Percutaneous fenestration of dissecting intima with a transseptal needle. A new therapeutic technique for visceral ischemia complicating acute aortic dissection

Noncardiac visceral ischemia is a major complication with acute aortic dissection and is caused by obstruction of the major visceral arteries by dissecting intima. Two patients with this condition underwent emergency percutaneous fenestration of dissecting intima, and the blood flow to the lower extremity and kidney was restored. A transseptal needle and peripheral angioplasty balloon catheter were used for fenestration. There were no associated complications in either patient. One patient was treated medically and another had ascending aortic replacement surgery the day after percutaneous fenestration. Clinical follow-up of 10 and 5 months, respectively, revealed good clinical outcomes. Percutaneous fenestration should be considered the treatment of choice for visceral ischemia due to acute aortic dissection. © 1992 Wiley-Liss, Inc.     

Percutaneous bare Z-stent implantation as an alternative to surgery for acute aortic dissection with visceral ischemia.

We describe a case of Stanford type B acute aortic dissection causing visceral ischemia. An aortogram showed an hourglass-like narrowing of the true lumen at the diaphragm with a 60 mm Hg pressure gradient. Placement of a self-expanding metallic Z-stent under intravascular ultrasound guidance restored blood flow to the viscera.     

Aortic stenting on a type B aortic dissection with visceral and limb ischemia.

Aortic dissection complicated with limb and visceral ischemia is a clinical dilemma since surgical intervention carries high risk of morbidity and mortality. The management is further complicated when renal perfusion is impaired and thus associated with severe renovascular hypertension. As catheterization techniques advanced over the past decade, percutaneous endovascular intervention provides a less invasive alternative for management of such cases. We report a case of chronic Stanford type B aortic dissection complicated with visceral and limb ischemia presenting with marked renovascular hypertension, which was successfully treated with percutaneous endovascular aortic stenting.     

Replacement of the aortic arch for acute dissection. A new approach in the surgical technique

In 15 to 20 per cent of Type A dissections of the aorta the initial tear is situated in the aortic arch. Between January 1st 1988 and May 1st 1989, our group has performed 5 prosthetic replacements of the aortic arch for this type of lesion. The indication of prosthetic replacement of the aortic arch was taken on different criteria: regressive neurological deficits (2 cases); radiological signs of dissection of the supraaortic vessels (2 cases), and at surgery in 1 case in which the intimal tear extended beyond the origin of the brachiocephalic artery. The originality of the technique is due to the use of a prefabricated prosthesis with three branches for termino-terminal anastomosis in normal tissues of the supraaortic arteries. The insertion of the prosthesis was performed during cardiac standstill (average 35 minutes) at 17 degrees C, and was accompanied in 3 out of 5 cases by replacement of segments 0 and I of the aorta using Cabrol's technique. The mortality in the first 30 days was nil. There was one definitive neurological complication leading to the death of one patient at 4 months and one totally regressive paraplegia at the 2nd month with the patient recovering independent walking function. There is no morbidity in the survivors with an average follow-up period of seven months.     

Percutaneous transseptal myocardial ablation with wire (PTSAW): a new technique

Alcohol septal ablation has recently been described as a safe alternative to surgical myectomy for treatment of symptomatic patients with hypertrophic obstructive cardiomyopathy. We describe a case where percutaneous myectomy was performed by mechanically occluding the septal artery using thrombogenic floppy tips of used PTCA wires instead of alcohol, as the anatomy of the septal artery was not suitable for alcohol ablation.     

Percutaneous balloon-expandable stents for sealing of acute aortic dissection

Acute aortic dissection is a highly lethal disease. When dissection involves only the descending aorta and there are no ischemic complications, medical management may be the treatment of choice. However, a high risk of expansion or rupture of the dissection remains. When renal or limb ischemic complications do appear, surgery has been the only option, despite high mortality and morbidity. Percutaneous placement of stents for sealing an acute aortic dissection might be an alternative to surgical treatment. We treated 2 patients with acute type B aortic dissection by stent-fixation of the proximal and distal descending aorta. In both patients, there was evidence of persistent flap fixation at midterm follow-up.     

