Routine innominate artery cannulation for elective ascending aortic surgery. A single-centre experience.

Method We excluded from the study all patients who underwent emergent or urgent operation for acute aortic syndrome, any aortic surgery distal to innominate artery and patients who had other than innominate artery cannulation (aortic, subclavian/axillary, femoral). The final cohort was consisted of 81 patients who underwent elective ascending aorta replacement alone or with concomitant procedures such as aortic root replacement, coronary or/and valve surgical interventions, which were performed only with innominate artery cannulation. Open distal anastomosis after clamping of the aortic arch branches and selective antegrade cerebral perfusion with a flow rate of 10 ml/kg/min, was performed in all patients. 43 peri-operative variables have been investigated.