• Journal of Chest Surgery
• /
• v.42 no.4
• /
• pp.520-523
• /
• 2009

Aortic arch aneurysm generally requires an urgent treatment due to the risk of catastrophic aortic rupture. However conventional surgery for aortic arch repair still carries significant risks of postoperative morbidity and mortality, especially in patients with old age. In an effort to correct the aortic pathology while minimizing the risks of complication, we performed a hybrid technique which comprises the off pump arch aortic stent grafting in an 86-old male patient with an aortic arch aneurysm.

• Journal of Chest Surgery
• /
• v.29 no.11
• /
• pp.1212-1217
• /
• 1996

From Dec. 1993 to May 1995, 9 male and 5 female patients ranging in age from 25 to 65 years, were operated on for ascending aorta and/or aortic arch diseases. Six patients had acute aortic dissection, type A(ruptured in 4 cases); four had ruptured ascending aortic aneurysm; three had annuloaortic ectasia(ruptured in 1 cases); one had aortic arch aneurysm. The diagnostic procedures were echo cardiography and dynamic CT scan in all patients having acute dissection or rupture. The aortic angiography was performed in two cases. Indications for operations were rupture in five cases, acute aortic dissection in five cases, severe congestive heart failure in two cases, progressive aortic insufficiency in one case and impending rupture in one case. The emergent repair was performed in ten cases(71%). The surgical treatment consisted of 6 Cabrol operations, a Cabrol operation combined with arch replacement, a modified Bentall operation, 4 replacement of ascending aorta, a replacement of aortic arch, and a replacement of ascending aorta and aortic arch. Complications were a hypoxic encephalopathy, two atrial fibrillations, a sternal deheiscence, and a mediastinitis. Two early mortality(14%) were due to intractable bleeding and multiple organ failure, and one late mortality(7%) was due to ventricular arrhythmia. In eleven survivors, follow-up period was from 2 months to 12 months and the course was uneventful.

• Journal of Chest Surgery
• /
• v.40 no.6 s.275
• /
• pp.414-419
• /
• 2007

Background: Replacing the ascending aorta is a standard surgical option for treating acute type A aortic dissection. But replacing the aortic arch has recently been reported as an acceptable procedure for this disease. We compared the effects of aortic arch replacement for treating acute type A aortic dissection with the effects of ascending aortic replacement. Material and Method: From 2002 to 2006, 25 patients undewent surgical treatment for acute type A aortic dissection, 12 patients undewent ascending aortic replacement and 13 patients underwent aortic arch replacement. Among the aortic arch group, an additional distal stent-graft was inserted during the operation in 5 patients. 19 patients (11 arch replaced patients and 8 ascending aortic replaced patients) were followed up at the out patient clinic for an average of $756{\pm}373$ days. All the patients undewent CT scanning and we analyzed their distal aortic segments. Result: 4 patients who underwent ascending aortic replacement died, so the overall mortality rate was 16%. Among the 11 long term followed-up arch replacement patients, 2 patients (18.1 %) developed distal aortic dilatation and one of them underwent thoracoabdominal aortic replacement later on. However, among the 8 the ascending aortic replaced patients, 5 patients (62.5%) developed distal aortic dilatation. Conclusion: Aortic arch replacement is one of the safe options for treating acute type A aortic dissection. Aortic arch replacement for treating acute type A aortic dissection could contribute to a reduced distal aortic dilatation rate and fewer secondary aortic procedures.

• Journal of Chest Surgery
• /
• v.38 no.4 s.249
• /
• pp.291-300
• /
• 2005

One-stage repair of aortic arch anomalies and intracardiac defects through median sternotomy has been recently adopted by many institutions since it is known to be safer than the staged repair. The early and midterm results of the one-stage repair of aortic arch anomalies and intracardiac defects were retrospectively evaluated. Material and Method: 45 patients who underwent one-stage repair of aortic arch anomalies and intracardiac defects performed by one surgeon from January 1996 to July 2003 were included in this retrospective study. The median age of repair was 16 days (range, 3 days$\~$23.7 months) and the mean weight was $3.62\;\pm\;1.30 kg$. Thirty one $(68.9\%)$ had coarctation and 14 $(31.1\%)$ had interrupted aortic arch. Associated intracardiac anomalies were VSD in 31 patients (VSD group), TGA or Taussig-Bing anomaly in 10 (TGA group), and others in 4 (ASD in 1, aortopulmonary window 1, truncus arteriosus 1, aortic and mitral stenoses 1, miscellaneous group). The arch obstruction was repaired with end-to-side anastomosis in 23 patients and end-to-end anastomosis in 22. Result: Overall postoperative hospital mortality was $22.2\%\;(10/45);\;16.1\%$ (5/31) in VSD group, $40\%$ (4/10) in TGA group, and$25\%$ (1/4) in miscellaneous group. There was no mortality in VSD group since 1998, and the mortality in TGA group has remarkably reduced since technical modification for coronary transfer was adopted $(75\%\;vs\;16.7\%)$. There was no postoperative seizure or other neurological complications. Postoperative aortic restenosis occurred in 5 patients $(5/35,\;14.3\%)$. Two patients underwent balloon aortoplasty with successful results. There was no reoperation. There was one late death caused by pneumonia 5 months after the operation. Two-year actuarial survival rate including operative death was $72.9\%$. Conclusion: The operative mortality of one-stage repair has been reduced with time and aortic restenosis rate was also acceptable. We concluded that this procedure is a reproducible procedure for aortic arch anomalies associated with intracardiac defects.

