[Closure of the dissecting cavity caused by acute dissecting aortic aneurysm for the treatment of acute renal failure].
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OBJECTIVES: This study reports surgical experience of 72 cases of aortic dissection with intimal tear in the transverse aortic arch. METHODS: Of 325 patients with aortic dissection, 72 (22.2%) had a tear in the arch, including 27 with acute dissection and 45 with chronic dissection. Mean age at surgery was 60.8 +/- 14.1 years. The dissection was localized from the ascending aorta to the arch in 30 patients and extensive from the ascending aorta to the descending aorta in 42. Surgeries consisted of total arch replacement in 50 patients, hemiarch replacement in 20, and extra-anatomical bypass in 1. In the initial series, cardiopulmonary bypass for brain protection during arch procedures was selective cerebral perfusion (61 patients), but since July 1993 deep hypothermic circulatory arrest with retrograde cerebral perfusion was exclusively utilized (8 patients). RESULTS: Hospital mortality was 9.7%, 11.1% of the patients who had acute dissection and 8.8% with chronic dissection. There has been no mortality since February 1993. The mean follow-up period was 51 +/- 37 months, and there were 3 late deaths. The 5 and 10 year survival rate was 85.3 +/- 4.8 in all patients, 84.3 +/- 8.9% with acute dissection, and 85.5 +/- 5.7% with chronic dissection. The 5 and 10 year survival was 79.8 +/- 7.1 with extensive dissection, and 93.5 +/- 6.5% with localized dissection. During follow-up, 6 patients underwent subsequent aortic surgeries. The freedom from reoperation at 5 years and at 10 years was 91.4 +/- 4.8% and 65.6 +/- 14.4%, respectively. In patients with acute dissection it was 92.3 +/- 7.4% and 61.5 +/- 25.6% at 5 years and 10 years, while with chronic dissection it was 87.0 +/- 7.0% and 44.0 +/- 17.3% at 5 years and 10 years, respectively (n.s.). The freedom from subsequent reoperation for the aorta in all patients was 91.4 +/- 4.8% at 5 years and 10 years was 65.6 +/- 14.4%. With acute dissection it was 92.3 +/- 7.4% at 5 years and 61.5 +/- 25.6% at 10 years, while that with chronic dissection it was 91.3 +/- 5.9% and 65.7 +/- 16.8% at 5 years and 10 years respectively (n.s.). The freedom from all reoperations with extensive dissection at 5 years and 10 years was 86.6% +/- 7.2% and 34.2 +/- 17.3%, respectively, moreover, the freedom from reoperations with localized dissection at 5 and at 10 years was 90.0 +/- 9.5% (n.s.). However, the freedom from subsequent aorta reoperation with extensive dissection at 5 years and 10 years was 86.6 +/- 7.2% and 56.0 +/- 16.0%, respectively, while with localized dissection it was 100% at 10 years (P < 0.01). CONCLUSION: Early and late surgical result for arch dissection was satisfactory with a surgical principle of resecting the aortic segment that contains the initial intimal tear and graft replacement.
