title: Replacement of the entire thoracic aorta in a single stage.
abstract: Aneurysms of the entire thoracic aorta are usually approached in two to three stages. From 1990 to 1992, we performed one-stage aortic replacement from the root to the diaphragm in 12 patients (7 men, 5 women; median age, 51 years; range, 49 to 73 years). There were 9 type A dissections, 5 of which were acute. Five patients underwent aortic valve reconstruction, and 5 had aortic root replacement by Bentall or Cabrol techniques. In 2 patients the innominate artery had to be replaced by a vascular graft separately, in addition to reimplantation of the supraaortic branches as an island flap into the arch prosthesis. In 5 patients a mid-sternotomy was used; in 7 a bilateral transverse thoracotomy. The procedure was performed under deep hypothermic circulatory arrest in all cases (median, 45 minutes). Two patients, both operated on for an acute dissection, died perioperatively: 1 due to a bronchopneumonia, 1 because of a thrombosed Cabrol graft to the right coronary artery. No bleeding or neurologic complications developed. At a median follow-up of 14 months (range, 1 to 33 months), all patients discharged from the hospital were still alive. Four patients underwent subsequent thoracoabdominal aortic replacement. This experience suggests that complete thoracic aortic replacement can be performed in a single session, with an operative risk comparable with that of the conventional two-stage approach. The bilateral transverse thoracotomy affords an excellent exposure. The lack of spinal cord ischemia may be the result of spinal cord protection with hypothermic circulatory arrest and the open clamp technique.
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardiothoracic and Vascular Surgery, University of Witten-Herdecke, Wuppertal Heart Center, Germany.
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Minale
authors.forename: F H
authors.initials: FH
authors.lastname: Splittgerber
authors.forename: H J
authors.initials: HJ
authors.lastname: Reifschneider
mesh_terms: D000208:Acute Disease; D000368:Aged; D000784:Aortic Dissection / Q000145:classification / Q000401:mortality / Q000601:surgery*; D017545:Aortic Aneurysm, Thoracic / Q000145:classification / Q000401:mortality / Q000601:surgery*; D001807:Blood Vessel Prosthesis; D016122:Brachiocephalic Trunk / Q000601:surgery; D002423:Cause of Death; D002908:Chronic Disease; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006324:Heart Arrest, Induced / Q000379:methods; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D013249:Sternum / Q000601:surgery; D013524:Surgical Flaps / Q000379:methods; D015996:Survival Rate; D013908:Thoracotomy; D014656:Vascular Surgical Procedures / Q000379:methods