The right gastroepiploic artery (RGEA) has been used as a conduit in coronary artery bypass grafting. Although some reports presenting good results justify its use in clinical settings, there is still much concern about using the RGEA in bypass surgery. The RGEA demonstrates different behaviors from the internal thoracic artery (ITA) in bypass surgery due to its histological characteristics and anatomical difference, which might contribute to the long-term outcome. Now that left ITA (LITA) to left anterior descending artery (LAD) is the gold standard, other grafts are expected to cover the rest of the coronary arteries. It should be elucidated how we can use other grafts and what we can expect from them. RGEA, as an arterial graft, can be used as an in situ graft or a free graft. The RGEA is mainly used to graft to the right coronary artery (RCA) because of its anatomical position, and its patency is not inferior to that of the saphenous vein (SVG). The RGEA can cover the lateral walls when its length is long enough or by making a composite graft with other grafts. However, when used to graft to the LAD, its mid-term patency is not favorable.

Diabetic patients often have manifestation of coronary heart disease. As a consequence, therapeutic strategies for diabetes should pay more attention to hypoglycemic agents which do not have adverse effects on myocardium. Mitiglinide is considered to have little or no impact on the cardioprotective effect of ischemic preconditioning (IP) because of its high selectivity for blocking sulfonylurea receptor1 (SUR1). However, glibenclamide, a nonselective SUR blocker, attenuates this beneficial effect. In the present study, we tested the hypothesis that mitiglinide preserves the protective action of IP evaluated by ischemia/reperfusion ventricular tachyarrhythmia (rVT) in isolated perfused rat hearts. After initial perfusion, the hearts were assigned to one of the following groups: 1) non-IP with control perfusion buffer (non-IP group); 2) IP with control perfusion buffer (IP-C group); 3) IP with perfusion buffer containing glibenclamide (IP-G group); and 4) IP with perfusion buffer containing mitiglinide (IP-M group). The protocol for the non-IP group consisted of 21 minutes of aerobic perfusion before 10 minutes of ischemia. In the other 3 groups (IP groups), there were 3 cycles of 2-minute ischemia followed by 5 minutes of reperfusion before 10 minutes of ischemia. The IP-C group had a significantly shorter rVT duration than the non-IP group (4.4 ± 1.8 minutes versus 14.3 ± 2.5 minutes; P < 0.05). rVT duration was the shortest in the IP-M group (3.9 ± 1.0 minutes), but among the longest in the IP-G group (14.0 ± 2.6 minutes). In conclusion, mitiglinide preserved the cardioprotective effect of IP, however, glibenclamide abolished this beneficial effect. Therefore, mitiglinide may offer a long-term benefit for myocardial ischemia in diabetic patients.

The surgical management for type A acute aortic dissection complicated with carotid artery occlusion remains controversial. Between December 2012 and June 2017, 127 patients who presented with type A acute aortic dissection were operated on in our hospital. Of this group, nine (7.08%) patients had cerebral malperfusion due to carotid artery occlusion. The site of occlusion was innominate artery (n = 5) or right carotid artery (n = 4). Preoperative neurological symptoms were left hemiplegia (n = 1), left hemiparesis (n = 3) and seizure (n = 2). Preoperative consciousness level was Japan Coma Scale 2 (n = 6), 20 (n = 2), or 200 (n = 1). The procedure consisted of hemiarch replacement (n = 4) or total arch replacement (n = 5). Aorto-carotid bypass was performed in all patients under hypothermic circulatory arrest. The time from onset of symptoms to operating room was 7.2 ± 2.4 h. Hospital mortality was 0%. Left hemiplegia and left hemiparesis improved significantly. Japan Coma Scale was 0 in all patients at discharge. Overall survival at 24 months after operation was 100%. Aorto-carotid artery bypass for type A acute aortic dissection with carotid artery occlusion is the treatment of choice in these high-risk patients. Our strategy of ‘no touch until circulatory arrest’ may contribute to neurological improvement.

Acute fulminant myocarditis can cause left ventricular dysfunction that predisposes the patients to critical condition. Left ventricular assist device (LVAD) is a useful option for the patient whose condition is resistant to medical therapy. However, when right ventricular dysfunction with hypoxia is complicated with left ventricular dysfunction, it can be difficult to make a prompt decision in order to achieve better outcome. We present our case in which the support on LVAD and extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) was effective to treat critically ill patients.

Infected thoracic aneurysms are a rare and potentially life-threatening condition that present with non-specific symptoms. We describe here a case of an 83-year-old female who presented to the emergency department with the chief complaint of vomiting blood. The patient had presented to the emergency department 40 days earlier with abdominal pain, fever, and leukocytosis. She had a medical history of traumatic liver injury resulting in bile duct stenosis, necessitating percutaneous transhepatic gallbladder drainage and subsequent bile duct-jejunal anastomosis 25 years ago. Emergency contrast-enhanced computed tomography (CT) revealed an irregular distal arch aneurysm. According to the patient’s present symptoms, CT findings, and medical history, infected thoracic aneurysm was suspected. Total arch replacement was performed promptly, followed by thorough antibiotic therapy. Following successful treatment, the patient’s condition stabilized, and she was transferred to a rehabilitation facility for further recovery.