An 82-year-old male patient underwent a left upper lobectomy with anterolateral thoracotomy for lung cancer. Although a complete left-pericardial defect was observed during surgery, the pericardial repair was not performed because the left lower lobe remained and the heart was considered stable. Postoperative pathological examination revealed primary synchronous double-lung squamous-cell carcinoma (pathological stage pT2a(2)N0M0 stage IB). He was discharged without complications on postoperative day 8. Leftward displacement of the heart and left diaphragmatic elevation, suspected of phrenic-nerve paralysis, were found in the chest X-ray after discharge. However, the patient\'s overall condition remained unaffected at the 5-month postoperative follow-up. To assess the need for pericardial repair, we compared cases of complete pericardial defects observed during lobectomy or pneumonectomy reported in the literature. Only one of 12 cases occurred postoperative death despite pericardial repair, and that case combined pectus excavatum and pericardial defects. Our assessment indicated that pericardial repair might not be necessary, excluding complex cases.

The epicardial outflow tract can be a site of origin of idiopathic ventricular arrhythmias. These arrhythmias are most commonly perivalvular and can be targeted from within the coronary venous system or from other adjacent structures, such as the right ventricular and left ventricular outflow tracts or the coronary cusp region. The authors report a case of an epicardial idiopathic outflow tract premature ventricular contraction originating from the midseptal epicardial left ventricle. In this case, direct epicardial access was crucial to identify early local activation and achieve successful catheter ablation.

In patients with cardiac amyloidosis, pericardial involvement is common, with up to half of patients presenting with pericardial effusions. The pathophysiological mechanisms of pericardial pathology in cardiac amyloidosis include chronic elevations in right-sided filling pressures, myocardial and pericardial inflammation due to cytotoxic effects of amyloid deposits, and renal involvement with subsequent uremia and hypoalbuminemia. The pericardial effusions are typically small; however, several cases of life-threatening cardiac tamponade with hemorrhagic effusions have been described as a presenting clinical scenario. Constrictive pericarditis can also occur due to amyloidosis and its identification presents a clinical challenge in patients with cardiac amyloidosis who concurrently manifest signs of restrictive cardiomyopathy. Multimodality imaging, including echocardiography, cardiac computed tomography, and cardiac magnetic resonance imaging, is useful in the evaluation and management of this patient population. The recognition of pericardial effusion is important in the risk stratification of patients with cardiac amyloidosis as its presence confers a poor prognosis. However, specific treatment aimed at the effusions themselves is seldom indicated. Cardiac tamponade and constrictive pericarditis may necessitate pericardiocentesis and pericardiectomy, respectively.

BACKGROUND: IgG4-related disease is a fibro-inflammatory disorder with an unknown etiology, which can affect multiple organ systems, including the cardiovascular system. While most reported cases of cardiovascular involvement are primarily associated with the aorta, there have been sporadic reports of isolated cardiac involvement.
METHODS: This paper presents a documented case of IgG4-related systemic disease with symptoms indicative of restrictive cardiomyopathy. Subsequent Cardiac Magnetic Resonance imaging revealed diffuse myopericardial involvement, characterized by pericardial thickening and enhancement, accompanied by subepicardial and myocardial infiltration. Considering the rarity of cardiac involvement in our case, we conducted a thorough review of the existing literature pertaining to various patterns of cardiac involvement in IgG4-related disease, as well as the diagnostic modalities that can be employed for accurate identification and assessment.
CONCLUSIONS: This case report sheds light on the importance of recognizing and evaluating cardiac manifestations in IgG4-related systemic disease to facilitate timely diagnosis and appropriate management.

