Sinus venosus syndrome: atrial septal defect or anomalous venous connection? A multiplane transoesophageal approach

OBJECTIVE

To discuss the anatomical features of sinus venosus atrial defect on the basis of a comprehensive transoesophageal echocardiography (TOE) examination and its relation to surgical data.

METHODS

24 patients (13 men, 11 women, mean (SD) age 37 (17) years, range 17-73 years) with a posterior interatrial communication closely related to the entrance of the superior (SVC) or inferior vena cava (IVC) who underwent TOE before surgical repair. Records of these patients were retrospectively reviewed and compared with surgical assessments.

RESULTS

In 13 patients, TOE showed a deficiency in the extraseptal wall that normally separates the left atrium and right upper pulmonary vein from the SVC and right atrium. This deficiency unroofed the right upper pulmonary vein, compelling it to drain into the SVC, which overrode the intact atrial septum. In three patients, TOE examination showed a defect in the wall of the IVC, which continued directly into the posterior border of the left atrium. Thus, the intact muscular border of the atrial septum was overridden by the mouth of the IVC, which presented a biatrial connection. In the remaining eight patients, the defect was located in the muscular posterior border of the fossa ovalis. A residuum of atrial septum was visualised in the superior margin of the defect. Neither caval vein overriding nor anomalous pulmonary vein drainage was present.

CONCLUSIONS

Sinus venosus syndrome should be regarded as an anomalous venous connection with an interatrial communication outside the confines of the atrial septum, in the unfolding wall that normally separates the left atrium from either caval vein. It results in overriding of the caval veins across the intact atrial septum and partial pulmonary vein anomalous drainage. It should be differentiated from posterior atrial septal defect without overriding or anomalous venous connections.

Discrete subaortic stenosis in adults: increased prevalence and slow rate of progression of the obstruction and aortic regurgitation

OBJECTIVES

We sought to determine the prevalence and rate of progression of left ventricular outflow tract obstruction (LVOTO) and aortic regurgitation (AR) in adults with discrete subaortic stenosis (DSS).

BACKGROUND

Discrete subaortic stenosis is an uncommon form of LVOTO, with rapid hemodynamic progression in children, but the prevalence and rate of progression in adults have not been studied so far.

METHODS

The prevalence of DSS was determined in 2,057 consecutive adults diagnosed with congenital heart disease (CHD). The relationship between LVOTO on Doppler echocardiography and patient age was analyzed. Sequential changes in LVOTO and AR were determined for patients with two or more Doppler echocardiograms obtained with at least a two-year interval.

RESULTS

A total of 134 adults (mean age 31 +/- 17 years) were diagnosed with DSS. The prevalence was 6.5% for all adults with CHD. Sixty patients (44%) had other associated CHD. The mean age of 29 patients who had undergone an operation for DSS during their adult life (56 +/- 15 years) was significantly higher than that of 64 patients (27 +/- 13 years) who had not required a surgical intervention (p < 0.0001). A significant relationship between LVOTO and patient age (r = 0.61, p < 0.0001) was found: 21 +/- 16 mm Hg in patients <25 years old, 51 +/- 47 mm Hg for those between 25 and 50 years old, and 78 +/- 36 mm Hg for those >50 years old. The LVOTO increased from 39.2 +/- 28 to 46.8 +/- 34 mm Hg (p = 0.01) during a mean follow-up of 4.8 +/- 1.8 years in 25 patients. The slope of the change in LVOTO was 2.25 +/- 4.7 mm Hg per year of follow-up. Aortic regurgitation was detected by color Doppler imaging in 109 patients (81%), but it was hemodynamically significant in <20%. An increase in the mean degree of AR over time was not significant (baseline: 1.3 +/- 0.8; follow-up: 1.5 +/- 0.9; p = 0.096).

CONCLUSIONS

The prevalence of DSS is increasing in adults due to the greater number of repaired CHDs that develop into evolutive DSS. In contrast to infants and children, adults with DSS show a slow rate of LVOTO progression. Aortic regurgitation is a common but usually mild and nonprogressive consequence. The current indications for surgical intervention should be revised.

