Surgical treatment of a retrosternal pseudoaneurysm arising from the posterior aortic root.

We report a case of a 60-year-old male with a retrosternal pseudoaneurysm arising from the posterior aortic root. He had undergone replacement of the aortic root and ascending aorta for an acute aortic dissection. His postoperative course was complicated with composite graft infection. During a redo surgery, femoro-femoral bypass was established prior to sternotomy via the right femoral artery and vein, and ten French cannulas were directly inserted into both carotid arteries through separate skin incisions for brain perfusion. When the sternum was divided, an occlusion balloon catheter introduced through the left femoral artery was inflated to maintain somatic perfusion without compromising clear vision of the operative field. Combined procedures with direct cannulation into both common carotid arteries and balloon occlusion of the distal aortic arch allowed us to safely perform replacement of the aortic root and ascending aorta in the patient with a retrosternal pseudoaneurysm.