• Journal of Chest Surgery
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• v.40 no.9
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• pp.600-606
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• 2007

Background: Infective endocarditis shows high surgical mortality and morbidity rates, especially for aortic endocarditis. This study attempts to investigate the clinical characteristics and operative results of isolated aortic endocarditis. Material and Method: From July 1990 to May 2005, 25 patients with isolated aortic endocarditis (Group I, male female=18 : 7, mean age $43.2{\pm}18.6$ years) and 23 patients with isolated mitral endocarditis (Group II, male female=10 : 13, mean age $43.2{\pm}17.1$ years) underwent surgical treatment in our hospital. All the patients had native endocarditis and 7 patients showed a bicuspid aortic valve in Group I. Two patients had prosthetic valve endocarditis and one patients developed mitral endocarditis after a mitral valvuloplasty in Group II. Positive blood cultures were obtained from 11 (44.0%) patients in Group I, and 10 (43.3%) patients in Group II, The pre-operative left ventricular ejection fraction for each group was $60.8{\pm}8.7%$ and $62.1{\pm}8.1%$ (p=0.945), respectively. There was moderate to severe aortic regurgitation in 18 patients and vegetations were detected in 17 patients in Group I. There was moderate to severe mitral regurgitation in 19 patients and vegetations were found in 18 patients in Group II. One patient had a ventricular septal defect and another patient underwent a Maze operation with microwaves due to atrial fibrillation. We performed echocardiography before discharge and each year during follow-up. The mean follow-up period was $37.2{\pm}23.5$ (range $9{\sim}123$) months. Result: Postoperative complications included three cases of low cardiac output in Group I and one case each of re-surgery because of bleeding and low cardiac output in Group II. One patient died from an intra-cranial hemorrhage on the first day after surgery in Group I, but there were no early deaths in Group II. The 1, 3-, and 5-year valve related event free rates were 92.0%, 88.0%, and 88.0% for Group I patients, and 91.3%, 76.0%, and 76.0% for Group II patients, respectively. The 1, 3-, and 5-year survival rates were 96.0%, 96.0%, and 96.0% for Group I patients, and foo%, 84.9%, and 84.9% for Group II patients, respectively. Conclusion: Acceptable surgical results and mid-term clinical results for aortic endocarditis were seen.

• Journal of Veterinary Clinics
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• v.31 no.4
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• pp.303-306
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• 2014

Three Yorkshire Terriers (12-year-old, 13-year-old, and 15-year-old castrated males) with respiratory distress, coughing and anorexia were the subjects of this report. In laboratory examinations, there were no remarkable findings. However, the thoracic radiographic findings included a large mass of soft tissue density in the cardiac base region, tracheal elevation, and aortic bulging in all three Yorkshire Terriers. There were no remarkable findings in the abdominal radiographs. In echocardiography, a homogeneous hyperechoic mass around the aorta and bicuspid valve regurgitation were found in all three dogs. There were no remarkable findings in abdominal ultrasonography. Computed tomographic findings showed a large well -defined heterogeneous mass in the cranial vena cava, which was dominant in the left side in all three Yorkshire Terriers. The mass sizes were about $3{\times}4cm$. In post-contrast scanning, contrast enhancement was evident. These cases were diagnosed as heart-base tumor. Treatments provided to the three dogs were based on symptomatic medical management of cardiac failure and tracheal collapse. Case 1 (12-year-old) survived for 3 months, case 2 (13-year-old) for 5 months, and case 3 (15-year-old) for 32 months after the diagnosis. Our results show that the clinical findings, thoracic radiography, echocardiography, computed tomography (CT) and symptomatic medical management in dogs suspected to have heart base tumor.