Left atrial dissection: pathogenesis, clinical course, and transesophageal echocardiographic recognition

Left atrial dissection is an uncommon entity. It is generally associated with mitral valve replacement, but other predisposing factors should be considered in pathogenesis. We discuss a series of 11 patients with pathologically confirmed left atrial dissection who had been diagnosed previously by transesophageal echocardiography. Predisposing factors and surgical or pathologic findings were reviewed to identify the pathogenic mechanism and to explain the clinical course, hemodynamic disorder, and echocardiographic features. Dissection of the coronary sinus secondary to retrograde cardioplegia, endocarditis, cardiac rupture after myocardial infarction, and blunt chest trauma also could be related to its development. Transesophageal echocardiography identified a mobile intimal flap of the atrial wall that was creating a false chamber and allowed accurate diagnosis of prosthetic mitral valve function, endocarditis complications, and a left ventricular pseudoaneurysm after acute myocardial infarction. Color flow Doppler was particularly useful in identifying complications: communication between the false chamber and true left atria, permitting mitral regurgitation through the periannular route; development of atrial shunts; and severe tricuspid regurgitation caused by disruption of the anterior papillary muscle.

[Pulmonary artery primary sarcoma: diagnosis with transthoracic and transesophageal echocardiogram]

Pulmonary artery sarcoma is a rare malignant disease and diagnosis before surgery or autopsy is difficult. We present a case of a pulmonary artery sarcoma diagnosed with transtoracic and transesophagic echocardiogram which was treated surgically.

[Multiple progressive occlusions of intracranial arteries]

OBJECTIVES

We present a case of multiple progressive occlusions of intracranial arteries, a variety of Taveras' syndrome, without smoke spirals, which may be confused with other multifocal disorders.

PATIENT

A 30 year old woman was admitted to hospital with a clinical picture of fluctuating paresia of her left limbs, blurred vision and urgency of micturition which partially recovered. On examination there was paresia of the left arm, generalized increased reflexes and facial asymmetry.

RESULTS

On MRI there were areas of marked hyperintensity at T2. Some of these took up gadolinium at T1 and had a serpiginous pattern, compatible with vasculopathy. On angiography, stenosis and filling defect were seen in the left carotid artery. The anterior cerebral and left Sylvian arteries were filled by the vertebrobasilar system via the posterior communicating artery and an anomalous trigeminal artery.

CONCLUSIONS

The clinical picture of multiple progressive occlusions of intracranial arteries is a variety of moya-moya disease, without the typical smoke spirals, which may lead to confusion with clinical pictures of arteritis and demyelinating disorders if angiography is not done, since this is essential for diagnosis.

[Indications and surgical techniques in the acute phase of infective endocarditis]

Infectious endocarditis is increasingly resistant to antibiotic therapy, due to the increasing number of patient with cardiovascular prostheses or those who are severely immunosuppressed. Frequently, this syndrome and its complications can only be solved with surgery. In this article, which is based on the international literature plus own observations in 77 patients, the indications for surgery and the different technical approaches during the acute phase of infectious endocarditis are reviewed. Surgery to control infectious endocarditis is indicated when there is one of the following situations: a) persistence of infection despite an adequate antibiotic treatment, usually due to a specific pathogen (Staphylococcus aureus, fungus, etc.) or to a low antibiotic penetration into the infected issues (abscess); b) progressive hemodynamic deterioration due to tissular destruction and development of valvular incompetence or fistulous communications or c) development of other complications (repetitive embolism, cardiovascular aneurysms, conduction blocks, etc.). Hemodynamic deterioration due to heart failure refractory to medical treatment is the most frequent indication for cardiovascular surgery, and this was present in 61% of our patients. The timing for surgery is still controversial, although scheduling it at an early stage is generally preferred. The specific surgical technique is chosen according to the degree of tissular destruction and is aimed to remove the infected tissue and to repair the damaged structures or, if this is not feasible, to implant cardiovascular prosthesis.