Prompt surgery is effective for acute type A aortic dissection with cerebral ischemia

BackgroundAcute type A aortic dissection (aTAAD) with preoperative cerebral ischemia (CI) is common and lethal, but the timing and treatment method remain uncertain. We retrospectively reviewed our aTAAD patients with CI and analyzed the outcomes and related risk factors.MethodsFrom January 2011 to December 2019, 1,173 patients diagnosed with aTAAD from Nanjing Drum Tower Hospital were enrolled. Among them, 131 patients had CI preoperatively (CI group), and 1,042 patients were in the non-CI group. One hundred eight in the CI group and 984 in the non-CI group received central repair surgery. Fifteen patients had postoperative cerebral complications (CC) and 93 had non-CCs. ROC curves were used to identify the safe duration of preoperative CI.ResultsThe CI group was older (56.3 vs. 53.2 years, P=0.013) and had lower rates of pain, chest pain and back pain (77.9% vs. 94.4%, 75.4% vs. 87.5% and 30.8% vs. 42.3%, respectively) than the non-CI group. The CI group had a higher rate of preoperative hypotension and tamponade (13.7% vs. 6.0%, 26.9% vs. 10.4%, respectively; P=0.000). More patients in the CI group did not receive central repair surgery, and the CI had higher mortality (28.2% vs. 15.9%). CI without central repair surgery was a strong risk factor for mortality. CI patients with CC after central repair had a higher mortality, and preoperative coma was the strongest risk factor for postoperative CC.A duration between CI symptoms and central repair surgery of less than 12.75 hours is recommended.ConclusionsPrompt surgery is effective for aTAAD with CI, and preoperative coma and a safe duration longer than 12.75 hours would predict worse outcomes.     

覆膜支架开窗后置入治疗A型主动脉夹层一例

患者男性,72岁.因"突发背部撕裂样疼痛3 h"入院.既往有高血压病史,血压最高达220/120mm Hg(1 mm Hg=0.133 kPa),未曾规律服用抗高血压药物.入院体检:双上肢血压均为160/90mm Hg,双肺部无干湿哕音,心率107次/min,心律整齐,第一心音低钝,未闻及心脏杂音,腹部微隆,无移动性浊音,肠鸣音正常.心电图提示:正常范围心电图.超声心动图提示:升主动脉增宽,约38 mm;心脏形态结构及收缩功能未见明显异常.     

Percutaneous transluminal aortic valvuloplasty using a balloon catheter. A new therapeutic option in aortic stenosis in the elderly

Aortic valvular dilatation with a balloon catheter was performed in 44 patients, 20 men and 24 women, most of whom were very elderly (average age 77 years). The indication for valvular replacement had not been retained in these cases because of surgical contra-indications or a very high operative risk and in 3 cases because of patient refusal. Twenty-nine patients were in functional classes III or IV of the NYHA classification; 12 had syncopal episodes and 18 had invalidating angina. The dilatation was performed by a femoral arterial approach in 34 cases, and by a brachial arterial approach in 10 cases. MEDI-TECH catheters with 15, 18 or 20 mm diameters when inflated were used in the majority of cases. Several inflations lasting 10 to 240 seconds were performed in each case with balloons of increasing size. This was well tolerated in all but one patients who had a sharp syncope. The immediate results confirmed valvular dilatation. The average transvalvular pressure gradient fell from 76 +/- 25 mmHg to 30 +/- 13 mmHg (p less than 0.001). The aortic valve surface area calculated by the Gorlin formula increased from 0.5 +/- 0.18 cm2 to 1 +/- 0.42 cm2 (p less than 0.01). After dilatation the gradient was less than or equal to 40 mmHg in 37 cases; aortic valve surface area was greater than or equal to 1 cm2 in 14 cases and less than or equal to 0.7 cm2 in only 5 cases. The left ventricular ejection fraction increased immediately after valvuloplasty from 44 +/- 16 p. 100 to 49 +/- 15 p. 100 (p less than 0.01). In the 18 cases in which it was less than 40 p. 100 before valvuloplasty, it increased from 30 +/- 6 p. 100 to 36 +/- 9 p. 100 (p less than 0.02). Residual aortic regurgitation was only observed in one case. Two patients died in the hospital period (4.6 p. 100). There were no other serious complications. During an average follow-up period of 60 days (3 weeks to 6 months) there was a big improvement in symptoms in the great majority of cases and, in particular, syncopal and anginal attacks disappeared. Only 4 patients remained in functional classes III or IV after valvuloplasty. Percutaneous aortic valvuloplasty is a new, relatively simple, low risk, economic and very effective therapeutic procedure in all cases in which aortic valve replacement is contra-indicated or refused by the patient.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)     

A new simplified procedure for the separation of aortic intima

A new procedure for the separation of aortic intima has been described. The method involves the use of an electrical “Dermatome” (used in plastic surgery) which can separate intima from the thoracic aorta. The dermatome allows a cutting depth to be adjusted from a minimum of 10 μ. Using this instrument pure preparations of porcine and human intima were obtained.

