Surgical treatment of aortic coarctation has a high success rate. However, irrespective of the surgical technique used, a significant percentage of patients develop late complications affecting the aortic wall. Reoperation to repair these complications is a complex procedure and is associated with high mortality. Recently an endovascular approach has been proposed as a promising alternative for...

Bicuspid aortic valve is traditionally considered an innocuous congenital anomaly. Due to a better and widespread availability of non-invasive imaging techniques, it has come to the fore that 30% of these cases develop complications, viz., valve abnormality (aortic regurgitation and stenosis), and aneurysm of aortic root and ascending aorta. Sinus of Valsalva aneurysm is an uncommon complicatio...

Mycotic aneurysm of the aorta is an uncommon condition, and Group B Streptococcus (GBS) is exceedingly rare in this setting. We present the first reported case of a GBS-infected abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) in North America. Key clinical and imaging findings and pathologic correlation are highlighted. A relevant review of the literature is discussed, which will bring the reader up to date wi...

Background Aortic coarctation (AC) represents 7% of congenital heart disease. It is a reversible secondary cause of systemic hypertension, however up to 35% of patients remain hypertensive and 18% have cardiovascular complications such as aortic aneurysm, dissection or aortic valve disease. AC is associated with bicuspid aortic valve (BAV) in around 60%, both diseases alter aortic wall distensi...

background: optimal timing and mode of treatment for patients with coarctation of the aorta ( coa ) remain controversial, particularly in children. surgery, balloon dilatation, and stent implantation have all proven effective in the treatment of moderate or severe obstruction. the aim of this study was to investigate the complications of coa stenting angioplasty in pediatric patients. methods: ...

I wo-dimensional echocardiography has been used extensively to assess aortic arch anatomy in infants and children. Echocardiographic techniques for examination of left and right aortic arch, coarctation and interruption of the aorta, aortic aneurysm and double aortic arch have been well described.lp2 Right aortic arch with retroesophageal segment and left descending aorta, an unusual form of va...

Bicuspid aortic valve (BAV) represents the most common cardiac congenital malformation in the adult age, with strong male predominance. It may occur in isolation, or in association with other congenital heart diseases. The BAV is seen in 1% to 2% of the population and may be complicated by aortic stenosis or aortic insufficiency and infective endocarditis. It may be associated with abnormalitie...

A15-year-old girl was referred to our hospital for reevaluation and balloon angioplasty of a previously documented coarctation of the aorta. She had undergone coarctectomy at age 1 week and patch closure of a ventricular septal defect at age 1 year. Three years before referral, she had received balloon angioplasty to relieve postoperative restenosis of the descending aorta; this improved the pr...

A dilatable form of juxtaductal aortic coarctation was surgically created in 29 newborn lambs. Of the 17 long-term survivors, four lambs served as controls and 13 underwent transcutaneous balloon dilation angioplasty with either polyvinylchloride or polyethylene catheters after 7--10 weeks of recovery. During growth before dilation, there was little change in the systolic gradient across the co...

BACKGROUND Balloon angioplasty of coarctation of the aorta is an effective method of treatment but is complicated by tearing of the aortic intima, formation of aneurysms, and restenosis. Stent placement at the time of balloon dilation could prevent restenosis and could also prevent progression of intimal tears to aneurysms. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the feasibility of balloon di...