Epiaortic ultrasound is an imaging modality that is commonly used to evaluate the ascending aorta for atheroma and other mural lesions during elective cardiac surgery. Its use in contained aortic rupture has not been established. We present a case of thoracic trauma with contained pseudoaneurysm of the ascending aorta. At operation, the precise location of the aortic tear could not be identifie...

Simultaneous en bloc replacement of the ascending aorta and aortic valve by a composite valve graft, as first described by Bentall and De Bono in 1968 and with later modifications, has become the standard surgical technique in the treatment of aneurysms of the aortic root associated with severe aortic valve dysfunction. Despite the good surgical results overall, it is still associated with cons...

Atrioventricular (AV) block and pseudoaneurysm of the mitral-aortic intervalvular fibrosa (P-MAIVF) are rare complications of infective endocarditis (IE). A 72-year-old man with severe aortic stenosis was hospitalized due to IE. After admission, intermittent AV block and P-MAIVF were noted. Interestingly, an accelerated junctional rhythm was observed during the process of AV block resolution. E...

A 39-year-old man sustained an acute grade III aortic injury resulting in a type B aortic dissection in the setting of severe traumatic brain injury, cervical spine injury and multiple orthopaedic injuries following a motorcycle crash. The patient underwent an emergent thoracic endovascular aortic repair, complicated by a thoracic pseudoaneurysm rupture and ongoing exsanguination from a persist...

Aortic infection, or aortitis, is a rare entity that can lead to aneurysm or mycotic pseudoaneurysm formation. It affects patients with aortic arteriosclerosis or simultaneous infective endocarditis, and is rare in patientswithout these predispositions. Moreover, while aortic wall infection can lead to aneurysmatic dilatation, it is much more common for a previously dilated vessel to become inf...

We report a case of pseudo-pseudoaneurysm, which is a very rare complication of myocardial infarction. A 69-year-old man was admitted to our clinic with chest tightness and dyspnea. He had undergone aortic valve replacement with a pericardial bioprosthetic valve, ring mitral annuloplasty, and reconstruction of an aortic annular defect due to infective endocarditis with bovine pericardium 4 year...

Pseudoaneurysm of the mitral aortic intervalvular fibrosa (MAIVF-P) usually ensues as a complication of endocarditis or aortic valve surgery. When large, symptomatic or related to complications (rupture, compression of adjacent structures, embolic events, mitral regurgitation or heart failure) it warrants surgical excision. The natural course of uncomplicated/asymptomatic MAIVF-Ps is largely un...

Arterial dissection is defined as cleavage of the arterial wall by an intramural hematoma between two elastic layers. Aortic dissection has been widely reported and recognized. However, isolated spontaneous visceral artery dissection without aortic dissection has been reported rarely because of nonspecific symptoms and signs, which is usually diagnosed after fatal hemorrhage or ischemia [1]. Mo...

A 61-year-old male with a prosthetic St Jude aortic valve size 24 presented with heart failure symptoms and minimal-effort angina. Eleven months earlier, the patient had undergone cardiac surgery because of an aortic root dilatation and bicuspid aortic valve with severe regurgitation secondary to infectious endocarditis by Coxiela burnetii and coronary artery disease in the left circumflex coro...