Surgical results among 100 patients with type A aortic dissection. Retrospective review Background: Tipe A aortic dissection involves the ascending aorta and has high mortality rates without surgical treatment. Aim: To report the results of surgical treatment of type A aortic dissection. Material and Methods: Retrospective review of medical records of 100 patients aged 17 to 78 years (73% males) operated between January 2000 and August 2008, for type A aortic dissection. Follow up was performed with telephone interviews and review of national death records. Results: Eighty three percent of patients had an acute dissection. Operative mortality was 27 and 20% for patients with acute and chronic dissection, respectively. Mortality was 50% among patients aged 70 years or more, compared with 21% among their younger counterparts, The most common complication was bleeding that required a new surgical procedure in 18% of patients. Actuarial survival was 70% at five years. Cardiovascular problems caused the death of two of the nine patients that died during follow up. Conclusions: Surgical mortality among patients with type A aortic dissection was higher among patients with acute episodes and those aged 70 years or more.

Aortic dissection is a life-threatening disease that requires immediate surgical intervention. Marfan syndrome is a hereditary disease with an autosomal dominant transmission, which affects the connective tissue, with skeletal, cardiovascular and ocular involvement. It is one of the most prevalent connective tissue disorders, presenting a risk of aortic dissection of approximately 1% even without dilatation of the aorta. When dissection occurs during pregnancy and requires surgical intervention (type A dissection), maternal mortality is high (20%-30%). We report a 38 year-old woman with (Rev Méd Chile 2009; 137: 98-100).

No abstract