The use of thoracic endovascular aortic repair alone for AEF should not be considered a definitive surgery. In contrast, esophagectomy, open surgery with aortic replacement using prostheses and homografts and greater omentum wrapping significantly improve the mid-term survival of AEF.

Titanium oxide nanotubes with Ca ions on their surfaces were prepared as 2 mm cylindrical inserts and placed into surgically created bone defects in the femurs of Wistar rats. On day 3, fibroblast-like cells were present on the surface of the nanotube inserts and fibers were observed by scanning electron microscopy (SEM). On day 7, cells with alkaline phosphatase activity were present and identified as osteoblasts by SEM and transmission electron microscopy. New bone matrices were observed in and around the porous nanotube inserts by light microscopy. Compared with clinically used hydroxyapatite and tricalcium phosphate, beta-titanium oxide nanotubes promote faster acquisition and development of osteoblasts and bone tissues and have better bone regenerating ability after one week.

For AEF, TEVAR as a primary approach is quite useful to stabilize the patients' condition. However, definitive aortic repair with omental coverage should be performed as early as possible as a next step. It may be one of the strategies for the treatment of AEF that concomitant esophageal resection and aortic graft replacement is performed with simultaneous gastric tube reconstruction with intact whole omentum after removing the stent graft, so far as the patient's physical condition permits.

Postoperative atrial fibrillation (POAF) is the most common complication after cardiac surgery, despite improvements in anesthesia, surgical techniques, and medical therapies. Although beta-blockers have been proven to be effective, the incidence of POAF is around 20 % even with these agents. The mechanism of POAF is not fully elucidated and no optimal strategy has been established for POAF. There are two important elements of "structural" and "electrical" remodelling of the atrium in the mechanism of POAF. A patient's age and preoperative left atrial fibrosis can predict POAF associated with structural remodelling. Although inflammation and oxidative stress during cardiac surgery may be the underlying mechanisms for electrical remodelling causing POAF, there are no reliable clinical parameters for their detection. Nonetheless, postoperative P-wave dispersion and electromechanical delay, which reflects excitation-contraction coupling abnormalities, could be new parameters for POAF. In conclusion, despite the importance of prevention of POAF, there are only a few parameters for predicting POAF. It is therefore necessary to consider both disease-mediated structural remodeling before surgery and electrical remodeling caused by cardiac surgery.

The cardiomyocytes derived from the mouse ES cells were demonstrated to be viable and function in the ectopic site of the host retroperitoneum up to Day 30, following a process of proliferation and differentiation. Vascularization and host perfusion beneficial for the survival of the cardiomyocytes occurred in the transplants.