BACKGROUND: Aortic dissection still has a poor prognosis despite progress in therapy. Therefore, this prospective follow-up study was designed to determine whether the degree of communication between true and false lumen in relation to the type of dissection, analyzed by transesophageal echocardiography, influences the risk after initiation of medical or surgical therapy. METHODS AND RESULTS: In eight centers, 168 patients (124 men and 44 women) of age range of 23-84 years with proven aortic dissection were examined by transesophageal echocardiography in the acute phase, after start of medical and/or surgical therapy, and during follow-up (0-65 months; mean, 10 months). Analyses were performed prospectively according to a detailed study protocol. Patients were subdivided by transesophageal echocardiography according to a modified DeBakey classification. Type I aortic dissection was found in 35%, type II aortic dissection in 17%, and type III aortic dissection in 48%. Preoperative mortality was 3%, 7%, and 2%, and survival rates were 52%, 69%, and 70%, respectively. Type III aortic dissection could be subdivided into those with communication and antegrade dissection (ca) (50%), with communication and retrograde dissection limited to the descending aorta (cr desc) (10%), with dissection extended to the aortic arch and ascending aorta (cr asc) (27%), and with noncommunicating (nc) aortic dissection (13%). An open false lumen with no thrombus formation was present in types I, II, III ca and III cr asc aortic dissection in 17%, 21%, 39%, and 27% respectively, although it was most pronounced in types III nc and III cr desc (75% and 78%). During follow-up in patients who survived, thrombus was demonstrated in the false lumen in 80% of type I aortic dissection and 81% of types III ca and III cr asc. Open false lumen was seen in type II aortic dissection in 18%. Spontaneous healing was found in 4% with type II and 4% with type III aortic dissection (mainly in patients with type III nc aortic dissection). Patients with fluid extravasation, pleural effusion, pericardial tamponade, and periaortic effusion as well as mediastinal hematoma had a mortality of 52%. Reoperations were necessary in 12-29%, with the highest rate in patients with type III ca aortic dissection. Survival for patients with types III nc and III cr desc aortic dissection was higher than those with types I, II, III ca, and III cr asc. CONCLUSIONS: Preoperative mortality appears to be reduced by transesophageal echocardiography, allowing rapid initiation of treatment. Intraoperative and postoperative mortality in aortic dissection remains high. Risk factors are fluid extravasation and an open false lumen with high communication. Thrombus formation in the false lumen can be regarded as a good prognostic sign. Surgery appears to be only a first step in the treatment of aortic dissection. Second surgery or closure of entry sites based on intraoperative echocardiography may be considered to induce thrombus formation and reduce aortic wall stress.
Between 1978 and 1992, 70 patients were operated for type B aortic dissection (tear in the descending aorta without involvement of the ascending aorta). 15/70 (21%) patients had an acute dissection (onset of symptoms < 24 h), 19/70 (27%) a subacute dissection (onset of symptoms < 14 days), and 36/70 (51) a chronic dissection (onset of symptoms > 14 days). The indications for surgery in cases of acute dissection were: hematothorax, oliguria, leg ischemia and persistent pain. Persistent hypertension was an additional indication in cases of subacute dissection. In large majority (93%) of chronic dissections the indication for surgery was enlarged aortic diameter. In 86% (60/70) graft replacement of the aorta was performed, in 6% (4/70) extra-anatomic bypass, in 3% (2/70) fenestration, in 3% (2/70) thrombendarterectomy, in 3% (2/70). The overall mortality was 17% (12/70); 27% of acute dissection, 26% for subacute dissection, and 8% for chronic dissection. The morbidity for acute dissection was 73%, of subacute dissection 43%, and of chronic dissection 12%. The most frequent complications were: leg ischemia (8 patients), renal failure (4 patients), paraparesis (4 patients) and sepsis (2 patients). No paraparesis was encountered in surgery of the chronic dissection. Conservative treatment was tried in all acute B-dissections, with surgical therapy being reserved for complications of the dissection, such as rupture, such as rupture, risk of rupture (hematothorax, large aortic diameter resp. expansion, persistent hypertension, persistent pain) or ischemia of distal vascular beds. Long-term survival for chronic type B dissections is good. Strong control of risk factors (hypertension) is essential.
