Acute right ventricular failure during aortic root replacement: intraoperative diagnosis and treatment.

The scope of this article is to report on a patient who underwent a Bentall procedure for type A aortic dissection. Right ventricular (RV) failure developed immediately after completion of the operation. The etiology was determined by using transit time flow measurement (TTFM), an ultrasound-based technique which demonstrated the absence of blood flow to the right coronary artery. This allowed for early and effective treatment, which was followed by a successful outcome.