Unusual longevity without surgical intervention in complete transposition of the great arteries

A case of unusual longevity to the age of 58 years is reported for a female patient with complete transposition of the great arteries. The association with a wide atrial septal defect with intact interventricular septum may have contributed to the long survival without surgery. Factors determining intercirculatory mixing and systemic oxygen saturation may be the high pulmonary flow, the location of the anatomic communication, sufficient hemoglobin concentration to allow an adequate level of systemic resistance and recirculated systemic flow, and the belated development of pulmonary vascular disease.

Bioprosthetic mitral valve thrombosis: clinical profile, transesophageal echocardiographic features, and follow-up after anticoagulant therapy

Cardiac bioprosthetic valve thrombosis is frequently found on pathologic examination, but preoperative diagnosis is rarely performed. Four hundred six patients with mitral porcine xenograft bioprostheses were examined by transthoracic echocardiography. Transesophageal echocardiography (TEE) was performed in 161 of the patients, with clinical or echocardiographic criteria of prosthetic malfunction. Fairly homogeneous and echodense masses, attached to the ventricular surface of the mitral bioprosthetic cusps, were detected by TEE in 15 patients. Only 10 patients, in whom diagnosis of bioprosthetic thrombosis was confirmed, are included in this study. After TEE, two patients underwent prosthetic replacement and eight patients received anticoagulants. A new TEE was performed 85.6 +/- 29.8 days after anticoagulation in these eight patients. Clinical follow-up was continued for 13.6 +/- 8.6 months, and one additional patient underwent surgery during the follow-up. Pathologic examination of removed grafts (three cases) identified these masses as being thrombotic tissue. TEE examination after therapeutic anticoagulation demonstrated complete disappearance of the echogenic masses on bioprosthetic cusps and normal mobility of all leaflets in six cases. In the other two cases, cusp masses were notably reduced, but partially restrictive mobility of affected leaflets persisted, suggesting incomplete resolution of thrombi. Mitral valve prosthetic mean gradient decreased from 11.8 +/- 4.5 to 7.6 +/- 3.7 mm Hg (p < 0.001), and mitral valve area increased from 1.13 +/- 0.3 to 1.72 +/- 0.6 cm2 (p < 0.001). Long-term symptomatic improvement after anticoagulation was obtained in seven patients. Thus this study shows that mitral bioprosthetic thrombosis is a relatively frequent cause of valve dysfunction, TEE is useful for detecting thrombus in relation to mitral bioprosthetic valves, and oral anticoagulation is effective in resolving thrombosis on bioprostheses.

[Papillary muscle rupture during subaortic membrane balloon dilatation]

A 37 year-old female patient underwent catheter-balloon dilation for discrete subaortic stenosis. During the procedure severe mitral regurgitation was produced requiring emergency surgery. Transesophageal and intraoperative findings were posteriormedial papillary muscle rupture. Retrospective viewing of the cineangiogram during balloon inflation revealed distal balloon indentation, corresponding to the injured papillary muscle. This severe complication of the left ventricular outflow tract angioplasty should be avoided by careful positioning of the guidewire and balloon before inflation.

Multiple recurrence of a "sporadic" (non-familial) cardiac myxoma

This report describes a myxoma with three recurrences, two of them synchronous neoplasms in both atrial chambers, without evidence of familial history or features of the "myxoma complex" (lentiginosis, other non-cardiac myxomas and endocrine overactivity). The patient underwent complete resection of the myxoma with their surrounding tissue 3 times between 1983 and 1992. At the time of writing no other myxoma has been diagnosed in this patient.

Situs inversus and myocardial revascularization. Case report

This report describes an internal mammary artery by-pass grafting to the anterior descending coronary artery in a man with an unstable postinfarction angor pectoris and a "situs inversus totalis" condition. The association of "situs inversus totalis" and atherosclerotic coronary artery disease has the same incidence as in normal people. To the authors' knowledge, this is the second case in medical literature of coronary artery by-pass surgery with internal mammary artery graft in a patient with "situs inversus totalis".

