No abstract

Traumatic aortic injuries of the ascending aorta/arch should be considered in any major thoracic trauma patient presenting cardiac tamponade, aortic valve regurgitation and/or myocardial contusion. These aortic injuries are also associated with a high incidence of neurological injuries, which can be just as lethal as the aortic injury, so treatment priorities should be modulated on an individual basis.

One of the most feared complications of thoracic endovascular aortic repair (TEVAR) and hybrid arch repair is retrograde type A aortic dissection (RTAD). More than two-thirds of RTAD occurs in the immediate postoperative period and first postoperative month. In presentations beyond that point, progression of the native aortopathy must be considered. We report a late presentation of an RTAD seven months after hybrid repair of an aortic intramural hematoma with an ulcer-like projection, and review the causes and management of this TEVAR complication. doi: 10.1111/jocs.12698 (J Card Surg 2016;31:164-167) One of the most feared complications of thoracic endovascular aortic repair (TEVAR) and hybrid arch repair is retrograde type A aortic dissection (RTAD) that has a low incidence but high mortality. 1-5More than two-thirds of RTAD occurs in the immediate postoperative period and first postoperative month. 3 In presentations beyond that point, the progression of the native aortopathy must be considered. 6 We report an uncommon delayed presentation of an RTAD seven months after hybrid repair of an aortic intramural hematoma (IMH) with an ulcer-like projection (ULP), and review the causes and management of this TEVAR complication. PATIENT PROFILEA 71-year-old female was admitted with an acute type B IMH. A contrast-enhanced multidetector computed tomography (MDCT) showed a 14.8 Â 11 mm ULP in the outer curvature of the aortic arch distal to the origin of the left subclavian artery (LSA), and 15 mm of maximal thickness of the IMH (Fig. 1A and B). After one week of optimal medical management, the patient remained hypertensive, and a new MDCT scan demonstrated minimal resolution of the IMH and persistence of the ULP. The patient was scheduled for elective zone 2 TEVAR with concomitant LSA revascularization. A left common carotid artery (LCCA) to LSA bypass with a 6 mm standard-walled removable ringed GORE-TEX

OBJECTIVE Minimal aortic injuries (MAIs) are being recognized more frequently due to the increasing use of high-resolution diagnostic techniques. The objective of this case series review was to report the clinical and radiological characteristics and outcomes of a series of patients with MAI. METHODS From January 2000 to December 2011, 54 major blunt trauma patients were admitted to our institution with traumatic aortic injuries. Nine of them presented with MAI, whereas the remaining 45 patients suffered a significant aortic injury (SAI). RESULTS MAIs accounted for 17% of the overall traumatic aortic injuries in our series. Major trauma patients with MAI and SAI were similar regarding the presence of severe associated non-aortic injuries and the expected mortality calculated by injury severity score, revised trauma score and trauma injury severity score. There were no statistically significant differences in in-hospital mortality between MAI (22.2%) and SAI (30.2%). No death in the MAI group was aortic related, whereas five deaths in the SAI group were caused by an aortic complication. The survival of MAI patients was 77.8% at 1 and 5 years. There was no late mortality among MAI patients. The survival of SAI patients was 69.7% at 1 year and 63.6% at 5 and 10 years. None of the seven surviving patients with MAI presented a progression of the aortic injury. In six patients, the intimal tear completely healed in imaging controls, whereas one patient developed a small saccular pseudoaneurysm. CONCLUSIONS Blunt traumas presenting MAI are as severe as traumas that associate SAI and present similar in-hospital mortality. In contrast to SAI traumas, in-hospital mortality due to MAI is not usually related to the aortic injury, so these injuries are more amenable to a conservative management. It is mandatory to perform a close imaging surveillance to detect early any potential adverse evolution of an MAI. Nevertheless, a balance must be struck between a close serial imaging surveillance and the potentially detrimental effects of obtaining high-resolution additional images.

Between May 2001 and June 2008, the outcome and morphological changes in thoracic aortic lesions of 20 surgical high-risk patients who underwent TEVAR were evaluated. Aortic lesions included 8 (40%) type B dissections, 5 (25%) atherosclerotic aneurysms, 4 (20%) penetrating ulcers and 3 (15%) traumatic aortic ruptures. All patients were classified as American Society of Anaesthesiologists class IV and obtained high scores in both the logistic European System for Cardiac Operative Risk Evaluation, median of 14.5% (range 8.1-65.7%), and the STS Parsonet 95 scoring system, median of 14 (range 10-52). Endovascular stent-graft deployment was technically successful in all cases. No surgical conversion occurred. Early mortality was observed in two patients. Clinical and imaging follow-up was available in all patients at a median time of 28 months (range 4-89 months). Overall actuarial survival was 90% at one and five years and 60% at seven years. Mean diameter of the descending aorta decreased from 51.1+/-13 mm to 45.3+/-8 mm (P=0.032). Mean reduction in dimension of aneurysms was 10.7+/-8 mm. Endovascular thoracic aorta repair will probably benefit more patients with multiple comorbidities that limit their life expectancy than patients with a lower profile.