Cardiac involvement in hydatid disease is uncommon. We report a case of a surgically treated ruptured left ventricular hydatid cyst, which presented with acute stroke and was later complicated by distal aortic embolism due to perioperative dislodgement of the germinative membrane.

Minimal right vertical infra-axillary thoracotomy can be performed with favorable cosmetic and clinical results for atrial septal defects closure. Infra-axillary thoracotomy provides a good alternative to standard median sternotomy for patients with atrial septal defects.

Congenital aortico-cameral communications are rarely seen. We present an asymptomatic patient in whom there was a congenital vascular communication rising from the aortic root and terminating in the left atrium. She had an atrial septal defect (ASD). The diagnosis was made with echocardiography and confirmed by aortography. She was treated by closing the tunnel and the ASD. The outcome was satisfactory in this extremely rare case of a congenital cardiac lesion. Coincidental diagnosis could be made during careful echocardiographic examination.

Our data on the natural course and prognosis of VSDs may be of relevance with respect to patients' age, defect type, and complications encountered in the follow-up period.

With this study, we assessed the use of the Shelhigh internal mammary artery graft instead of synthetic (polytetrafluoroethylene) tubular grafts in shunt operations for congenital heart diseases with decreased pulmonary blood flow and no evidence of calcification. Further investigation involving a larger number of cases and longer-term results for patency are needed to confirm our findings.