The 17-mm St. Jude Medical Regent valve may be employed with satisfactory postoperative clinical and hemodynamic outcomes in patients with a small aortic annulus, as an alternative to a larger prothesis with aortic annulus enlargement.

IntroductionThe left ventricular localization of a myxoma is very rare, usually arising from the interventricular septum close to the left ventricular outflow tract, the mitral valve, the ventricular wall and extremely rarely the aortic valve.Case presentationA 13-year-old male was admitted due to dyspnea and angina. Transesophageal echocardiography revealed left ventricular outflow tract obstruction with a mean gradient of 58 mmHg, and a mobile mass measuring 65 × 25 mm originating from the ventricular surface of the aortic valve was identified. The patient underwent urgent surgical excision and aortic valve replacement. Histopathological examination of the mass confirmed the diagnosis of a myxoma.ConclusionIn conclusion, a myxoma originating from the aortic valve remains a very rare localization. Total resection associated with aortic valve replacement seems to offer an excellent outcome.

IntroductionBronchial arteries originate from the descending aorta at the level of the T5-T6 vertebrae following an intrapulmonary course along the major bronchi. When bronchial arteries take off from a vessel other than the descending aorta, the anatomy is defined as an anomalous origin of the bronchial artery.Case presentationA 3-day-old boy from Kosovo with dextro-transposition of the great arteries who developed progressive heart failure required an emergency arterial switch operation. Because of persistent pulmonary edema after completion of the arterial switch operation at our institution, the patient could not be weaned off mechanical ventilation. Transthoracic echocardiography revealed an anomalous accelerated flow, indicating an anomalous systemic pulmonary shunt. Arterial catheterization revealed an abnormal bronchial artery originating from the left subclavian artery and bifurcating to both lungs. The anomalous ectatic bronchial artery was successfully occluded by coil embolization. The improvement of the patient’s hemodynamic status resulted in an uneventful post-operative course.ConclusionA coil embolization procedure was successfully performed to treat an anomalous bronchial artery originating from the left subclavian artery after a switch operation in a patient with transposition of the great arteries. When clinically indicated, catheter-based therapy with coil embolization can be performed to successfully treat anomalous bronchial arteries by reducing as such the pulmonary overflow.

A cardiac calcified amorphous tumour (CCAT) is a rare non-neoplastic intracavitary mass with unknown causes. We describe a 32-year old male presenting with progressive dyspnoea, cough and oedemas. The transthoracic echocardiography and contrast-enhanced angio-computed tomography demonstrated a 4 × 10 cm calcified mass into the right ventricle and total occlusion of the right pulmonary artery. The patient underwent successful total removal of the mass through a transverse right ventriculotomy, and right pulmonary embolectomy. Histopathological examination of mass confirmed the diagnosis of a CCAT. The postoperative course was uneventful. To our knowledge, this is the first reported case with a confirmed diagnosis of CCAT at two different locations and the third undergoing a combined approach aiming at total mass excision.

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