibrosis. The patient had substantially high venous pressure and high risk of postoperative neurologic deficits. The collateral veins were deemed to be interrupted during the surgical reconstruction of SVC. Treatment included resection of the obstructed SVC and innominate vein and reconstruction with an autologous pericardial tube graft. During the operation, venous drainage from upper body was maintained with an extraluminal bypass shunt. The shunt was effective at prompt relief of venous hypertension, eliminating the time constraints, and preventing the postoperative complications.

• Journal of Chest Surgery
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• v.52 no.1
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• pp.9-15
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• 2019

Background: Although aortic valve repair can reduce prosthesis-related complications, rheumatic aortic regurgitation (AR) caused by leaflet restriction is a significant risk factor for recurrent AR. In this study, we evaluated the long-term results of the leaflet extension technique for rheumatic AR. Methods: Between 1995 and 2016, 33 patients underwent aortic valve repair using the leaflet extension technique with autologous pericardium for rheumatic pure AR. Twenty patients had severe AR and 9 had combined moderate or greater mitral regurgitation. Their mean age was $32.2{\pm}13.9$ years. The mean follow-up duration was $18.3{\pm}5.8$ years. Results: There were no cases of operative mortality, but postoperative complications occurred in 5 patients. Overall survival at 10 and 20 years was 93.5% and 87.1%, respectively. There were no thromboembolic cerebrovascular events, but 4 late deaths occurred, as well as a bleeding event in 1 patient who was taking warfarin. Twelve patients underwent aortic valve reoperation. The mean interval to reoperation was $13.1{\pm}6.1$ years. Freedom from reoperation at 10 and 20 years was 96.7% and 66.6%, respectively. Conclusion: The long-term results of the leaflet extension technique showed acceptable durability and a low incidence of thromboembolic events and bleeding. The leaflet extension technique may be a good option for young patients with rheumatic AR.

• Journal of Chest Surgery
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• v.30 no.7
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• pp.656-662
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• 1997

Aortic valvuloplasty has recently gained attention as an attractive alternative procedure for aortic valvular disease. Between March 1995 to August 1996, 14 patients with pure aortic regurgitation(AR) underwent aortic alvuloplasty using leaflet extension with glutaraldehydepreserved autologous pericardium. There were 11 males and 3 females, and the mean age was 34.8 $\pm$ 15.3 years. Preoperative echocardiography and cardiac catheterization revealed that the degree of AR was mean 3.4$\pm$0.65, and more than moderate degree of mitral regurgitation(MR) were detected in 4 patients. In 12 patients, 3 leaflets were extended and in another 2 patients only one deformed leaflet was extended. Concomitant mitral valvuloplasty (MVP) was performed in 4 patients. The competency of the aortic valve after completion of repair was evaluated by the transesophageal echocardiography in operating theater, and there was no aortic and mitral stenosis or regurgitation. In an early postoperative echocardiography, trivial AR was detected in 3 patients and mild MR in 1 patient. The end-systolic and end-diastolic dimensions of the left ventricle were decreased significantly(p<0.05) as compared with those of preoperative values. T ere was no mortality and no significant postoperative complication encountered. Late complication developed in 2 patients during the follow-up period(mean 7.9$\pm$ 5.9 months). One patient underwent AVR on postoperative 7th month due to endocarditis, and the another patient with Behcet's disease underwent Ross operation at postoperative 4th month. In conclusion, AVP of leaflet extension technique offers an excellent early clinical result and represents a good alterna!ivy surgical treatment for the pure AR especially in young age group, although long-term follow-up is necessary to determine the durability of glutaraldehyde-preserved autologous pericardium as a valve leaflet.

• Journal of Chest Surgery
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• v.41 no.3
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• pp.295-304
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• 2008

Background: Various experimental trials for the development of bioprosthetic devices are actively underway, secondary to the limited supply of autologous and homograft tissue to treat cardiac diseases. In this study, porcine bioprostheses that were treated with glutaraldehyde (GA), ethanol, or sodium dodecylsulfate (SDS) were examined with light microscopy and transmission electron microscopy for mechanical and physical imperfections before implantation, Material and Method: 1) Porcine pericardium, aortic valve, and pulmonary valve were examined using light microscopy and JEM-100CX II transmission electron microscopy, then compared with human pericardium and commercially produced heterografts. 2) Sections from six treated groups (GA-Ethanol, Ethanol-GA, SDS only, SDS-GA, Ethanol-SDS-GA and SDS-Ethanol-GA) were observed using the same methods. Result: 1) Porcine pericardium was composed of a serosal layer, fibrosa, and epicardial connective tissue. Treatment with GA, ethanol, or SDS had little influence on the collagen skeleton of porcine pericardium, except in the case of SDS pre-treatment. There was no alteration in the collagen skeleton of the porcine pericardium compared to commercially produced heterografts. 2) Porcine aortic valve was composed of lamina fibrosa, lamina spongiosa, and lamina ventricularis. Treatment with GA, ethanol, or SDS had little influence on these three layers and the collagen skeleton of porcine aortic valve, except in the case of SDS pre-treatment. There were no alterations in the three layers or the collagen. skeleton of porcine aortic valve compared to commercially produced heterografts. Conclusion: There was little physical and mechanical damage incurred in porcine bioprosthesis structures during various glutaraldehyde fixation processes combined with anti-calcification or decellularization treatments. However, SDS treatment preceding GA fixation changed the collagen fibers into a slightly condensed form, which degraded during transmission electron micrograph. The optimal methods and conditions for sodium dodecylsulfate (SDS) treatment need to be modified.