Aortic dissection during pregnancy is a life-threatening condition for both mother and fetus. We present the case of a 34-year-old woman with a rapidly expanding abdominal aorta in the context of a chronic type B aortic dissection. A 4 to 6 weeks' viable pregnancy was incidentally diagnosed during the preoperative workup. She underwent urgent extent II thoracoabdominal aortic aneurysm repair with left-sided heart bypass. Postoperatively, vaginal ultrasound evaluation confirmed viability of the fetus, but the patient wished to terminate the pregnancy because of the possible unknown hypoxic effects on the fetus.
Copyright © 2023 The Society of Thoracic Surgeons. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.