Recovery of severe neurological dysfunction after restoration of cerebral blood flow in acute aortic dissection.
Emergency repair has been successfully performed in acute type A aortic dissection complicated by cerebral malperfusion. Despite the lack of criteria to define irreversible brain damage, immediate surgery is often denied in case of stroke or coma. We report two patients presenting with coma and altered brainstem reflexes shortly after onset of aortic dissection, in whom aortic repair was successfully undertaken.
Pocar
Marco
M
Dipartimento di Scienze Cardiovascolari, Università degli Studi di Milano, IRCCS MultiMedica, Sesto San Giovanni, Milano, Italy. marco.pocar@unimi.it
Passolunghi
Davide
D
Moneta
Andrea
A
Donatelli
Francesco
F
D000784:Aortic Dissection / Q000150:complications / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000601:surgery*; D017545:Aortic Aneurysm, Thoracic / Q000150:complications / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000601:surgery*; D002545:Brain Ischemia / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000209:etiology / Q000628:therapy; D002560:Cerebrovascular Circulation / Q000502:physiology; D004638:Emergency Treatment; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D015600:Glasgow Coma Scale; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009460:Neurologic Examination; D020127:Recovery of Function; D018570:Risk Assessment; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D014656:Vascular Surgical Procedures / Q000379:methods*