Project description:Treatment of ascending aorta disease is surgical; however, some series have evaluated the effectiveness of endovascular treatment. We report the case of a patient with a ruptured pseudoaneurysm who underwent endovascular repair via the left common carotid artery. The clinical and neurological evolution was satisfactory during the in-hospital follow-up. (Level of Difficulty: Intermediate.).
Project description:Ascending aortic pseudoaneurysm (AAP) is rare but may cause life-threatening complications. Although the placement of a stent graft and the use of occluder devices and vascular plugs to exclude pseudoaneurysm are adopted for some patients, the management of progressive pseudoaneurysms that may rupture at any time remains a challenge that needs to be addressed. In this study, we present the case of a patient with an AAP that was caused by aortic and mitral valve replacement for the giant left ventricle. Aortic pseudoaneurysm was suspected on the basis of a spherical cystic echo (70 × 80 mm) of the ascending aorta; this pseudoaneurysm was detected by an ultrasonic cardiogram, and the diagnosis was confirmed by an aortic computed tomography angiography (CTA) examination. To prevent the unexpected rupture of a progressive pseudoaneurysm, our patient was treated with a 28- mm ASD occluder without any procedural complications. Our patient has a good prognosis, which will inspire clinicians to choose minimally invasive procedures when dealing with such high-risk cases in emergency situations.
Project description:Aortic pseudoaneurysm is a rare, life-threatening complication after cardiac or aortic root surgery. When a pseudoaneurysm has eroded bony structures in the chest, the surgeon's challenge is to choose the safest approach for sternotomy. Herein, we report the case of a 74-year-old woman who presented with a giant pseudoaneurysm of the ascending aorta, 8 years after undergoing aortic valve replacement. The 8.9×5.8-cm formation arose in the anterior aortic sinus, extended to the retrosternal region, exerted mass effect on the main pulmonary artery, and eroded the bony structures of the sternum and medial upper chest. A new aortic valved tissue conduit was placed, and the coronary arteries were reimplanted. The patient recovered without neurologic sequelae. We discuss the characteristics of this case and explain our surgical decisions.
Project description:We present the case of a 69-year-old female surviving an extensive dissecting thoracic aortic aneurysm. Due to the initial presentation with angina and epigastric pain the first working diagnosis was acute coronary syndrome. However, on transthoracic and transesophageal echocardiography (TEE), the dissecting aneurysm (type Stanford A) could be detected. Our article stresses the importance of imaging for the rapid and accurate diagnosis of thoracic aortic aneurysms with dissection. In our case, TEE detected the intimal flap separating true and false lumen, and the consecutive hemodynamically relevant aortic valve regurgitation, in addition to the aneurysm extent. The patient underwent surgical repair with aortic arch replacement and recovered without sequelae. <Learning objective: In patients with severe hypertension and coronary artery disease presenting with atypical chest pain, ECG and troponin T assessment should be complemented by imaging of the heart and the ascending aorta to rule out aortic dissection.>.
Project description:Background Perigraft seroma is a persistent and sterile fluid confined within a fibrous pseudomembrane surrounding a graft that develops after graft replacement. Development of perigraft seroma is an uncommon complication that occurs after the surgical repair of the thoracic aorta using woven polyester grafts. mechanism underlying perigraft seroma formation remains unclear. Case presentation Herein, we describe the case of 77-year-old man who underwent repeat sternotomy for the treatment of large perigraft seroma 1 year after ascending aorta replacement for acute type A dissection. After removing a cloudy yellow fluid, we covered the prosthetic graft with fibrin glue and wrapped it with a new graft. Bacterial culture and laboratory examination of the fluid confirmed the final diagnosis of perigraft seroma, and there was no evidence of recurrence. The area in which fluid accumulated around the graft shrunk 1 year after surgery. Conclusions The cause of a expanding perigraft after repair of the thoracic aorta remains unknown. Physicians should be aware that chronic expanding mediastinal seroma with Dacron grafts is one of the rare postoperative complications of thoracic aortic surgery. Applying fibrin glue to the graft surface might effectively prevent the recurrence of perigraft seroma. Supplementary Information The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s13019-022-02018-y.
Project description:Background Abnormal aortic elastic properties are major notable vasculopathy involved in coarctation of the aorta (CoA). However, there are no reports on aortic wall elastic characteristics in fetuses with CoA. Methods and Results Fifty-six fetuses with CoA and 56 normal controls were included in this prospective case-control study. The dimensions of the cardiac chamber, the size of the aorta, left ventricular myocardial performance indexes, and aortic elastic properties, including the global circumferential strain, fractional area change and mean longitudinal strain, were measured serially in utero. The global circumferential strain, fractional area change, and mean longitudinal strain in fetuses with CoA were smaller than those in the normal group at both the first and last examinations (18.50% versus 37.73% for global circumferential strain, 38.90% versus 57.55% for fractional area change, 6.61% versus 11.81% for mean longitudinal strain at first scan, 16.62% versus 42.05% for global circumferential strain, 36.54% versus 59.7% for fractional area change, 6.2% versus 11.46% for mean longitudinal strain at last scan, all P<0.001). There were negative correlations between aortic elastic properties and left ventricular myocardial performance indexes in fetuses with CoA (P<0.01). Aortic elastic properties were correlated positively with aortic isthmus size in fetuses with CoA (P<0.01). Conclusions Aortic strain and the fractional area change were decreased in fetuses with CoA. Impairments of these aortic elastic properties were associated with diminished heart function and aortic isthmus size in utero. Further large-scale longitudinal studies are required to confirm the potential predictive value of cardiovascular morbidity (ie, hypertension) in fetuses with CoA.
Project description:In the first case, a 60-year-old man was referred to our hospital for a sudden stomachache. A computed tomography scan revealed a thrombus at ascending aorta with acute mesenteric ischemia. In the second case, a 62-year old man developed a hypoglycemic attack with unbalanced diet. A computed tomography showed a thrombus at ascending aorta without thromboembolism. Laboratory data of both cases showed elevated platelet and a loss of antithrombin III. We administered a resection of thrombus to prevent a systemic embolism. We suggested that the risk of ascending aorta thrombus was elevated platelet and a loss of antithrombin III.