title: Chronic type A aortic dissection: an unusual complication of cocaine inhalation.
abstract: Acute aortic pathology temporally related to cocaine inhalation may lead to frank rupture or acute aortic dissection. This is a report of an unusual case of a 43-year-old man who presented 9 weeks after experiencing a tearing sensation in his chest while smoking cocaine. The diagnosis was chronic type A aortic dissection with 4+ aortic insufficiency. The successful surgical management included resuspension of the aortic valve and placement of a Dacron tube graft in the ascending aorta such that flow was maintained distally in both the true and false lumens.
authors.affiliation: Department of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery, Deborah Heart and Lung Center, Browns Mills, New Jersey 08015.
authors.forename: M S
authors.initials: MS
authors.lastname: Adkins
authors.forename: W E
authors.initials: WE
authors.lastname: Gaines
authors.forename: W A
authors.initials: WA
authors.lastname: Anderson
authors.forename: G W
authors.initials: GW
authors.lastname: Laub
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Fernandez
authors.forename: L B
authors.initials: LB
authors.lastname: McGrath
mesh_terms: D000280:Administration, Inhalation; D000328:Adult; D000784:Aortic Dissection / Q000209:etiology* / Q000601:surgery*; D001014:Aortic Aneurysm / Q000209:etiology* / Q000601:surgery*; D001019:Aortic Rupture / Q000209:etiology / Q000601:surgery; D001027:Aortography; D003042:Cocaine / Q000008:administration & dosage; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D019966:Substance-Related Disorders / Q000150:complications*
chemical_list: D003042:Cocaine