A young soldier with syncope, shortness of breath and palpitations

Introduction. Coronary artery disease in people under 30 years is relatively uncommon, but once a disease occurs it brings a significant morbidity and psychological effects. Case report. We reported a 28-year-old patient presenting atypical symptoms after sincopa and non-specific changes on electrocardiogram at admission. After noninvasive and invasive cardiology diagnostic procedures were made, we concluded that he had a subtotal tubular stenosis in proximal segment of the left anterior descending coronary artery. Myocardial revascularization was successfully performed 24-hour after coronarography with the left internal mammary thoracic artery graft on the left anterior descending coronary artery and the patient had a prompt and satisfactory postoperative recovery. Conclusion. This case indicates the importance of a careful evaluation of young adults even if they do not experience typical anginal symptoms or do not have multiple risk factors for cardiovascular diseases

Diagnosis and results of treatment of heart myxoma

Background/Aim. Myxoma is the most common benign primary cardiac neoplasm, and usually originates from the left atrial septum. Early diagnosis of cardiac myxomas depends on a high index of a clinical suspicion. Surgical management must be done as soon as possible after diagnosis. The aim of this retrospective study was to present diagnostics and treatment outcome data of 61 patients with cardiac myxoma treated in the Military Medical Academy, Belgrade during a 49-years period. Methods. Intrahospital diagnosis was established in all the patients by the cardiologist. Diagnostic methods were various, in dependence on the examination period and suspected diagnosis. Results. Within a 49-years period (1961-2009) heart myxoma was diagnozed and treated in 61 patients in the Military Medical Academy, Belgrade. Most of the operated patients were females (38 or 62.3%). The operated patients were 19-68 years old. Average age of all the patients was 47.9%. The great majority of them (98.4%) had atrial, and only one operated patient had ventricular myxoma. In 13 (21.3%) of the patients heart myxoma was found out accidentally due to no previous cardiologic symptomatology. In most patients (27.44%) symptomatology was presented as thromboembolic disease. Because of the suspected ventricular myxoma in one patient, the patient was operated on, but Hodgkin's lymphoma was found out which, according to the subsequent course of the disease, could be justifiably recognized as primary heart lymphoma. This study presented brief descriptions of the course of the disease in 4 patients with myxomas in each of the cardiac cavities. Conclusion. The only diagnostic difficulty in cardiac myxoma is due to its asymptomatic and oligosymptomatic presence within the longer period of time, namely, its growth period. Echocardiography should be the standard method of cardiologic examination of these patients, which could considerably contribute to early diagnosis and treatment of heart myxoma. Surgical extirpation of myxoma is the only and very successful therapeutic method

Innominate artery war injury

Aim. A case is reported of successfully surgically treated explosive war injury to the innominate artery. Case report. A 26 - year-old soldier was injured in combat by a fragment of mortar shell. In the field hospital, the wound gauze packing was applied, followed by orotracheal intubation and thoracic drainage. The soldier was admitted to MMA six hours later. Physical examination, on admission, revealed huge swelling of the neck, the absence of pulse in the right arm and the right common carotid artery. Chest x-ray revealed hemopneumothorax of the right side and the foreign metal body in the projection of the right sternoclavicular joint. Due to the suspicion of large vessel injury, a median sternotomy was immediately performed. Surgery revealed disrupted bifurcation of the right innominate artery, so the ligation was performed. Aortography was performed postoperatively, followed by the reconstruction of innominate bifurcation with synthetic grafts. Control aortography showed good graft patency, and the patient was discharged from the hospital in good general condition with palpable pulses and mild anisocoria as a sole neurological sequela. Conclusion. A rare and life-threatening injury was successfully managed, mainly due to the rational treatment carried out in the field hospital that helped the injured to survive and arrive to the institution capable of performing the most sophisticated diagnostic and therapeutic procedures

Massive right atrial myxoma with dyspnea at rest in an elderly patient: A case report

