Budd-Chiari syndrome complicating the surgical closure of patent foramen ovale in right minithoracotomy

Surgical Management of Infective Endocarditis Complicated by Budd-Chiari Syndrome

Budd-Chiari syndrome (BCS) is a relatively rare comorbidity, particularly in patients undergoing cardiac surgery. The difficulty arises when we try to drain blood from the obstructed lower body circulation to establish extracorporeal circulation. Herein, we describe a patient who developed a persistent fever after undergoing neurosurgery for a head arteriovenous fistula, wherein blood cultures confirmed Staphylococcus aureus infection. The patient exhibited hyperbilirubinemia, hyperammonemia, and transient loss of consciousness. Transthoracic echocardiography showed moderate mitral regurgitation and 3 cm vegetation on the mitral valve. Imaging identified a thrombus in the right hepatic vein, stenosis of both the inferior vena cava and left hepatic vein, and esophagogastric and splenic varices. These findings led to establishing a diagnosis of infective endocarditis and BCS. The patient subsequently underwent mitral valve replacement with a mechanical valve. There are only a few case reports describing successful cardiac surgery in patients with BCS. Hence, we would like to report our surgical treatment of infective endocarditis complicated with BCS.

Open Cardiac Surgery in a Patient With Chronic Budd-Chiari Syndrome

Budd-Chiari syndrome (BCS) is a rare congestive hepatopathy arising from hepatic venous outflow obstruction. The clinical presentation of BCS varies depending on the presence of collateral veins. The authors report a rare case of infective endocarditis and chronic primary BCS in a 50-year-old man who underwent open cardiac surgery. Due to the presence of dilated collateral veins flowing directly into the inferior vena cava, cardiopulmonary bypass was established by arterial cannulation of the ascending aorta, with venous cannulation of the upper portion of the superior vena cava, as well as the dilated collateral vein. Mitral valve replacement and tricuspid valvuloplasty were performed uneventfully, and the patient then was admitted to the intensive care unit. Patients with primary BCS need to be evaluated rigorously preoperatively and intraoperatively for collateral flow to establish cardiopulmonary bypass.