Mediastinal Packing for Intractable Coagulopathy in Acute Aortic Dissection (Types 1 and 2 DeBakey): A Life-Saving Technique—Report of Experiences

Nonsurgical bleeding after complex thoracic aortic procedures (such as aortic dissection and aortic aneurysm) is a great challenge for cardiac surgeons because of severe coagulopathy, exsanguinous bleeding, and inevitable death. Temporary mediastinal packing (with sponge) in such cases is the only life-saving technique with good result in most cases. Herein, we presented three cases with acute aortic dissection with intractable bleeding that was successfully managed with mediastinal packing.