Introduction. Primary heart tumors are extremely rare and myxoma is the most common type of these tumors. Although intraatrial presentation is a predilection place, right atrial localization is atypical. The symptom triad is characteristic in the clinical presentation of the tumor: embolic complication, intracardiac blood flow obstruction and systemic manifestations like elevated erythrocyte sedimentation rate, fever, anemia, body weight loss. Case report. We presented an elderly female patient with massive myxoma in the right atrium, 77 × 44 mm in diameter, which filled the entire right atrium and spread into the right ventricle, causing the tricuspid valve obstruction and dyspnea. It was visualized by transthoracic echocardiography and small and insignificant pericardial effusion was also seen. After surgical removal of the tumor, the patient remained without any symptoms and pericardial effusion. Conclusion. Tumors of the right heart have to be considered in the differential diagnosis of unexplained dyspnea in elderly patients. Transthoracic echocardiography is certainly necessary and mostly available diagnostic tool that can be of great help in diagnosing heart tumor as well as planning cardiac surgery, as it provides in most cases excellent visualization of the tumor and its relationship with other parts of the heart

Superior vena cava syndrome caused by epitheloid hemangioma

Aim. A case is presented of the surgical treatment of epitheloid hemangioma as a rare cause of superior vena cava syndrome. Case report. A 53-year old woman was admitted to the clinic with the symptoms and signs of superior vena cava syndrome. After clinical evaluation and diagnostic tests, she was operated on through median sternotomy, and the desobliteration of the superior vena cava through longitudinal ca votomy was done. After the desobliteration by the removal of benign tumor from its cavity, vena cava was reconstructed with the continuous prolen suture. Pathohistologicaly, there was the evidence of epitheloid hemangioma that made the subtotal obliteration of the vena cava superior by its expansive growing at the entry in the right atrium. Postoperatively, there was a complete disappearance of the symptoms and signs of superior vena cava syndrome. After an uneventful recovery, the patient was discharged from the hospital

Morphological changes in aorto-coronary vein graft: The analysis of autopsy and biopsy material

Background. Patients with implanted aortic coronary grafts have different survival time, which raises the question why the efficacy of graft implants is so poor. The aim of this study was to present the results of the analysis of morphological changes in the vein grafts taken after the death of patients who died after surgery in different time intervals, as well to present the analysis of the grafts obtained after surgical reintervention. Methods. The total number of 656 grafts of 308 dead patients was analyzed, as well as 76 grafts from 40 patients who underwent surgical reintervention. According to the duration of the graft since surgical intervention until death, all the analyzed changes were divided into two groups: a) early changes and complications, and b) late changes and complications in aorto-coronary vein grafts. Results. After the autopsy, 518 vein grafts from the first group were evaluated histopathologically. Changes were found in the form of small or large areas with peeled endothelium in 266 grafts, with the insudation of fibrin and thrombocytes in such places, subendothelial edema, and occlusive thrombosis of the graft lumen. Significant stenosis, which occurred distally from the anastomoses, was present in 118 grafts without changes in the walls of the graft, and there was significant narrowing of the graft lumen in 134 vein grafts due to intimal hyperplasia. In the second group, 138 grafts were histopathologically analyzed after autopsy. Significant hyperplasia was present in 117 grafts with the migration of smooth muscle cells from media into intima, and in 21 grafts there were atheromatous plaques. In 120 veins analyzed before the graft implantation, the lesion or the lack of endothelium was found, as well as the penetration of fibrin and blood elements and intimal hyperplasia. In 46 veins analyzed before the graft implantation, significant intimal hyperplasia with the elevated number of smooth muscle cells was found. Conclusion. The most frequent lesions in the grafts were the lesions of the endothelium, which caused thrombosis formation and lumen occlusion. Intimal hyperplasia in patients with longer survival time occurred due to the migration of smooth muscle cells from the media, or due to the formation of atherosclerotic plaques, which caused graft lumen stenosis or thrombosis

Ménétrier's disease associated with ulcerative collitis

In this paper a 21 year old patient was presented with Ménétrier's disease, associated with ulcerative colitis. The first symptoms of ulcerative colitis occured at the age of eleven, since when the patient has been conservatively treated several times because of the exacerbations of the desease. During control examinations presence of polipoid changes in stomach was discovered by upper endoscopy. Gastrectomy was suggested because the patient had excessive anemic syndrome which required weekly substitutional therapy with deplasmatic eritrocytes, as well as hypoproteinemia, while multiple polipoid changes suspect for malignancy were gastroscopically identifided. Patient accepted surgical treatment, and was transfered to the Clinic of Surgery. Total gastrectomy was performed, and patohystological finding confirmed Ménétrier's desease. After two weeks, the patient was released from the hospital in good general condition, with regular clinical and laboratory findings

Papillary muscle rupture due to acute myocardial infarction followed by cardiogenic shock, pulmonary edema, and acute renal failure