OBJECTIVES: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the diagnostic accuracy of biplane and multiplane transesophageal echocardiography in patients with suspected aortic dissection, including intramural hematoma. BACKGROUND: Transesophageal echocardiography is a useful technique for rapid bedside evaluation of patients with suspected acute aortic dissection. The sensitivity of transesophageal echocardiography is high, but the diagnostic accuracy of biplane and multiplane transesophageal echocardiography for dissection and intramural hematoma is less well defined. METHODS: We studied 112 consecutive patients at a major referral center who had undergone biplane or multiplane transesophageal echocardiography to identify aortic dissection. The presence, absence and type of aortic dissection (type A or B, typical dissection or intramural hematoma) were confirmed by operation or autopsy in 60 patients and by other imaging techniques in all. The accuracy of transesophageal echocardiography for ancillary findings of aortic dissection (intimal flap, fenestration and thrombosis) was assessed in the 60 patients with available surgical data. RESULTS: Of the 112 patients, aortic dissection was present in 49 (44%); 10 of these had intramural hematoma (5 with and 5 without involvement of the ascending aorta). Of the remaining 63 patients without dissection, 33 (29%) had aortic aneurysm and 30 (27%) had neither dissection nor aneurysm. The overall sensitivity and specificity of transesophageal echocardiography for the presence of dissection were 98% and 95%, respectively. The specificity for type A and type B dissection was 97% and 99%, respectively. The sensitivity and specificity for intramural hematoma was 90% and 99%, respectively. The accuracy of transesophageal echocardiography for diagnosis of acute significant aortic regurgitation and pericardial tamponade was 100%. CONCLUSIONS: Biplane and multiplane transesophageal echocardiography are highly accurate for prospective identification of the presence and site of aortic dissection, its ancillary findings and major complications in a large series of patients with varied aortic pathology. Intramural hematoma carries a high complication rate and should be treated identically with aortic dissection.
Clinical and necropsy findings are described in 40 patients who had aortic dissection with the entrance tear in the descending thoracic aorta. Their ages at death ranged from 39 to 91 years (mean, 66 years); 24 (60%) were men and 16 (40%) were women. Systemic hypertension was present by history in 33 patients (83%) and the hearts were of increased weight in 78%. Of the 40 patients, 31 (78%) had no operative intervention, while 9 (22%) underwent operation for aortic dissection. Of the 31 patients without operative therapy, the diagnosis of aortic dissection was established in life in 9 patients (29%) and at necropsy in 22 (71%). The interval from aortic dissection to death was 30 days or less in 13 patients (42%); rupture of the false channel was the cause of death in 9 patients (69%), renal failure in 2 (15%), and the cause was unclear in 2 (15%). The interval from aortic dissection to death was more than 30 days in 18 (58%) of the 31 patients without operative therapy. The cause of death in these 18 patients was related to the dissection in 11 (61%) (rupture of the false channel in 5; renal failure from dissection in 3, and rupture of the false channel of a second acute dissection in 3), but in the other 7 patients (39%) death was unrelated to the dissection but a nonfatal complication, specifically stenosis of the true channel from compression by a thrombus-filled false channel, occurred in 4 of these 7 patients. Thus only 3 (10%) of the 31 patients without operative therapy had no complications of aortic dissection. All nine patients who underwent operation had had an aortic dissection within 30 days, and the operation was performed because of a major complication of the dissection. Four patients survived 8 to 84 months after the operation. Thus early operative intervention (before the appearance of complications) appears justified in patients with aortic dissection with the entrance tear in the descending thoracic aorta to prevent rupture of the false channel acutely or after initial healing; to prevent renal failure from compression of renal arteries by an aneurysmal false channel; to prevent true channel stenosis from compression by a thrombus-filled false channel; and possibly to prevent the recurrence of acute dissection.
BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: The typical magnetic resonance imaging picture of arterial dissection, namely, a narrowed eccentric signal void surrounded by a semilunar signal hyper-intensity (corresponding to the mural hematoma) on T1- and T2-weighted images, has been repeatedly reported, but the sensitivity of magnetic resonance imaging for the diagnosis of cervical dissection is poorly known. Another technique, dynamic computed tomography, may provide evidence of mural hematoma, but there has been no systematic evaluation of this technique. The aims of this study were to assess both the sensitivity of routine 0.5-T magnetic resonance imaging for the detection of a typical picture of cervical artery dissection and the value of dynamic computed tomographic scans to provide evidence of dissecting hematoma. METHODS: Fifteen consecutive patients with angiographically confirmed extracranial internal carotid (n = 9) or vertebral (n = 10) dissections were studied using a standardized 0.5-T spin-echo magnetic resonance imaging protocol with axial slices. Twelve of these patients had dynamic computed tomographic scans at the site of the dissection suggested by angiography. RESULTS: A typical magnetic resonance imaging picture of cervical artery dissection was observed in 12 of 15 (80%) patients and in 13 of 19 (68%) dissected vessels. The sensitivity of magnetic resonance imaging was higher in internal carotid (78%) than in vertebral (60%) dissections and in stenotic-type dissections (85%) than in occlusive or aneurysmal-type dissections. The dynamic computed tomographic scan showed the mural hematoma in 11 of the 12 (92%) patients and in 12 of 15 (80%) dissected vessels. CONCLUSIONS: Routine 0.5-T magnetic resonance imaging with axial slices is a sensitive technique for the diagnosis of dissection, but in about 20% of patients with cervical artery dissection magnetic resonance imaging will demonstrate no typical abnormality. Dynamic computed tomographic scans are a sensitive neuroimaging procedure to confirm the presence of the mural hematoma, but it needs to be directed by prior angiography.
To determine whether transesophageal color Doppler echocardiography (TEE) is useful for the early diagnosis and surgical intervention in acute aortic dissection, 57 serial patients with acute aortic dissection were examined. These patients were evaluated by TEE with either the single-plane probe (39 patients) or the biplanar probe (18 patients) just after admission. The intimal flap was detected in all patients, and there were 18 patients with type A dissection and 39 patients with type B dissection. The entry was visualized in 83% of type A dissection cases and in 90% of type B dissection cases. In two of 18 patients examined with the biplanar probe technique, the entry was detected in the longitudinal view only. Emergency operations were performed in 18 patients with type A dissection and in 10 patients with ruptured type B dissection. Twenty-nine of 39 patients with type B dissection were treated conservatively. The operative mortality rate of patients with type A dissection was 22%, and that of patients with ruptured type B dissection was 60%. The major advantage of TEE is its ease of application at the bedside or in the operating room, which allows immediate and accurate diagnosis of acute aortic dissection for emergency surgical intervention. Biplanar TEE provides additional acoustic windows, ease of spatial orientation, and more accurate visualization of entry. TEE is a useful and powerful diagnostic tool for acute aortic dissection, and by using this method, one may achieve a more rapid and aggressive surgical approach for patients with acute aortic dissection.
One hundred and seventy-one patients with dissecting aneurysm seen between 1951 and 1976 at three hospitals in Manchester were studied. There were 60 proximal dissections, 80 distal dissections, 10 abdominal dissections and in 21 the site of origin was uncertain. Pain was the major symptom in 88 per cent of patients; radiation of pain to the interscapular region was much more common in distal dissections. Systemic hypertension was present in 77 per cent, being commoner in distal dissections (83 per cent) than in proximal dissections (70 per cent). Aortic incompetence, hemiplegia and shock were all more common in proximal dissections. Post-mortem examination was performed in 125 patients. Eighty-four per cent of proximal dissections had ruptured, 74 per cent into the pericardium and five per cent into the left pleural cavity. Seventy per cent of distal dissections had ruptured, 11 per cent into the pericardium and 41 per cent into the left pleural cavity. The extent of the dissection was analysed, and it was shown that 25 per cent of distal dissections had extended proximally into the ascending aorta and arch. This implies that diagnosis of the site of origin of dissection from clinical signs and the plain chest-radiograph is inaccurate. Aortography is required for precise assessment. Since treatment often varies with the site of dissection, aortography should be performed in most patients surviving the first few hours. Attention is drawn to the frequency (10.4 per cent) of multiple aortic lesions, and to the occasional aetiological significance of giant-cell arteritis, and, possibly, hypothyroidism.
