Prognosis of patients undergoing emergency surgery for type A acute aortic dissection without exclusion of the intimal tear.
OBJECTIVE
To investigate the prognosis after emergency surgery for acute type A aortic dissection with an unknown entry site and to identify the predictors of postoperative aortic dilatation.


METHODS
The subjects were 102 patients undergoing emergency surgery for acute type A dissection from July 2005 to October 2010. They were divided into group I (n = 45) undergoing aortic surgery without tear resection and group II (n = 57) undergoing resection that included the intimal tear.


RESULTS
The postoperative hospital mortality was similar, 13.3% (n = 6) in group I and 12.3% (n = 7) in group II. Of the 102 patients, 69 underwent follow-up computed tomography scanning after discharge, and the aortic diameter was significantly increased in group I compared with that in group II (P = .035). Dilatation of the descending aorta occurred in 21 patients (30.4%). Multivariate logistic regression analysis revealed that a patent false lumen (P = .027) and nonexclusion of the entry site (P = .012) were independent risk factors for aortic dilatation. No difference was found in the freedom from aorta-related clinical events at 4 years, with a rate of 81.9% in group I and 74.4% in group II. Also, no difference was found in the 4-year actuarial survival rate between groups I and II (86.4% and 78.5%, respectively).


CONCLUSIONS
The prognosis of patients without exclusion of the entry site was acceptable. Careful follow-up is needed for patients with a patent false lumen or nonexcluded entry because of the risk of aortic dilatation.
Department of Cardiovascular Surgery, Disaster Medical Center, Tokyo, Japan. unosaw@gmail.com
Satoshi
S
Unosawa
Mitsumasa
M
Hata
Tetsuya
T
Niino
Kazuma
K
Shimura
Motomi
M
Shiono
D000368:Aged; D000784:Aortic Dissection / Q000145:classification / Q000401:mortality* / Q000601:surgery*; D017545:Aortic Aneurysm, Thoracic / Q000145:classification / Q000401:mortality* / Q000601:surgery*; D004638:Emergency Treatment; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011379:Prognosis; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D017539:Tunica Intima