Aim. The case of successful surgical treatment of anterolateral papillary muscle rupture due to acute myocardial infarction with cardiogenic shock, pulmonary edema and acute renal failure. Case report. A 62-year old male from Belgrade with chest pain, hypotension and a new heart murmur refused hospitalization at the Military Medical Academy. On the third day of his illness he was readmitted to MMA as an emergency due to hemoptysis. Examination revealed mitral valve anterolateral papillary muscle rupture. The patient, with signs of cardiogenic shock and acute renal failure, was immediately operated on. The surgery was performed using extracorporeal circulation. An artificial mitral valve was implanted, and myocardial revascularization accomplished with one venous graft of the left anterior descending artery. On the second postoperative day, hemodialysis was carried out due to acute renal failure. On the 28th postoperative day, the patient was discharged from the hospital being hemodynamically stable with normal renal function and balanced anticoagulation. The case is interesting in terms of unrecognized papillary muscle rupture that led to the development of cardiogenic shock, hemoptysis and acute renal failure. Conclusion. Papillary muscle rupture is a fatal complication of acute myocardial infarction. Early recognition and urgent surgical intervention were lifesaving in the case of complete papillary muscle rupture. Surgical treatment, regardless of high risk, is the procedure of choice

Intestinal parasitosis in asylum seekers from Middle East and South Asia

Background/Aim. It is estimated that about 230 million refugees and asylum seekers circulates worldwide. Parasitosis are diagnosed in recent years with increasing frequency both in Europe and other developed countries. International migration of population, as an inalienable part and a result of the process of globalization, has an increasing impact on health of the population of countries through which migrants pass or settle. The aim of this study was to determine the incidence of intestinal parasitic diseases in asylum seekers on the territory of Belgrade. Methods. The study group included 97 asylum seekers from the Centre for Asylum seekers in Obrenovac, in the period December 2013– January 2014. Stool samples were taken less than seven days after arriving to the Center and sent to the Laboratory for Parasitological Diagnosis of the Public Health Institute of Belgrade. Detection of parasites in stool samples was performed by a direct native slide made of fresh sample and direct slide made after stool concentration applying "Mini Parasep" technique. Statistical analysis included application of χ2-test of matching and χ2-test of independence. Results. The study showed that the parasites were detected in 9.3% of cases, in the group of 15–24 years of age. Protozoa were found in 6.2% and helminthes in 3.1% of the samples. Conclusion. Most intestinal parasitosis were found in asylum seekers from Bangladesh. All parasitosis were found in males and the most frequently detected parasite was Giardia lamblia

Urgent carotid stenting before cardiac surgery in a young male patient with acute ischemic stroke caused by aortic and carotid dissection

Introduction. Acute aortic dissection (AD) is the most common life-threatening disorder affecting the aorta. Neurological symptoms are present in 17-40% of cases. The management of these patients is controversial. Case report. We presented a 37-year-old man admitted for complaining of left-sided weak-ness. Symptoms appeared two hours before admission. The patient had no headache, neither thoracic pain. Neurological examination showed mild confusion, left-sided hemiplegia, National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale (NIHSS) score was 10. Ischemic stroke was suspected, brain multislice computed tomography (MSCT) and angiography were performed and right intrapetrous internal carotid artery dissection noted. Subsequent color Doppler ultrasound of the carotid arteries showed dissection of the right common carotid artery (CCA). The patient underwent thoracic and abdominal MSCT aortography which showed ascending aortic dissection from the aortic root, propagating in the brachiocephalic artery and the right CCA. Digital subtraction angiography was performed subsequently and two stents were successfully implanted in the brachiocephalic artery and the right CCA prior to cardiac surgery, only 6 hours after admission. The ascending aorta was reconstructed with graft interposition and the aortic valve re-suspended. The patient was hemodynamically stable and with no neurologic deficit after surgery. Unfortinately, at the operative day 6, mediastinitis developed and after intensive treatment the patients died 35 days after admission. Conclusion. In young patients with suspected stroke and oscillatory neurological impairment urgent MSCT angiography of the brain and neck and/or Doppler sonography of the carotid and vertebral artery are mandatory to exclude carotid and aortic dissection. The prompt diagnosis permits urgent carotid stenting and cardiosurgery. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first published case of immediate carotid stenting in acute ischemic stroke after the diagnosis of carotid and aortic dissection and prior to cardiac surgery