[The clinical significance of an oscillating flap in the acute stage of dissecting aneurysm: report of three cases].
The important two-dimensional echocardiographic finding of dissecting aneurysm in the acute stage is characterized by the presence of an oscillating intimal flap which is thought to be of highly diagnostic value. This report describes about three cases with dissecting aneurysm in which an oscillating flap was transiently observed. In Case 1 (62-year-old female), an oscillating flap observed in the aortic arch seven hours after the onset was not detected three days later. A flap in Case 2 (65-year-old male) which had been present in the descending aorta three hours after the onset of illness disappeared two days later. In Case 3 (55-year-old male), only an intimal flap without fine oscillation was demonstrated in the abdominal aorta by echocardiography performed three days after the onset of illness. In the acute phase of dissection, the echocardiographic detection of an oscillating flap seems to depend on the time of the study after the attack.
D000368:Aged; D000784:Aortic Dissection / Q000503:physiopathology*; D001012:Aorta, Abdominal / Q000503:physiopathology; D001013:Aorta, Thoracic / Q000503:physiopathology; D004452:Echocardiography; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D013997:Time Factors