BACKGROUND: Infected aortic grafts and mycotic aneurysms represent one of the most complex challenges faced by vascular surgeons. Treatment has progressed from extra-anatomical bypass to in situ reconstruction. Additionally, bovine pericardium reconstruction (BPR) has increased, due to accessibility and reduced lower limb morbidity. There remains, however, limited evidence for its use. The aim is to pool all known data to understand outcomes following BPR of mycotic aneurysms or infected vascular grafts.
METHODS: A systematic review was conducted in November 2021 with subsequent computerized meta-analysis of the pooled results and a final search in March 2022. Three databases, Excerpta Medica dataBASE (EMBASE), Cumulative Index of Nursing and Allied Health Literature (CINAHL), and National Institutes of Health PubMed (PubMed), were searched for the search term \"(bovine OR xenoprosthetic) AND (aneurysm)\", according to Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses guidelines.
RESULTS: From 9 studies, there were 133 patients: 67% graft infections and 33% mycotic aneurysms. Fifty-seven percent of reconstructions were in the abdominal aorta and 33% were in the thoracic aorta. One hundred fifty-eight pathogens were identified, including Staphylococcus aureus (23%), Candida albicans (13%), and Escherichia coli (13%). In 12%, no microorganisms were identified. Thirty-day mortality was 19.14% (CI 10.83-28.71), late mortality was 19.08% (confidence interval [CI] 7.76-32.83), and overall mortality was 40.20% (CI 29.82-50.97). One patient died intraoperatively. There were a total of 151 in-hospital complications after 30 days postoperation. Common complications were acute renal failure (17%), pneumonia (14%), delirium (12%), respiratory insufficiency (11%) and renal insufficiency (7%). Lower limb ischemia was low, occurring in 5.66% (CI 0.54-13.82) of patients. Loss of graft patency leading to reintervention occurred in 1.20% (CI 0.00-7.71) of the grafts. Reinfection rate was 0.00% (CI 0.00-1.21).
CONCLUSIONS: This meta-analysis highlights low reinfection and high graft patency using BPR with medium-length follow-up; however, there remain limited long-term and comparative data regarding options for aortic reconstruction. As expected in this complex cohort, the complication rate and 30-day mortality remain high.

Calcifying fibrous tumors are rare benign fibrous tumors that rarely occur in the heart. We report a 33-year-old woman who was found to have a benign pericardial tumor on health checkup, which was highly suspected to be a teratoma in clinical and imaging examination. After cardiac tumor resection, histopathological features showed scattered foci of psammoma bodies or calcification among collagenized fibrous connective tissues and foci of inflammatory cell infiltration in the interstitium. The pathological diagnosis was a calcifying fibrous tumor.

BACKGROUND: Rosai-Dorfman disease is a rare condition that typically presents as a nodal disease. Cardiac involvement is extremely uncommon, occurring in 0.1-0.2% of cases, which has hindered our understanding. We report a case of Rosai-Dorfman disease (RDD) related cardiac manifestation in a patient without nodal involvement. Further, we conduct a comprehensive review of the literature to consolidate data on how patients with cardiac manifestations of RDD are typically managed and treated.
METHODS: A systematic review of PubMed, Web of Science, and Embase was conducted to identify cases of RDD with cardiac involvement. Out of 464 studies identified, 42 publications encompassing 43 patients met the criteria and were incorporated in this review. We gathered data on patient demographics, as well as their management and treatment approaches. Additionally, we share our own experience with a patient who presented with a cardiac mass related to RDD.
RESULTS: Out of the 43 patients, only 20.9% (n = 9) had a documented history of RDD prior to cardiac manifestations. Nodal involvement was reported in 32.6% (n = 14), while extranodal extracardiac involvement was reported in 46.5% (n = 20). Upon presentation, the most prevalent symptoms were dyspnea (48.8%, n = 21), chest discomfort (41.9%, n = 18), and lower extremity edema (16.3%, n = 7). Cardiac manifestations were most frequently found in the right atrium (41.9%, n = 18) and pericardium (18.6%, n = 8). Treatment encompassed systemic medical therapy (34.9%, n = 15) and cardiac surgery (39.5%, n = 17). The median follow-up period was 12 months (with a range of 1 to 36), and 8 patients (18.6%) experienced mortality. Our patient, who had a cardiac mass in the left atrium, underwent resection and has remained symptom-free without any recurrence for the past 5 years.
CONCLUSIONS: The frequency of cardiac related-RDD manifestations may be greater than initially perceived. These results underscore the significance of identifying RDD and its cardiac-related presentations, facilitating timely diagnosis and treatment for affected individuals.

