Unsuccessful treatment of a collapsed thoracic stent graft by Palmaz stent

Apicoaortic valved conduit bypass for progressing aortic graft stenosis due to malformation of repeated thoracic endovascular aortic repairs

Since the first report by Cooley and colleagues in 1975 [Cooley DA, Norman JC, Mullins CE, Grace R. Left ventricle to abdominal aorta conduit for relief of aortic stenosis. Cardiovasc Dis 1975;2:376-83], an apicoaortic valved conduit bypass has been usually administrated to selected patients presenting with certain clinical conditions or complications such as aortic stenosis associated with porcelain aorta, unclampable atherosclerotic aorta, resternotomy, or previous coronary bypass surgery. On the other hand, thoracic endovascular aortic repair for various aortic lesions has become a promising and less invasive therapy. We encountered a critical case of a patient suffering from aortic graft stenosis due to malformation of a previous thoracic endovascular aortic repair procedure originally performed for acute type A aortic dissection. Because of a deep sternal wound infection, apicoaortic valved conduit bypass from the left ventricular apex to the abdominal aorta was successfully performed.