Surgical correction of ascending type a thoracic aortic dissection: simultaneous endoluminal exclusion of the arch and distal aorta.

PURPOSE: To describe repair of an ascending type A dissection combining an open ascending tube graft with simultaneous great vessel transposition and antegrade deployment of an endoluminal graft across the arch and into the descending thoracic aorta.

CASE REPORT: A 50-year-old man was evaluated at an outside hospital and transferred to our service for treatment of an ascending aortic dissection with associated lower extremity ischemia. Imaging identified an aortic dissection extending from the aortic root to the aortic bifurcation and into the right common iliac artery. A hybrid procedure incorporating both open and endovascular techniques successfully repaired the dissection and aneurysm and restored blood flow to the extremity.

CONCLUSIONS

Although less invasive procedures are sometimes appropriate for repair in the descending thoracic aorta, surgical correction of an ascending dissection and endoluminal exclusion of the arch and distal aorta may form the basis of future treatment strategies for complex aortic pathologies, possibly eliminating the need for hypothermic cardiac arrest.