title: Long-Term Outcome and Quality of Life in Aortic Type A Dissection Survivors.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Aortic dissection is a severe and sophisticated disease that is often linked with a number of possible complications. Our study concerns with long-term outcome and quality of life (QoL) in acute aortic dissection type A (AADA) survivors.
  
  
  METHODS
  From January 1999 until December 2006, 120 consecutive patients with AADA received an emergency operation. Of the total number of patients, 84 were males (70.0%) and 36 females (30.0%), mean aged 59.8 ± 12 years with a mean follow-up (FU) of 99.2 ± 6 months.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Overall mortality was 39.1% during the observational period with a maximum of 156 months. SF-36 observation showed a significant decay in both Physical Component Summary (PCS) and Mental Component Summary (MCS) in FUII (PCS = 38.4) versus FUI (PCS = 43.4, p = 0.013).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  With ongoing postoperative time, patients did not recover but instead have got worse in terms of QoL. The decrease in MCP and linked subscores is an underestimated factor in QoL and long-term outcome after AADA. This is especially true in younger patients, which are judged to compensate better than older patients.
authors: Department of Cardiovascular Surgery, University Hospital Bonn, Bonn, Germany.
authors: Matthias
authors: M
authors: Endlich
authors: Department of Cardiovascular Surgery, University Hospital Bonn, Bonn, Germany.
authors: Marwan
authors: M
authors: Hamiko
authors: Department of Cardiovascular Surgery, University Hospital Bonn, Bonn, Germany.
authors: Christopher
authors: C
authors: Gestrich
authors: Department of Cardiovascular Surgery, University Hospital Bonn, Bonn, Germany.
authors: Chris
authors: C
authors: Probst
authors: Department of Cardiovascular Surgery, University Hospital Bonn, Bonn, Germany.
authors: Fritz
authors: F
authors: Mellert
authors: Department of Cardiovascular Surgery, University Hospital Bonn, Bonn, Germany.
authors: Kai
authors: K
authors: Winkler
authors: Department of Cardiovascular Surgery, University Hospital Bonn, Bonn, Germany.
authors: Armin
authors: A
authors: Welz
authors: Department of Cardiovascular Surgery, University Hospital Bonn, Bonn, Germany.
authors: Wolfgang
authors: W
authors: Schiller
mesh_terms: D000203:Activities of Daily Living; D000368:Aged; D000784:Aortic Dissection / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000401:mortality / Q000523:psychology / Q000601:surgery*; D001014:Aortic Aneurysm / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000401:mortality / Q000523:psychology / Q000601:surgery*; D004638:Emergency Treatment; D005260:Female; D006304:Health Status; D006801:Humans; D053208:Kaplan-Meier Estimate; D008297:Male; D008603:Mental Health; D008875:Middle Aged; D011183:Postoperative Complications / Q000209:etiology / Q000523:psychology; D016016:Proportional Hazards Models; D011788:Quality of Life; D012307:Risk Factors; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D017741:Survivors / Q000523:psychology*; D013997:Time Factors; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D014656:Vascular Surgical Procedures / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000401:mortality