Giant left atrial myxoma: case report

This report describes the case of a 40 year old woman with a giant left atrial myxoma. Only a thin path of 9 mm diameter allowed blood flow through the left atrial chamber to the left ventricle. Despite this obstruction, the patient developed only minimal symptoms. Echocardiography, especially transoesophageal mode is the diagnostic procedure of choice to detect these tumours. The giant mass was successfully removed and the patient is doing well two years after surgery.

[Aortic prosthetic endocarditis and periprosthetic abscess caused by Staphylococcus aureus]

Prosthetic endocarditis with annular abscess formation is a severe complication of cardiac valve replacement fortunately uncommon, though highly lethal. Increasing surgical experience and the high mortality with medical management have led to a widespread recommendation for early prosthetic replacement. We report a case of a 49 year old man with infective endocarditis due to Staphylococcus aureus in aortic ascendens prosthetic and aortic valve prosthetic complicated with periaortic abscess which was as successful treatment by drain of abscess without prosthetic replacement.

Delayed papillary muscle rupture following mild chest trauma

A case of delayed papillary muscle rupture is reported, which developed 24 hours following a mild chest trauma. Transthoracic echocardiography established the diagnosis; immediate mitral valve replacement was carried out. The postoperative course was uneventful.

Subacute cardiac rupture: repair with a sutureless technique

Thirteen patients with ages between 53 and 74 years had development of free wall left ventricular rupture after a myocardial infarction (mean interval, 3.8 days). All patients showed clinical signs of cardiac tamponade. Diagnosis was established by bedside multiple pressure monitoring and echocardiography, which showed pericardial effusion with compression of the right ventricle. Cardiac catheterization was not performed. A new surgical technique was employed for the repair. After the pericardium was opened and cardiac tamponade was relieved, the myocardial tear was identified. A Teflon patch was applied over the area and glued to the heart surface with a surgical glue (cyanoacrylate). Cardiopulmonary bypass was not used except in a patient with a posterior tear. The method was consistently effective in controlling bleeding from the myocardial tear. All patients survived the operation and were discharged from the hospital a mean of 15 days after the operation. Follow-up extending up to 5 years (mean, 26 months) shows a 100% survival, 11 asymptomatic patients, and 2 patients with mild exertional angina. The technique is a simple, effective, and safe method for repair of subacute cardiac rupture and obviates the need for suturing on an infarcted ventricle.

[The independent origins of the anterior descending, circumflex and right coronary arteries from the right coronary sinus]

We present a patient with chronic ischaemic cardiac disease and anomalous left anterior descending and circumflex coronary arteries with independent origin from the right Valsalva sinus. Each one had his own ostium and the left anterior descending artery followed an intramyocardial pathway through the interventricular septum whereas the circumflex artery had a retrocardiac pathway. The clinical picture of the patient was related to the presence of atherosclerotic obstructive lesions in right, whose origin and curse were normal, and circumflex coronary arteries. He was treated medically at first but without obtaining complete control therefore he needed surgical treatment which was undertaken without technical difficulties. We reviewed the anomalies of the main coronary arteries, in the origin and course, with its clinical signification, diagnosis and therapeutics topics.

[Left atrial thrombus. Its evolution with oral anticoagulation]

Left ventricular thrombi were found in 25 patients by two-dimensional echocardiography. All patients were in atrial fibrillation, 16 had mitral or mitroaortic valve diseases and nine mitral or mitroaortic bioprosthetic valves. Nine patients (36%) had history of arterial embolism. At diagnostic time, oral anticoagulation with coumadin was instaured in all the patients. Periodic clinic and echocardiography follow-up was performed. Left atrial thrombi either disappeared (18 patients [72%]) or reduced their size (one patient). Six patients with mitral stenosis were considered as candidates to percutaneous mitral valvuloplasty, which was performed in 4 patients whose thrombi disappeared with anticoagulation therapy in 6 months. During the follow-up one patient had cerebral embolism without sequelae.

