Partial aortic root remodeling for root reconstruction in patients with acute type A dissection

Outcomes of surgical treatment on type A acute aortic dissection accompanied with coronary artery involvement

Background

Coronary artery (CA) involvement due to acute aortic dissection (AAD) is a catastrophic cardiovascular disease with high mortality. Two main surgery strategies, local coronary repair and coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) can be applied to reestablish the blood flow in the aortic repair. This study was to evaluate the operative and long-term outcomes of type A AAD patients, who received aortic dissection repair plus CABG or local coronary repair.

Method

We reviewed our database and screened 148 type A AAD patients with CA involvement from January 2001 to December 2021. Local coronary repair or CABG was performed concomitantly on these enrolled patients.

Results

At the time of aortic repair, there were 58 patients with concomitant CABG (Group I) and 90 patients with local coronary repair (Group II). The basal characteristics of these two groups had no difference, except for acute myocardial ischemia (AMI) and CA involvement type. 45 patients with AMI in Group I, but none in Group II (P < 0.001). There was a higher frequency of type B and C lesions of CA involvement in Group I than that in Group II (P < 0.001). There was no difference in surgical procedures and complications, except for postoperative acute kidney injury (AKI) (34.5% vs. 8.9%, P < 0.001). Hospital mortality in Group I was higher than that in Group II, but without statistical difference (20.7% vs. 11.1%, P = 0.155). No significant difference was obtained in long-term survival rate between the two groups (82.5 ± 4.8% vs. 81.2 ± 6.9%, P = 0.19).

Conclusion

CABG and local coronary repair suits different types of CA involvement, and their effects on perioperative results and long-term survival for type A AAD patients with CA involvement are equal.

Partial aortic root remodeling for chronic aortic dissection with coronary intimal tear

While there are many reports on partial aortic root remodeling, it is rarely performed for chronic aortic dissection of the coronary artery. This report presents a case of a 69-year-old man incidentally diagnosed with aortic dissection during routine checkup. He had a history of percutaneous coronary intervention from the left main trunk to the left anterior descending artery and left circumflex artery. Computed tomography revealed a chronic type A aortic dissection with an aneurysmal aortic root. The false lumen of the Valsalva sinus originated from the left anterior descending artery and expanded largely to the non-coronary Valsalva sinus. We performed partial aortic root remodeling, resecting the dissected non-coronary Valsalva sinus. The postoperative course was uneventful. Partial aortic root remodeling was effective, but its use might be controversial for chronic aortic dissection without resection of the primary entry of the left anterior descending artery. Moreover, close follow-up is required.

Misdiagnosed coronary artery disease-acute aortic syndrome: A case report

It is estimated that 15% of traffic accidents cause trauma to large vessels. In about 70%-95% of cases, aortic rupture took place in the distal ligament of the left subclavian artery, whereas in the remaining cases rupture occurred in the ascending aorta above the aortic valve. Trauma to the aortic sinus and coronary arteries is rarely found in traffic accident victims. Therefore, coronary artery trauma is often misdiagnosed as coronary atherosclerotic heart disease. The present case is a 42 years old male who survived from a traffic accident. He presented with aortic sinus and left coronary artery trauma. He was misdiagnosed as having coronary atherosclerotic heart disease, and therefore wrongly given antiplatelet medicine, such as aspirin, in another hospital. Definite diagnosis was achieved in our hospital, and the patient underwent Bentall and mitral valve replacement, as well as tricuspid valvuloplasty. The aortic occlusion time during surgery was 47 min, and the total cardiopulmonary bypass time was 63 min. After surgery, transthoracic echocardiography confirmed that all the artificial valves worked sufficiently. The patient felt good and symptoms such as asthma and decreased exercise tolerance disappeared. This case taught us that acute aortic syndrome cannot be ignored when patients present with pectoralgia; antiplatelet medication should not be given before definite diagnosis.