UNLABELLED: The study includes 346 carcinomas of the oral cavity (244 mobile tongues and 102 floors of mouth) treated by brachytherapy alone at primary tumor. We noted 199 T1, 131 T2, 14 T3 and 2 TxNx. Among T1, 36 patients had a neck dissection as well as 73 T2. Brachytherapy was performed according to the Paris system. In 59 cases, the curage on the lesion side was a radical neck dissection, in 14 cases a functional neck dissection and in 45 cases a submaxillary and submental dissection. A combined controlateral neck dissection was performed in 20 cases. A complementary irradiation of the node areas was given in 28 cases. RESULTS: for T1, the local control (LC) is 96%, the locoregional control (LRC) 83%, the specific survival (SS) 88%, and the overall survival (OS) 73%. For T2, LC 85%, LRC 70%, SS 75%, OS 52%. For T3, LC 64%, LRC 44%, SS 25%, OS 18%. The difference is very significant between T1 T2 T3 (p < 0.006) for results concerning N0, it is not significant between the N1 in each category, but their number is too low to reach a degree of significancy. In the 36 neck dissection specimens of T1, we found only in 7 cases positive nodes and in the 73 specimens of T2, 24 cases of positive nodes. A detailed study is reported. Tumoral, node or both recurrences are summarized (see table IV). Node recurrences are more frequent in patients without neck dissection than in those with neck dissection for T1, T2, N0, but this is significant only for LRC, SS and OS between patients with negative nodes on neck dissection and those with positive nodes (p < 0.0001). No significant difference was found between OS and SS for patients T1, T2, N0 with positive systematic neck dissection and those with a neck dissection differed until the node recurrence. Among T1, T2, T3, we noted more metastases in patients who presented a recurrence than in others. In conclusion, for patients treated by brachytherapy alone to the primary lesion, it seems desirable to perform a systematic neck dissection if there are adenopathies on initial examination. The dissection can be delayed for small tumors T1 N0 and low T2 N0 if the patients are followed-up regularly. However, a systematic dissection must be advised for high T2 N0 and T3 N0 given the frequency of the node involvement and the risk of metastases.
BACKGROUND: The roles of modified and selective neck dissections in treating patients with clinical metastatic melanoma and the place of adjuvant radiotherapy are unclear. In the elective setting, the efficacy of various selective dissections also requires clarification. METHODS: The prospectively documented experience of the senior author (COB) was analyzed. A total of 175 patients had 183 neck dissections and 92 parotidectomies in 6 years. There were 75 therapeutic and 108 elective operations. Modified or selective neck dissections were performed in 58% of patients with clinical neck metastases. Ali but two elective operations were modified or selective dissections. Postoperative radiotherapy was given to 27 dissected necks. Minimum follow-up was 12 months, and 86% of patients were followed up for 2 years or to neck recurrence. RESULTS: Nodes were histologically positive in 80 dissections. The cumulative rate of control of metastatic melanoma in the neck was 86% at 5 years. Neck recurrence developed in 14% of radical dissections, 0% of modified, and 23% of selective dissections performed for clinical disease. Neck recurrence occurred after 5% of elective dissections. Recurrence was 7% among irradiated necks compared to 23% in nonirradiated (p-value not significant). The 5-year survival rate was 50%, and this was significantly worsened by increasing node involvement. CONCLUSIONS: Modified radical neck dissection is highly effective in controlling metastatic melanoma in selected patients. Selective dissections are less effective and need further study. Adjuvant radiotherapy appears to decrease the risk of neck recurrence. In the elective setting, recurrence is uncommon following the selective neck dissections described.