It is concluded that this method is the simplest available for obtaining large quantities of anatomically pure preparations of different layers of the aorta.     

Percutaneous closure of an iatrogenic ventricular septal defect following mechanical aortic valve replacement using the transseptal technique.

Iatrogenic ventricular septal defects (VSDs) following aortic valve replacement are relatively uncommon and are challenging to close percutaneously given their typical proximity to the prosthetic valve. We describe the successful percutaneous closure of an iatrogenic VSD in a patient with a recent mechanical AVR using the transseptal approach.     

Myocardial hypothermia: a potential therapeutic technique for acute regional myocardial ischemia

The importance of temperature in the development of necrosis after myocardial ischemia in the beating heart is becoming apparent. Recent studies have shown that the proportion of the ischemic risk zone that becomes necrotic is directly correlated with temperature. This fact suggests the potential therapeutic benefits of reducing myocardial temperature after coronary artery occlusion. We have shown in a number of experimental protocols in the rabbit model of myocardial infarction that topical regional hypothermia reduces infarct size even when instituted after coronary artery occlusion. The reduction in myocardial temperature required to obtain this benefit is modest ( 30 degrees C to 34 degrees C). Topical regional hypothermia allows targeted cooling of a zone of the heart. Myocardial cooling can also be achieved by perfusing the pericardial sac with a chilled fluid by using a closed-circuit catheter system that does not cause cardiac tamponade. This technique also protects myocardium during ischemia. Myocardial hypothermia might be a useful technique to limit ischemic damage during infarction or as adjunctive therapy during minimally invasive cardiac surgery.     

Adult-onset dysphagia lusoria secondary to a dissecting aberrant right subclavian artery associated with type B acute aortic dissection

The case of a 78-year-old African American woman who presented at the Mount Sinai Medical Center (Chicago, USA) with excruciating backache is presented. Computed tomography of the chest at the time of admission showed dissection of the aortic arch, descending aorta and dissection of an aberrant right subclavian artery. She was managed medically for Stanford type B acute aortic dissection. The patient was asymptomatic at presentation, but started complaining of new-onset dysphagia during her stay in the hospital. An esophagogram was performed and suggested posterior impingement of the esophagus, a classic sign of an aberrant right subclavian artery. Because the patient had multiple underlying comorbidities and the dysphagia was mild and intermittent, surgery was deferred. The patient was discharged home after complete stabilization and was scheduled for a follow-up appointment.     

Percutaneous treatment of left main coronary stenosis as a late complication of bentall operation for acute aortic dissection.

Severe ostial left main coronary stenosis developed 35 days after successful Bentall-type operation for acute aortic dissection. Treatment of this kind of complication is usually performed with open chest coronary artery bypass grafting. In our case, treatment with percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty and stenting of the lesion immediately after diagnostic coronary angiography was performed successfully, with persisting good results at 9-month clinical follow-up.     

Percutaneous needle aspiration biopsy of chest lesions. New instrument and new technique

From March 1986 to April 1987, 70 percutaneous needle aspiration (PCNA) procedures were performed in 66 consecutive patients. Seven immunocompromised patients had the procedure performed to obtain culture material from the lung, and 59 patients with chest lesions were analyzed. This includes 49 patients with either a lung nodule or mass. In the remaining ten patients, there were three chest wall or pleural lesions, two aortic pulmonary window lesions, two right hilar lesions, and three anterior mediastinal lesions. Forty of these 59 patients were ultimately proven to have a malignancy. The diagnostic yield for malignant disease by cytology and histology of PCNA was 97.5 percent (39 of 40). Twelve patients had a final diagnosis of benign disease. The diagnostic yield in benign diseases by PCNA was 91.6 percent (11 of 12). The remaining seven patients do not yet have a final diagnosis, though the clinical course favors benign disease in six of these patients. We attribute the major reason for this high specific diagnostic yield in both malignant and benign diseases to the ability of obtaining histologic specimens for interpretation.     

Prolapse of aortic intimal flap into the left ventricle: a rare cause of global myocardial ischemia in acute type A aortic dissection.

A 62-year-old woman experienced an acute type A aortic dissection complicated with profound shock caused by acute myocardial ischemia. Intraoperative transesophageal echocardiography (TEE) identified a circumferentially dissected intimal flap at 5.5 cm above the aortic valve, prolapsing into the left ventricle through the aortic valve during diastole and obstructing both coronary ostia. Acute aortic dissection must be kept in mind when presented with myocardial ischemia and TEE is the most useful method for detecting a prolapsing cylindrical intimal flap.