AORTIC DISSECTION RESULTING FROM TEAR OF TRANSVERSE ARCH - IS CONCOMITANT ARCH REPAIR WARRANTED 16TH ANNUAL MEETING OF THE WESTERN THORACIC SURGICAL ASSOC Yun, K. L., Glower, D. D., Miller, D. C., Fann, J. I., Mitchell, R. S., White, W. D., Rankin, J. S., Wolfe, W. G., Shumway, N. E. MOSBY-ELSEVIER. 1991: 355–70

Abstract

Forty-seven patients with aortic dissection resulting from a primary tear located in the transverse aortic arch underwent surgical treatment. Twenty-six patients had acute type A, 7 had acute type B, 7 had chronic type A, and 7 had chronic type B aortic dissections. Of the 33 patients with acute dissections, 11 (7 acute type A and 4 acute type B) underwent concomitant arch repair with an operative (less than or equal to 30 days) mortality rate of 55% (35% to 73%, +/- 1 asymmetric 70% confidence limit) (2 of 7 acute type A and 4 of 4 acute type B). Concomitant arch repair was omitted in 22 patients with acute dissections (19 acute type A and 3 acute type B); the operative mortality rate was 41% (29% to 54%) (7 of 19 acute type A and 2 of 3 acute type B) (p = not significant versus arch repair). The overall survival rate for those with arch repair was 45% +/- 15% (+/- 1 standard error of the estimate) at 4 years, compared with 43% +/- 11% for patients without arch repair (p = not significant). Considering the type of dissection, the 4-year survival estimate for patients with acute type A dissections who underwent arch repair (5 hemiarch and 2 total arch) was 71% +/- 17% (versus 44% +/- 12% for acute type A patients without arch repair). There were no survivors among the 4 patients with acute type B dissections who had an arch repair (1 hemiarch and 3 total arch), whereas patients with acute type B dissections who did not undergo concomitant arch repair had a 4-year survival estimate of 33% +/- 27% (p = not significant versus arch repair). Four other patients with acute type B dissections resulting from an arch tear were managed medically and tended to have a slightly better prognosis (2-year survival estimate of 75% +/- 22% versus 14% +/- 13% for all surgically treated acute type B patients), but again this difference was not statistically significant. Multivariate analysis of the 47 surgical patients revealed that advanced age (p = 0.0008), preoperative dissection complications (p = 0.02), and other coexistent medical problems (p = 0.03) were the only significant, independent determinants of overall mortality. Initial arch repair was not a significant predictor. Nine percent (2/22) of patients with acute type A dissections who initially underwent isolated ascending aortic replacement required subsequent arch replacement; 1 died after reoperation.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)

View details for PubMedID 1881176