This review presents the etiology, clinical manifestations, diagnostic approach, and treatment of congenital pericardial defects. It also highlights the critical role of echocardiography, cardiac computed tomography (CCT), and cardiac magnetic resonance (CMR) in the diagnosis and management approach.
Congenital pericardial defects are rare. Although most cases are found incidentally, some cases could potentially be associated with serious outcomes including sudden cardiac death. The diagnosis is often challenging due to non-specific clinical manifestations and electrocardiogram findings. Echocardiography is the first-line imaging investigation for the evaluation of this condition. Advanced cardiac imaging modalities, including CCT and CMR, play important adjuvant roles in establishing the diagnosis and assists with prognostication.

OBJECTIVE: To describe the usage and advantages of bovine pericardium mesh (Tutopatch®) in breast reconstruction and to compare different mesh materials used in immediate breast reconstruction.
METHODS: Our study involved a single-center, retrospective analysis of 103 patients (comprising 114 breasts) who underwent immediate implant-based breast reconstruction using bovine pericardium bovine matrix. The procedures were performed by the same surgical team between April 2018 and May 2023.
RESULTS: The rates of early and late complications were examined after a median follow-up period of 30.2 ± 5.5 months. The results revealed that the rates of early complications stood at 9.7%, while late complications were observed in 14.5% of the cases. The most common late complication was seroma formation (7.7%) which six were resolved without any surgical intervention.
CONCLUSIONS: Tutopatch® can be used as an extension of the muscle to cover the prosthesis. It forms an extra layer over the silicone implant that helps to decrease the complications as capsular contracture and implant exposure. It also represents a significant 85 % reduction in cost when compared to a similar-sized mesh materials.
METHODS: This journal requires that authors assign a level of evidence to each article. For a full description of these Evidence-Based Medicine ratings, please refer to the Table of Contents or the online Instructions to Authors www.springer.com/00266 .

Perfect heart valve prostheses have optimized hemodynamics, reduced surgical morbidity, long-lasting durability, and extended patient survival with greater quality of life. Mechanical valves are recommended; however, young children may need anticoagulant medication for life. In this study, we looked at the success rate and viability of aortic valve neocuspidization (AVNeo) surgery for a variety of aortic disorders.
A methodical search strategy was used to fully evaluate the AVNeo results. Boolean operators were used to combine important words like \'Ozaki Procedure,\' \'Aortic Valve Neocuspidization,\' \'AVNeo,\' and associated terms. Reputable databases such as PubMed, MEDLINE, Embase, Web of Science, and Scopus were the focus of our search. Study quality was assessed using a critical evaluation created with the Critical Appraisal Skills Programme tool.
The findings are summarized in the \'Results\' section that contains descriptive and critical analysis, ramifications, and explanations. According to research, AVNeo improved valve function and had few side effects. Aortic valve neocuspidization has a lower mean pressure gradient and a larger mean efficient orifice area than Trifecta. Aortic valve neocuspidization surgery reduces aortic valve regurgitation and pressure gradients. Postoperative echocardiograms indicated a decrease in peak and a rise in mean pressure gradient.
The Ozaki method restores a healthy laminar flow pattern while preventing bivalvular disease. Ozaki procedure should be explored for valve repair in infants with truncal valve and congenital aortic disease. Aortic valve tricuspidization with glutaraldehyde-treated autologous pericardium results in considerable effective orifice area, modest pressure gradients, and little regurgitation.