CONCLUSIONS

1st. Patients with left atrial thrombi have high risk for arterial embolism. 2nd. Left atrial thrombi disappear in a high proportion after prescribing oral anticoagulation, which has some important therapeutic implications.

[Left ventricular perforation following percutaneous mitral valvuloplasty. Its emergency surgical correction in situ. Apropos a case]

Percutaneous mitral valvuloplasty is actually accepted as alternative to surgery for treatment of rheumatic mitral stenosis, although today it is not still free from troublesome complications like ventricular perforation. We present here a patient in which was performed a percutaneous mitral valvuloplasty and that developed a left ventricular perforation at the end of the procedure, with hyperacute cardiac tamponade, requiring an in situ surgical salvagement on an emergency basis, performing a successful repair of the ventricular rupture in the own catheterization laboratory.

[Massive thrombosis of the left atrium. Surgical experience with a series of 117 patients]

From 1975 to 1988 we have operated 117 patients with left arterial thrombosis associated with rheumatic mitral valve disease. Seventy-seven were female and 40 male, with ages ranging from 22 to 69 years. In 75 cases (64.1%) the valvular lesion was mitral stenosis. Embolic antecedents were present in 38 cases (32.4%) and 95 patients (81.1%) were in class III or IV of the NYHA functional classification. In 48 cases we performed a mitral commissurotomy and in 51 cases mitral valve replacement, associated to left artrial thrombectomy. In the remaining 18 patients we made other valve procedures. The hospital mortality was 15 cases (12.8%), eight because low cardiac output, four because severe brain injury and three because posterior atrioventricular sulcus disruption. In 41.1% of the survivors there was serious hospital complications, standing out the incidence of 8 cases of transient neurologic accidents. We have followed 98 of the 102 hospital survivors between 10 and 140 months (mean 57 months). Three patients died in the follow-up, two of them during a reintervention because bioprosthesis disfunction and the third one during a reintervention because prosthetic infective endocarditis. Nine additional patients were reoperated because recidivant valvular lesions or because prosthetic disfunction, and two patients suffered embolic events during the follow-up. The antithrombotic therapy was abandoned in 19.6% of patients. At present 73.6% are in functional class I and 26.3% in class II. The association of left atrial thrombosis with with mitral valve disease induce a surgical morbimortality greater than usual for isolated valvular lesions, being mandatory a watchfull surgical technic.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

[Infective endocarditis. Medicosurgical experience in a series of 137 patients]

We have reviewed our 1978 to 1987 experience in the treatment of 137 patients with 145 episodes of Infective Endocarditis. In 55 episodes the infection involved a valvular prosthesis. Positive blood cultures were obtained in 72.7%, with clear preeminence for staphylococcal organisms. Renal disfunction was associated in 41.8% of the cases and periprosthetic-leak in 40% of them. Eight patients died without surgery, five cases were cured by medical treatment alone, and 42 cases were operated, most of them because refractory heart failure. Surgical mortality was 15 cases (35.7%), with statistical significance within the early prosthetic valve endocarditis group, in which in turn was significantly greater the incidence of non-streptococcal germs, renal disfunction and periannular abscesses. The mean late follow-up was 47.6 months, including 88.8% of the surgical survivors, with a survival rate of 64.1%, being most of patients in a good functional status. In 90 episodes the infection involved a native valve, with about 40% of the cases in drug abusers. Positive blood cultures were obtained in 77.7% of the cases, with slight preeminence of staphylococcal germs. Renal dysfunction was associated in 16.6% of the cases. In 41 episodes were used only medical therapy, involving 30 of them the right side, with a death in this group. The treatment was surgical in 49 episodes, 45% of them in order to correct residual valve lesions.

