Postoperative Thrombus Formation in the False Lumen Following Surgical Repair of Aortic Dissection

Abstract

During the period 1980 to 1990, 65 patients with aortic dissection underwent surgical treatment. The authors have mainly been using the entry closure proce dures to enclose the false lumen with thrombus for dissecting aortic aneurysm. The survival rate was 75%. In 36 long-surviving patients who have been able to be followed up postoperatively, angiography and/or computed tomography (CT) with contrast enhancement was used to evaluate the aortic and any resid ual false lumen during a mean follow-up of sixty months.

Complete thrombotic closure of the false lumen was obtained in only 5 cases; 18 of the remaining 31 patients have developed almost complete thrombus for mation, and only local remaining false lumens were noted. In the other 13 pa tients (36%), an extensive residual false lumen was observed, mainly in the patients with an aneurysm of larger diameter where the preoperative CT im ages showed the false lumen to be larger than the true lumen, indicating the requirement for extensive aortic graft replacement or secondary operation.

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