This study was designed to evaluate the potential obliteration of an experimental aortic dissection using an intravascular stent introduced via the femoral artery. Twenty-two adult dogs were divided into four groups: in group A (n = 6) a thoracoabdominal aortic dissection was surgically created to observe the natural course of this lesion; in group B (n = 6) a nitinol coil graft was introduced into the aorta via the femoral artery; in group C (n = 3) a nitinol coil graft was introduced via the femoral artery into a dissected aorta in an attempt to obliterate the dissection; and in group D (n = 7) an expandable intraluminal vascular graft (Palmaz stent) was introduced via the femoral artery into a dissected aorta in an attempt to obliterate the dissection. Arteriographic evaluation was performed postoperatively and again 6 weeks later before the aortas were explanted. Gross and light microscopic examinations were performed on all explanted aortas. In group A dissection was achieved and a postoperative aortogram demonstrated evidence of aortic dissection in all animals. Autopsy revealed persistence of dissection with a reentry tear near the celiac axis in five animals. In group B there was incomplete expansion of the nitinol coil graft in five dogs, resulting in aortic thrombosis in one. In group C the nitinol coil graft failed to obliterate the aortic dissection in all animals and resulted in aortic thrombosis in two. In group D placement of a balloon-expandable intraluminal stent solely at entry and reentry sites resulted in only partial obliteration of the dissection (n = 3), but when the entire length of the dissected aorta was treated, the dissection was completely obliterated (n = 3).
Clinical and autopsy findings are described in 12 patients who had fatal aortic dissection with the entrance tear in the transverse aorta. The 12 patients represent 7% of 182 autopsies of spontaneous aortic dissection studied by us. The ages of the 12 patients at death ranged from 37 to 87 years (mean, 67 years). Eight were men; 8 had a history of systemic hypertension, and 10 had hearts of increased weight. Diagnosis of aortic dissection was made during life in only 4 of the 12 patients. All 12 patients died of rupture of the false channel within 2 weeks of onset of signs or symptoms compatible with dissection. The direction of aortic dissection from the entrance tear was entirely retrograde in 4 patients, entirely anterograde in 4 patients, and in both directions in 4 patients. Hemopericardium occurred in the first group, left hemothorax in the second group, and either in the last group. Of the 8 patients in whom the ascending aorta was involved, the retrograde dissection in each extended to the aortic root, 6 had pulmonary adventitial hemorrhage, and 4 had involvement of the arch arteries by dissection. In the 4 patients with strictly anterograde dissection, none had dissection in the arch arteries. Thus, tear in the transverse aorta causes a dissection that is usually fata, that often dissects retrogradely, and that may mimic dissection from a tear in ascending aorta. Aortic dissection from a tear in transverse aorta requires early operative intervention.
BACKGROUND: Spontaneous dissection of the internal carotid and vertebral arteries is increasingly recognized as a cause of ischemic stroke in young people. An underlying arteriopathy is often suspected in the pathogenesis of such dissection, but the frequency of recurrent dissection is unknown. METHODS: We describe the long-term follow-up of 200 consecutive patients (104 women and 96 men) with spontaneous cervical-artery dissections evaluated at the Mayo Clinic between 1970 and 1990. All diagnoses were confirmed by angiography. RESULTS: The mean age of the patients was 44.9 years (range, 16 to 76). Internal carotid arteries were affected in 150 patients, vertebral arteries in 37, and both in 13. Multivessel dissections were present in 28 percent of the patients. The mean follow-up was 7.4 years. Recurrent dissection occurred only in arteries not previously involved by dissection. A recurrent arterial dissection developed in 16 patients (8 percent)--within a month after the initial dissection in 4 patients (2 percent) and between 1.4 and 8.6 years later in 12 patients (a rate of 1 percent per year). The cumulative rate of recurrent dissection among patients followed for 10 years was 11.9 percent. Younger patients had a greater risk of recurrent dissection. CONCLUSIONS: Although dissections in multiple cervical vessels are common at presentation, after the first month the risk of recurrent dissection is only about 1 percent per year.
