Late Outcomes of Ascending-to-Descending Bypass for Aortic Coarctation

Background: Ascending-to-descending aortic bypass is a repair option for patients with complex aortic coarctation. This technique is reported to have minimal early morbidity and mortality; however, the long-term results of the procedure are unknown.

Methods: This study analyzed the late outcomes of 81 consecutive patients with aortic coarctation who underwent ascending-to-descending aortic bypass through a median sternotomy from January 1985 to December 2012. The study was limited to this interval to allow for a minimum of 10-year follow-up. Fifty-two patients had recurrent coarctation after previous repair, and 44 patients had concomitant cardiac procedures at the time of ascending-to-descending bypass.

Results: There was no perioperative mortality, and overall survival at 5, 10, and 20 years was 94%, 90%, and 85%, respectively, similar to an age- and sex-matched population. There were no interventions for the ascending-to-descending bypass during follow-up, and no deaths were known to be related to the bypass graft. Subsequent cardiac operations were performed through a median sternotomy in 7 patients (9%), and late imaging in 48 patients (59%) demonstrated no hemodynamically significant stenoses or pseudoaneurysms. At late follow-up, median systolic blood pressure was 124 mm Hg, and one-half of the patients were receiving either no or only 1 antihypertensive agent.

Conclusions: Ascending-to-descending aortic bypass is a safe operation with excellent long-term outcomes for adult patients with complex aortic coarctation. The procedure is durable and appears to improve systemic hypertension. Importantly, ascending-to-descending bypass does not hinder the safe performance of subsequent operations performed through a median sternotomy.