Aortic homograft replacement in a patient with a porcelain aorta: A case report

Aortic Arch Replacement without Deep Hypothermic Circulatory Arrest

A 60-year-old man presented with a thoracic aortic aneurysm without rupture accompanied by severe nonrheumatic aortic valve insufficiency and unstable angina. Surgery was performed and included several steps: (1) resection and reconstruction of ascending aorta and aortic arch using a tube graft, (2) replacement of aortic valve using a biological prosthesis, and (3) coronary artery bypass grafting was performed with two distal anastomoses. All of these procedures were performed with total cardiopulmonary bypass without deep hypothermic circulatory arrest under conditions of moderate hypothermia using dual concurrent cannulation of the subclavian and femoral arteries.

Pericardial Sandwich Technique for End-to-End Anastomosis of Artificial Graft

End-to-end anastomosis between prosthetic grafts seems technically easy; however, bleeding from the needle hole or at the site of anastomotic discrepancy can be problematic. The pericardial sandwich technique helps to resolve this issue. The grafts are generally anastomosed to each other with a continuous suture, and a strip of autopericardium is sandwiched circumferentially between the two grafts. Although this anastomosis involves a special technique, it is not intricate. The pericardium effectively covers the needle hole and gap between the grafts. This method is useful for large-vessel surgery, especially in patients with coagulopathy.