Triple-barrel aorta: dissection of a healed aortic dissection.
An unusual case of a triple-barrel aorta in a 51-year-old woman is described. The patient first had a spontaneous type I dissection of the aorta and acute aortic insufficiency, for which she underwent aortic valve replacement and Dacron graft replacement of the ascending aorta. She remained asymptomatic for five years with a healed aortic dissection (double-barrel aorta) distal to the graft. She then underwent a second operation for repair and poppet replacement of the malfunctioned prosthesis. Postoperative cardiac failure necessitated the use of a counterpulsation intra-aortic balloon catheter, which entered and dissected the wall of the false lumen, thus creating a triple-lumen aorta.
D000784:Aortic Dissection / Q000473:pathology* / Q000601:surgery; D001013:Aorta, Thoracic / Q000473:pathology; D001014:Aortic Aneurysm / Q000473:pathology* / Q000601:surgery; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008875:Middle Aged; D012008:Recurrence