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Ann Thorac Surg 2002;74:S1800-S1802
© 2002 The Society of Thoracic Surgeons

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Session 2: Aortic and Endoluminal Stents

Single-stage reoperative repair of chronic type A aortic dissection using the arch-first technique

^a Division of Cardiovascular and Thoracic Surgery, Missouri Baptist Medical Center, St. Louis, Missouri, USA

* Address reprint requests to Dr Kouchoukos, Cardiac, Thoracic and Vascular Surgery, Inc., 3009 North Ballas Rd, Suite 266C, St. Louis, MO 63348, USA
e-mail: ntkouch{at}aol.com

Presented at the Aortic Surgery Symposium VIII, May 2–3, 2002, New York, NY.

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Management of the enlarged, chronically dissected aorta after previous repair of acute ascending aortic dissection or after a previous cardiac operation may present a formidable technical challenge and the optimal method of management is not clearly established.

METHODS: Twenty-one patients with chronic type A aortic dissection (mean age 57 years) underwent resection of the ascending aorta, the aortic arch, and varying segments of the descending thoracic aorta. Single-stage replacement with perfusion of the aortic arch first to minimize the duration of brain ischemia and a bilateral anterior thoracotomy (clamshell) incision were used. Fourteen patients had undergone previous repair of acute type A dissection. Seven patients had type A dissection after aortic valve replacement (3 patients) or coronary artery bypass (4 patients). Marked enlargement of the aorta distal to the left subclavian artery precluded a two-stage repair. The mean interval between the initial and reoperative procedures was 69 months (range, 5 to 249).

RESULTS: There was 1 (4.8%) hospital death. Four patients required reoperation for bleeding. One patient required a right ventricular assist device that was successfully removed. Ten patients required assisted ventilation for more than 48 hours. All were successfully weaned from ventilatory support. No patient had a stroke or other adverse neurologic outcome. There has been 1 late death (mean follow-up 2 years).

CONCLUSIONS: The single-stage, arch-first replacement technique is a safe and effective procedure for patients who require extensive reoperations for chronic expanding type A dissection.

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				M. Sasaki, A. Usui, M. Yoshikawa, T. Akita, and Y. Ueda Arch-first technique performed under hypothermic circulatory arrest with retrograde cerebral perfusion improves neurological outcomes for total arch replacement Eur. J. Cardiothorac. Surg., May 1, 2005; 27(5): 821 - 825. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]