title: [Aortic dissection--a life-threatening condition requiring immediate treatment].
abstract: We present a retrospective examination of 70 consecutive patients (median age 55 years, range 20-71 years) operated for aortic dissection from January 1981 to October 1992. Four of these patients were operated twice, making a total of 74 operations. The operations were grouped according to the Stanford classification in Type A-acute (53%), type A-chronic (11%), type B-acute (26%) and type B-chronic (10%). Fifty-seven patients were males (81%) and 90% of the operations were performed as emergencies. Eleven percent of the patients had Marfan Syndrome. The peroperative mortality was 23% and the perioperative mortality was 39%. The 10 year survival including the perioperative mortality was 39%. The frequency of operative complications lasting for more than one month was 12% and some of these complications were caused rather by the aortic disease rather than the operation. Further improvement depends on the referral of these patients to cardio-thoracic surgical units on near suspicion of the condition for the earliest possible treatment. Furthermore, patients must be followed lifelong for recurrences in progression of chronic AD.
authors.affiliation: Thoraxkirurgisk afdeling RT, Rigshospitalet, København.
authors.forename: S D
authors.initials: SD
authors.lastname: Josephsen
authors.forename: J T
authors.initials: JT
authors.lastname: Lund
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Hjelms
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000784:Aortic Dissection / Q000401:mortality / Q000601:surgery*; D001014:Aortic Aneurysm / Q000401:mortality / Q000601:surgery*; D003718:Denmark / Q000453:epidemiology; D004630:Emergencies; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007431:Intraoperative Complications / Q000401:mortality; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011183:Postoperative Complications / Q000401:mortality; D011379:Prognosis; D012189:Retrospective Studies
vernacular_title: Aortadissektion--en livstruende tilstand der kroever hurtig behandling.