The surgical management of retrograde type A aortic dissection after thoracic endovascular aortic repair

Objectives: Our goal was to review the surgical treatment of retrograde type A aortic dissection (RTAD) after thoracic endovascular aortic repair (TEVAR) in our centre.

Methods: From January 2014 to April 2018, 22 patients with RTAD after TEVAR were operated on in our centre. The mean age at operation was 52.0 ± 8.0 years old. The median interval between the primary TEVAR procedure and RTAD was 4.6 months (range 0-120 months). The postoperative mortality and morbidity rates were calculated to evaluate the early and long-term results.

Results: Twenty patients received total arch replacement with the frozen elephant trunk technique and 2 patients received total arch replacement alone. The mean cardiopulmonary bypass time, aortic cross-clamp time and selective cerebral perfusion time were 172.4 ± 39.3, 100.1 ± 30.3 and 19.7 ± 10.5 min, respectively. The incidence of major adverse events was 18.6% (4/22), including stroke in 1 patient, myocardial dysfunction in 1 patient and renal failure necessitating dialysis in 3 patients. Death within 30 days was 13.6% (3/22 patients). The follow-up data were available for all 19 survivors. The mean follow-up period was 32.2 ± 16.2 months (range 10-62 months). No deaths or aortic-related events occurred during the follow-up period.

Conclusions: Total arch replacement with or without the frozen elephant trunk technique was suitable for the management of RTAD after TEVAR, with acceptable early and long-term results.