title: Acute type A aortic dissection with diastolic prolapse of intimal flap into the left ventricle.
abstract: A 45-year-old man presented to the emergency department with acute oppressive chest pain. On physical examination, a loud decrescendo diastolic murmur of grade 2-3/6 was audible on the left sternal edge. The electrocardiogram was within normal limits and there were no signs of myocardial ischemia. Transthoracic echocardiography revealed an acute type A aortic dissection with an intimal flap prolapsing into the left ventricular outflow tract through the aortic valve during diastole. Color Doppler examination showed severe aortic regurgitation of grade 3. The aortic valve had three leaflets with normal thickness. Aortic diameter was 50 mm at the sinus of Valsalva and 66 mm after the sinotubular junction. The left and right ventricles were normal in size and function. Dynamic thorax and abdominal computed tomography demonstrated that the dissection flap extended from the ascending aorta to the proximal segments of the common iliac arteries. The patient underwent successful ascending aorta replacement with preservation of the aortic valve.
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardiology, Ankara Numune Education and Research Hospital, Ankara, Turkey. ozgul_ucar@yahoo.com
authors.forename: Ozgül
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Uçar
authors.forename: Alper
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Canbay
authors.forename: Bora
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Demirçelik
authors.forename: Sinan
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Aydoğdu
mesh_terms: D000784:Aortic Dissection / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000601:surgery*; D001013:Aorta, Thoracic / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000601:surgery; D001014:Aortic Aneurysm / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000601:surgery*; D001021:Aortic Valve / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging; D001022:Aortic Valve Insufficiency / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000209:etiology / Q000601:surgery; D017548:Echocardiography, Transesophageal; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011859:Radiography; D012850:Sinus of Valsalva