In patients with prosthetic valve thrombosis, intravenous slow infusion thrombolysis given in discrete, successive sessions guided by serial TEE and transthoracic echocardiography can be achieved with a low risk of complications and a high rate of success.

Surgical management of cardiac myxoma gives excellent results. In selected cases, a conservative approach may be adequate. Despite the scarcity of the neoplastic properties, careful follow-up is necessary.

Since acute type A aortic dissection with coronary involvement is associated with high mortality rate, immediate coronary artery bypass grafting and aortic repair is a safe and reliable approach to these challenging group of patients.

SUMMARYThe objective of the present study was to investigate the risk factors for early hospital mortality in reoperations performed for obstructive prosthetic valve dysfunction. Between January 1994 and April 2005, 63 patients underwent reoperation for obstructive prosthetic valve dysfunction. The mean age of the patients was 40.3 ± 12.8 years. The mitral valve was replaced in 47 (74.6%) patients, the aortic valve in 6 (9.5%) patients, and both valves in 10 (15.9%) patients. Forty-three (68.2%) patients underwent emergency reoperations.Early hospital mortality occurred in 13 (20.6%) patients. The ethiology of the valve dysfunction was pannus formation in 45 (71.4%) patients and thrombus formation in 18 (28.6%). Pannus and thrombus were localized at the atrial side of the prosthetic valve in 15 (23.9%) patients, at the ventricular side in 13 (20.6%), and at both sides in 35 (55.5%). Inadequate anticoagulation was diagnosed in 28 of 63 (44.4%) patients. The mean INR level in these 28 patients was 1.43 ± 0.24. In multivariate analysis, the only risk factor for early hospital mortality was left ventricular ejection fraction (P = 0.015; Odds: 0.000, 95% CI: 0.000-0.043).It is concluded reoperations for prosthetic valve dysfunction have a high mortality rate. This study revealed that left ventricular dysfunction is the major determinant of surgical mortality in patients requiring reoperation for valve dysfunction due to pannus or thrombus. (Int Heart J 2006; 47: 237-245)

A 28-year-old woman with a complex peripheral congenital arteriovenous malformation in the left shoulder and left upper arm was treated by a combination of surgery and embolization. In the consecutive four operations, the major feeding arteries of the arteriovenous malformation were ligated, but as her complaints increased, transcatheter embolization was planned for releaving the symptoms in the first aspect. A total of eight embolization sessions were performed with Onyx during the 3-year period. The arteriovenous communications were occluded by embolization, with approximately more than an 80% decrease in the lesion size angiographically. After these interventions, the patient's symptoms improved clinically and dyspnea was lessened. Peripheral congenital arteriovenous malformation is a rare and therapeutically challenging condition in which a combination of surgery and embolization would be necessary to obtain a good result.