Prospective evaluation of the extensibility of the ascending aorta wall and its vascular prosthesis in a patient with an aneurysm with technically flawless surgical correction and postoperative decrease in functional parameters: A case report

Abstract

In this clinical case, a patient who had an instrumentally detected aneurysm with the lumen expanding up to 60 mm underwent a surgically flawless prosthetic replacement of the ascending aorta. This treatment led to decreased exercise tolerance, decreased contractile function of the left ventricular myocardium at rest, and enlarged pulmonary artery. The leading factor was a decrease in the volume of systolic expansion of the aorta down to 5 mL (at the initial 13 mL), despite a noticeable increase in the extensibility and a decrease in mechanical stiffness compared with initial indexes of the affected aortic wall. In the literature review, considering mechanical extensibility and elasticity, problems in creating aortic prostheses equivalent to those for healthy biological tissues were discussed.

Keywords

• aneurysm of the ascending aorta
• prosthetics of the ascending aorta
• extensibility
• young’s modulus
• systolic stretching of the aorta
• coronary blood supply to the myocardium
• case report