• Journal of Chest Surgery
• /
• v.37 no.10
• /
• pp.856-860
• /
• 2004

Interrupted aortic arch with concomitant intracardiac defects is a rare congenital anomaly that has an unfavorable natural course. We report a successful staged operation of interrupted aortic arch with apical muscular ventricular septal defect associating esophageal atresia with tracheoesophageal fistula in a 3-day-old neonate weighing 2.6 kg. We repaired esophageal atresia through the right thoracotomy and subsequently performed extended end-to-end anastomosis of the aortic arch with pulmonary artery banding through the left thoracotomy at same operation. The apical muscular VSD was repaired 87 day after first operation. The patient required multiple additional interventions before closure of the apical muscular ventricular septal defect, such as pyloromyotomy for idiopathic hypertrophic pyloric stenosis, anterior aortopexy for airway obstruction, and balloon aortoplasty for residual coarctation. She is now doing well.

• Journal of Chest Surgery
• /
• v.35 no.10
• /
• pp.740-744
• /
• 2002

Retrograde cerebral perfusion under hypothermic circulatory arrest is a simple and useful adjunct to avoid cerebral ischemic injury in the treatment of aortic arch pathology. In the surgery of distal aortic arch and proximal descending aortic lesions through the left thoracotomy incision, right atrium-retrograde cerebral perfusion (RA-RCP) through a venous cannula positioned into the right atrium is simpler than retrograde cerebral perfusion through superior vena cava. The time limits for RA-RCP during aortic arch reconstruction have yet to be clarified. We, herein, present a case with uneventful recovery after RA-RCP of 94 minutes during reconstruction of aortic arch and descending aorta. These data suggest that RA-RCP, as an adjunct to hypothermic circulatory arrest, may prolong the circulatory arrest time and thus prevent ischemic injury of the brain, even when RA-RCP exceeds 90 minutes.

• Journal of Chest Surgery
• /
• v.30 no.1
• /
• pp.83-87
• /
• 1997

Taussig-Bing anomaly is infrequently associated with interrupted aortic arch and size discrepancy of great arteries makes it difficult to undergo arch reconstruction and arterial switch operation. A 20-day old male infant was admitted with the diagnosis of Taussig-Bing anomaly with type B Interrupted aortic arch. Multi-organ failure, due to the diminution of ductal flow, was stabilized after 3 weeks of prostaglandin El and controlled ventilatory support. The surgical correction consisted of VSD closure, arterial swtich and extended aortic arch reconstruction. The marked disparity between the hypoplastic ascending aorta and the dilated main pulmonary artery was overcome by constructing distal neoaorta using both native ascending and descending aortic tissue. The patient was extubated on postoperative 2nd day Postoperative catheterization showed no left ventricular outflow obstruction, no intracardiac shunt, and no incompetence of neoaortic valve.

• Journal of Chest Surgery
• /
• v.42 no.3
• /
• pp.375-379
• /
• 2009

Difficulty in exposing anastomotic sites is a frequently encountered problem during surgical repair of a distal aortic arch aneurysm via median sternotomy or lateral thoracotomy. Endovascular repair has th limitation that it usually requires surgical rerouting of some of the brachiocephalic branches in order to get sufficient length for proximal fixation of the stent-graft. To take advantage of each approach, we fixed the distal end of the prosthetic graft by means of a pre-mounted metallic stent instead of performing conventional surgical anastomosis during the repair of distal arch aneurysms with using median sternotomy and hypothermic circulatory arrest. We report here on our experience with such 3 patients.

• Journal of Chest Surgery
• /
• v.41 no.5
• /
• pp.647-650
• /
• 2008

Aortic disease usually recurs after aortic surgery in the form a new aneurysm distal to the previous operation site, and finding a penetrating atherosclerotic ulcer proximal to the previous operation site has rarely been reported. We report here on a case of successful patch repair of a ruptured penetrating ulcer in the distal aortic arch, and this developed late after replacement of the descending thoracic aorta.

• Journal of Chest Surgery
• /
• v.29 no.3
• /
• pp.297-302
• /
• 1996

From January 1989 to July 1995, 18 patients underwent aortic repair for type A dissections. The e were 9 male and 9 female patients aged 41 to 68 years(mean, 53.8). Thirteen patients underwent the procedure during the acute period, and 5 during the chronic period. During repair of acute dissection, procedures included graft replacement of the ascending aorta only (6 patients), ascending aorta plus partial aortic arch (3), ascending aorta plus total aortic arch (2), Bentall's operation (1), and Bentall's operation plus total aortic arch (1). During repair of chronic dissection, procedures included Bentall's operation (3 patients), ascending aorta only (1), and ascending aorta plus partial aortic arch (1). During repair of the arch, antegrade cerebral perfusion was applied in 4 patients and hypothermic circulatory arrest in 3 patients. There were 4 operative deaths(22.2%), 2 of hemorrhage. and 2 of left ventricular failure in the operating room. Follow-up has been 100% completed and ranged from 2 to 53 months (mean, 17 months). One late death resulted from sepsis following secon operation. Thirteen of the survivors are doing well.