OBJECTIVE To determine the most effective treatment, we performed a detailed comparative study of the clinical course of patients with type B aortic dissection with a patent or thrombosed false lumen who did not undergo surgery in the acute period. We examined the effect of patency of the false lumen on outcome. METHODS Computed tomography scans of 138 patients with type B acute aortic dissec...

The term acute aortic syndrome (AAS) embraces a heterogeneous group of patients with a similar clinical profile of acute presentation and characteristic “aortic pain”. Acute aortic syndrome encompasses classic aortic dissection, less common variants such as intramural hematoma, penetrating aortic ulcer, and iatrogenic or traumatic transsection of the aorta. In some patients, AAS may also be cau...

OBJECTIVE We modified the conventional aortic arch replacement procedure to avoid circulation arrest and a prolonged extracorporeal circulation time, especially in cases of acute aortic dissection. We herein present our experience with a modified branch-first approach to acute aortic dissection, with anastomosis of the supra aortic vessels prior to commencing cardiopulmonary bypass. METHODS S...

Aortic dissection is a rare life-threatening condition that typically presents with acute onset of severe chest, abdominal, or back pain. Some patients might present with atypical symptoms and findings, such as neurological syndromes, making it difficult to make the diagnosis. Here, we report a case of a painless acute aortic rupture over an already existing Stanford type A chronic aortic disse...

Acalculous cholecystitis is a rare but life-threatening disease, but its pathogenesis is not fully revealed yet. We experienced two acalculous cholecystitis cases associated with aortic dissection. In Case 1, acalculous cholecystitis occurred just after the exacerbation of the aortic dissection. Laparotomy showed necrotized cholecystitis with fresh thrombi formation. Case 2 developed acalculous...

Acute type B dissection is a catastrophic condition. Up to 20% of these patients develop severe complications such as rupture or branch vessel malperfusion. These challenging patients are usually triaged to surgical or endovascular management. The surgical approach has been the gold standard for treatment of complicated type B dissection. However, the management has been challenging even in cen...

Acute aortic syndromes including aortic rupture remain lifethreatening, and represent a unique area in cardiovascular surgery. Thoracic endovascular aortic repair (TEVAR) has become widely accepted as a major option in the treatment of thoracic aortic diseases, particularly for emergency patients such as those with a ruptured dissection [1,2]. We report a case with type B aortic dissection that...

Transoesophageal echocardiography (TOE), rapid sequence spiral computed tomography with intravenous contrast (CT), and magnetic resonance angiography (MRA) have become increasingly useful in the evaluation and diagnosis of acute dissection of the ascending aorta. These diagnostic modalities are fast, safe, non-invasive, and highly accurate, with sensitivity and specificity approaching 100%. 1 A...

Cardiovascular complications of cocaine use have been ever more widely recognized and include the acceleration of atherosclerosis, coronary artery spasm, acute myocardial infarction, myocarditis, dilated cardiomyopathies, and cardiac arrhythmias. Less well known is the potentially lethal complication of aortic dissection. In the present issue of Circulation, Hsue and colleagues1 report on their...

conclusions with the increase in interventional procedures in cardiology, iatrogenic pathology of the aorta is seen more frequently, and every cardiologist should know how to diagnose and treat this group of diseases. evidence acquisition our search strategy involved an investigation in the pubmed database for every available article in peer reviewed journals between 1975 and 2015, for subjects...