PULSELESS disease, or Takayashu's disease, is an unusual syndrome characterized by the obliteration of the major branches of the arch of the aorta. The name, pulseless disease, does not appear to be adequate, for it fails to indicate the peculiar localization of the disease and the clinical variants with diminished, but present pulses. The name Takayashu's disease is subject to the criticism us...

We surgically replaced the aortic root and the complex arch in a patient with aortitis syndrome with total occlusion of the cervical branches. Cerebral perfusion was being maintained through the reversed flow of the vertebral artery from the bilateral mammary arteries. Though cerebral perfusion was continued through the prosthetic grafts attached to the subclavian arteries during the procedure,...

Visualization of aortic arch branches by transesophageal echocardiography has been technically challenging. Visualizing these vessels helps in identifying the extent of dissection of the aorta, assessing the severity of carotid artery stenosis, presence of atheromatous plaques, patency of the left internal mammary artery graft, confirmation of subclavian artery cannulation, confirming holodiast...

Aortic aneurysms are classified as complex based on their extent and involvement of side branches. Complex aortic aneurysms include arch, thoracoabdominal, juxtarenal and suprarenal aortic aneurysms. Open surgical repair carries high morbidity and mortality beyond large tertiary care centers. During the last decade, numerous technological advances have allowed incorporation of side branches usi...

During transcubital selective digital subtraction angiography (DSA), difficulties in catheterization of the supraaortic branches may arise as a result of improper catheter design (1, 2]. The catheters used for transfemoral cerebral angiography may not be suited for such studies , and for this reason we designed a new catheter for both transcubital aortic arch angiography and selective or semise...

Axial-flow ventricular assist devices (VADs) can be implanted either through a left thoracotomy with outflow-graft anastomosis to the descending thoracic aorta or through a midline sternotomy with anastomosis to the ascending aorta. Each method has advantages and disadvantages. Because these VADs produce nonpulsatile flow, their hemodynamic characteristics differ from those of pulsatile devices...

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 procedur...

We report a neonate with left congenital diaphragmatic hernia and severe left ventricular dysfunction, in whom the blood flow in the transverse arch and its branches was supported in a retrograde fashion by patent ductus arteriosus. There was only minimal antegrade flow across the aortic valve and hemodynamic physiology resembled critical aortic stenosis, necessitating the immediate use of pros...

BACKGROUND Patients suffering from acute type A aortic dissection undergo replacement of the ascending aorta, the proximal hemiarch or complete aortic arch, depending on the extent of the individual pathology. In a subset of these treated patients, secondary pathologies of the distal anastomosis or the remaining distal part of the aorta occur. The treatment of these pathologies is challenging, ...