No abstract

A 4-month-old male infant underwent elective repair of a large subaortic ventricular septal defect. Although it was an uneventful surgical procedure, he required inotropic support during weaning from cardiopulmonary bypass. He presented with sudden-onset low cardiac output syndrome in the immediate postoperative period and could not be revived. Autopsy revealed intussusception of the left atrial appendage projecting through the mitral valve orifice.

During a 15-year period from 1982 to 1997, 4 cases out of approximately 12,000 open-heart operations were performed at our institute for malignant cardiac tumors. Three of these tumors were angiosarcomas and one was a high-grade spindle-cell sarcoma. The prognosis for all 4 patients was uniformly poor in spite of maximal tumor debulking and postoperative chemotherapy.

A 16-jear-old fenicile iuidenoeiit aii eniergency posterolateral tlioracotoniy for coiistriiction of a sjsteniic-l,iiltiioiia~ sliiiiit to alleviate CI cjanotic spell. She clei~eloped I~araplegia secoiiclaig to intrnspinal e.rponsioii of osidized cellulose that had been placed iiitraopeinti~dj as a hemostat. Siirgical clecontpression of the spiiinl cord lesserred the iiiorbidity.

No abstract