[Right-sided infectious endocarditis. Experience with a series of 35 patients]

From 1978, 35 patients with right-sided endocarditis were treated at our hospital. There were 25 male and 10 female patients, with ages ranging from 14 to 77 years. The cause was intravenous drug abuse in 27 cases. Positive blood cultures were obtained in 29 cases, isolating staphylococcal organisms in 26 of them. Two-dimensional echocardiography was performed in 30 patients, confirming the diagnosis in 27 of them (90%). Vegetations were found in 25 patients and perivalvular abscess was seen in 4 patients. The management was medical only in 32 patients. Three patients were operated on because of failure to control pyrexia and heart failure, performing total tricuspid valvectomy in two, and only partial in the third one. All the 3 patients had perivalvular tricuspid abscess. There were 2 hospital deaths (5.7%), because of septic shock in drug abusers, one of them after a tricuspid valvectomy. In our experience, right-sided endocarditis is mainly associated with drug abusers and staphylococcal organisms. Two-dimensional echocardiography plays an important role in the diagnosis of this entity. In our series the size of vegetations does not play a role in selection of surgical candidates. The presence of perivalvular abscess was the only predictive factor for surgery. Only a few patients do not respond to medical therapy. In those cases the elective surgical procedure in our criterion and in our patients is tricuspid valvectomy without valve replacement, or if possible, the use of reconstructive or reparative approaches.

[Rupture of the mitral posteromedial papillary muscle associated with myxomatous mitral valve]

We report a 52 year old man, who without previous thoracic trauma, cardiac diseases or cardiovascular risk factors presented after mild epigastric discomfort acute pulmonary oedema. He did not present clinical, electrocardiographic and biochemical manifestation of acute myocardial infarction. He was hospitalized and 15 days later he was sent to our hospital intubated and with assisted respiration. Haemodynamic studies showed severe acute mitral regurgitation and absence of significant obstructing lesions in the coronaries arteries. He was operated few hours after admission. The surgeon found a dysplasic mitral valve and rupture of a head of the posteromedial papillary muscle. The anatomopathological studies discovered mitral myxoid degeneration and ischemic lesion of the papillary muscle. We review the literature of the exclusive infarction of the papillary muscles and their possible relationships with the mitral prolapse syndrome.

[Free thrombus in the left atrium associated with mitral stenosis. Diagnostic and therapeutic aspects. Apropos of a case]

A patient with a history of transient cerebral ischemic episodes had two-dimensional echocardiographic findings consistent with mitral stenosis associated with a spherical free-floating left atrial thrombus. The patient was operated on in the next few days, performing a mitral commissurotomy, and the left atrial thrombus was removed, without intra- or postoperative complications. The patient was discharged from the hospital on an antiplatelet drug regimen. Free-floating left atrial thrombi are a very rare finding with an easy echocardiographic diagnosis. Prompt surgical treatment is mandatory because the risk of systemic embolization and sudden death are inherent in this entity.

[Combination of quinidine and verapamil in auricular fibrillation]

The efficacy of the association of verapamil plus quinidine in 70 patients with atrial fibrillation, 64 of them after having cardiac surgery, was assessed. Oral dosage ranged from 825 mg to 1,100 mg for quinidine polygalacturonate and 240 mg to 320 mg for verapamil. All patients but two reached a good control of heart rate (mean heart rate less than 110 beats/min) while arrhythmia persisted. Sixty patients (85.7%) reverted to normal sinus rhythm in a period of 2.4 +/- 1.5 days (mean +/- SD). According to the atrial fibrillation duration three subsets of patients with different conversion rates to sinus rhythm were established (p less than 0.01): group A (lasting from 1 day to 3 months) 31/39 (96%); group B (lasting 3 to 6 months) 18/21 (85.7%) and group C (lasting 6 to 12 months) 5/10 (50%) (p less than 0.01). Plasma quinidine levels were maintained at either near to or therapeutic range (2.6 +/- 0.94 micrograms/ml). Adverse effects comprised one ventricular arrhythmia-induced syncope (quinidine syncope) and two cases of systemic hypotension. Quinidine-verapamil association is a good alternative in the treatment of atrial fibrillation, particularly in those of recent onset, according to the high rates of conversion to normal sinus rhythm, affording control of heart rate while atrial fibrillation persists. Adverse reactions did not differ in severity from those observed with quinidine monotherapy.