The Eustachian valve is an embryologic remnant at the junction of the inferior vena cava (IVC) and right atrium (RA). While it typically does not have any pathologic significance, veno-arterial shunting can rarely occur in patients with prominent eustachian valves and atrial septal defects (ASD), causing cyanosis and hypoxemia despite normal pulmonary pressures. We present a case of a patient with iatrogenic residual sinus venosus IVC-type ASD secondary to a prominent Eustachian valve that was misinterpreted as the inferior rim of the atrial septum during initial ASD repair.

No abstract

Anesthetic management for patients with certain neuromuscular disorders may be challenging due to contraindications to triggering agents secondary to increased susceptibility for malignant hyperthermia (MH). Inclusion body myositis (IBM) is an inflammatory muscle disease that causes concern for the anesthesiologist due to potential respiratory muscle weakness and hyperkalemia with succinylcholine. Elevated serum creatinine kinase levels found in IBM also raise the possibility of increased susceptibility to MH. This case report describes a successful anesthetic course with special considerations in a patient with IBM undergoing general anesthesia for coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) under cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB) using total intravenous anesthesia (TIVA).

Introduction Accuracy of fluoroscopy in predicting septal placement of the right ventricular (RV) leads is poor. This pilot study evaluated the feasibility and impact of real‐time transthoracic echocardiogram (TTE) during RV lead placement. Method Consecutive patients undergoing transvenous RV lead placement and had a point of care ultrasound team available for TTE guidance were included in the study. TTE was performed to confirm or refute the septal position of RV lead initially positioned using fluoroscopy; leads were repositioned until a septal position was confirmed on TTE. The primary outcome measured was whether the use of TTE resulted in lead repositioning. Result Among the 26 patients included in the study, real‐time TTE during RV lead placement resulted in reposition of the lead to a septal position in 38.5% of patients. Conclusion Use of real‐time TTE guidance during fluoroscopic RV lead placement is feasible and can aid in confirming a septal position.

Transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) has emerged as a feasible alternative for treatment of severe aortic stenosis with comparable outcomes to surgical aortic valve replacement (SAVR) in recent years. We present a case of device embolization in the left ventricular outflow tract (LVOT) during TAVR in a patient with severe aortic stenosis that required emergent surgical intervention. During the open-heart surgery for embolized prosthesis extraction and SAVR, both TEE exam and surgical specimen demonstrated bicuspid aortic valve and rheumatic nature of the valve with lack of calcification, which were identified to be the two main factors that contributed to the complication. In which the insufficient annular calcification increases the risk of device embolization due to lack of an adequate landing zone for device anchoring, and the anatomy of bicuspid valve contributes to the complication due to its associated large annular size and horizontal aorta. This case highlights device embolization as one possible complication of TAVR which is associated with substantial morbidity and mortality, the clinical management process was thoroughly documented with aortic angiography and transoesophageal echocardiography imaging.