Aortic dissections following heart transplantations.
BACKGROUND
Aortic dissection in a cardiac allograft is an uncommon complication of heart transplantation with only few cases reported in the literature.


METHODS
We report a case of 46-year-old female who underwent orthotopic heart transplantation for dilated cardiomyopathy 22 years earlier. During surveillance echocardiographic examination she was diagnosed with type A aortic dissection limited to the donor aorta. The aortic root was successfully replaced using a valve-sparing David procedure. The pathogenesis and surgical management of these dissections is reviewed.


CONCLUSIONS
Appropriate surgical repair performed in a timely fashion leads to excellent results improving the prognosis of these patients.
Department of Cardiovascular Surgery, Institute for Clinical and Experimental Medicine, Videnska 1958/9, 140 21 Prague, Czech Republic.
Ivo
I
Skalsky
Marian
M
Urban
Jana
J
Malouskova
Ondrej
O
Szarszoi
Jan
J
Pirk
Ivan
I
Netuka
D001019:Aortic Rupture / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000209:etiology* / Q000601:surgery; D002311:Cardiomyopathy, Dilated / Q000601:surgery*; D005260:Female; D016027:Heart Transplantation; D006801:Humans; D008875:Middle Aged; D011183:Postoperative Complications / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000601:surgery