Predisposing factors for aortic dissection are well known from necropsy series. To evaluate the frequency of aortic and aortic valve disease in aortic dissection in vivo, 139 patients with acute aortic dissection (96 men, 43 women, mean age 60.5 +/- 15.7 years) were studied by transoesophageal echocardiography (TEE) using 3.5 and 5.0 MHz transducers. Left ventricular hypertrophy by TEE, defined as an end-diastolic wall thickness of the left ventricular septal wall over 1.5 cm, was found in 42 (67.7%) of 62 patients with type I, in 10 (58.8%) of 17 patients with type II and in 46 (76.7%) of 60 patients with type III dissection. The mean value for the aortic root diameter was 3.2 +/- 1.3 cm.m-2 in type I dissection and 2.8 +/- 0.9 cm.m-2(ns) in type II dissection. In the patient group with type III dissection this diameter was significantly smaller (1.8 +/- 0.9 cm.m-2; P < 0.001). Thickening of aortic valve leaflets was demonstrated in six (9.7%) of 62 patients with aortic dissection type I (two of them with mild aortic stenosis), in two (11.8%) of 17 patients with aortic dissection type II and in 15 (25.0%) of 60 patients with aortic dissection type III. A bicuspid aortic valve was diagnosed in five (6.3%) of 79 patients with aortic dissection types I and II and in one (1.7%) of 60 patients with type III dissection. By colour coded Doppler echocardiography, aortic regurgitation was found in 46 (74.2%) of 62 patients with type I, 13 (76.5%) of 17 patients with type II and 23 (38.3%) of 60 patients with type III dissection.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
The diagnostic value of a combination of transoesophageal and transthoracic echocardiography was evaluated in 21 patients with dissection of the aorta. The results were compared with those of computed tomography, aortography, and with findings at operation or necropsy or both. Transthoracic echocardiography identified three of the four patients with type I dissection, two of the five patients with type II dissection, and one of the 12 patients with type III dissection. When transoesophageal echocardiography was used as well the degree of aortic dissection was identified correctly in all 21 patients. In one patient with type I and in eight patients with type III dissection spontaneous echocardiographic contrast with a mural thrombus within the false lumen could be detected. Computed tomography was unable to demonstrate an intimal flap in one of two patients studied with type I dissection, in two of three patients with type II dissection, and in one of nine patients with type III dissection. Aortography was negative in one of two patients studied with type I dissection, two of four patients with type II dissection, and in one of eight patients with type II dissection. The whole thoracic aorta can be imaged by a combination of transthoracic and transoesophageal echocardiography. The addition of transoesophageal echocardiography to transthoracic echocardiography improves the recognition of aortic dissection. Furthermore, this examination can be performed at the bedside and the findings can be used as a basis for treatment.
The authors report a series of 6 cases of recurrent dissection, 4 of which were treated surgically, out of a total of 64 acute dissections of the aorta referred to the CMC Foch, between January 1969 and October 1981. Three types of recurrent dissection were identified: --"de novo" recurrent dissection: a new dissection occurring in part of the aorta previously unaffected with a new intimal tear; --recurrent dissection due to extension of the previous dissection; --"in situ" recurrent dissection. Surgery is the treatment of choice because of the poor prognosis. Extensive resection (sometimes carried out in several stages) and deep hypothermia are valuable techniques when part of the aorta giving off arteries to vital organs has to be replaced. The use of GRF biological glue in the treatment of the original acute dissection has been a significant advance in the prophylaxis of recurrent dissection as it ensures better repair of the distal false lumen (27% persistent false lumens). With respect to an extensive replacement of the dissected vessel, the authors advise operation in several stages, especially in young subjects with Marfan's syndrome who are at high risk of recurrent dissection. All cases of acute dissection of the aorta, operated or not, should be followed up indefinitely with clinical and radiological examination, completed, when necessary, by an angioscan and an aortography.