Abstract: | Six patients were operated on for aneurysm of the descending thoracic aorta in 1983-1985 by use of simple cross-clamping and interposition of a Dacron tube graft without extracorporeal circulation. The aneurysm had ruptured in three cases. The patients' mean age was 69 years. Anesthesia and muscle relaxation were obtained by drugs with only minor myocardial depressant action. There was no postoperative mortality or morbidity. Five of the patients have been followed up for at least a year. Careful pharmacologic control of the blood pressure is essential during such surgery. Despite the smallness of the series, it indicates that simple cross-clamping and Dacron graft interposition can be used for treatment of aneurysm of the descending thoracic aorta. |