title: A Patient with Aortic Arch Aneurysm Perforating the Left Pulmonary Artery.
abstract: An aortic arch aneurysm rarely perforates the pulmonary artery, but once this occurs symptoms of heart failure may develop rapidly and result in a serious course. Here, we report such a case that was treated with life-saving emergency surgery. The patient was an 86-year-old man in whom aortic arch aneurysm had been pointed out 8 years earlier, but left untreated. In January 2014, dyspnea developed and he visited the emergency unit of our hospital. Continuous murmur was heard on auscultation, and aorta-pulmonary artery shunt was noted on transthoracic echocardiography. Chest computed tomography revealed a giant aortic arch aneurysm of size 106 mm that had perforated the left pulmonary artery (LPA). Emergency surgery was performed for a diagnosis of acute heart failure associated with perforation of the LPA by a giant aortic arch aneurysm. The postoperative course was favorable, and the patient was discharged with independent walking on postoperative day 28.
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardiovascular Surgery, Shonan Fujisawa Tokushukai Hospital, Fujisawa city Kanagawa, Japan. Electronic address: yujidaisuke0216@yahoo.co.jp.
authors.forename: Daisuke
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Yuji
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardiovascular Surgery, Shonan Fujisawa Tokushukai Hospital, Fujisawa city Kanagawa, Japan.
authors.forename: Ikuo
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Katayama
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardiovascular Surgery, Shonan Fujisawa Tokushukai Hospital, Fujisawa city Kanagawa, Japan.
authors.forename: Masashi
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Tanaka
mesh_terms: D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D017545:Aortic Aneurysm, Thoracic / Q000150:complications* / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000601:surgery; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D011651:Pulmonary Artery / Q000293:injuries*