Ratio of the false lumen to the true lumen is associated with long-term prognosis after surgical repair of acute type A aortic dissectionCentral MessagePerspective

Abstract

Objectives: The aim of this study was to assess potential predictors of aortic events after an emergency surgery for acute type A aortic dissection, especially paying attention to the findings of computed tomography (CT) performed immediately after the surgery. Methods: Between January 2001 and December 2015, 72 patients, who were diagnosed as having Stanford type A acute aortic dissection with a patent false lumen in the descending thoracic aorta, survived the emergency operation, and had postoperative CT scan data, were included in this study (mean follow-up, 8.2 ± 3.8 years; range 0.8-17.4 years). From the CT scan data, the diameter of the false lumen (FL-D) and true lumen (TL-D) were measured, and the FL-D:TL-D ratio was calculated. Long-term outcomes of the FL-D > TL-D group (n = 30) and the FL-D TL-D group (92.0% and 88.6% vs 81% and 60.7%; log rank P < .05). Conclusions: Our results suggest that the false lumen:true lumen ratio predicts long-term prognosis after surgical repair of acute type A aortic dissection.

Keywords

• aortic dissection
• patent false lumen
• postoperative aortic event
• morphology of dissected thoracic aorta
• preemptive therapy