Purpose: To demonstrate normal postoperative spiral CT and MRI findings and typical complications in patients with aortic repair after Stanford type A aortic dissection.
Methods: 24 patients with aortic repair after Stanford type A aortic dissection were followed up by spiral CT and MRI (0.5 Tesla). Presence of persistent dissection, progressive or new dissection, proximal and distal anastomosis, periprosthetic space, supraaortic vessels, thrombosis and dilatation of the true and false lumen were evaluated.
Results: The following postoperative complications were seen: three pseudoaneurysms which developed at the proximal anastomoses of the Dacron prosthesis in two cases and at the insertion site of the reimplanted left coronary artery after implantation of a composite graft (Bentall procedure) in one case; one re-dissection; one perforation of the false lumen; periprosthetic flow in one patient after surgical repair of type A dissection by the graft inclusion technique; progressive dilatation of the false lumen in 4 cases; dilatation of the aortic root in a Marfan patient after replacement of the ascending aorta.
Conclusion: Precise knowledge of the surgical technique performed is crucial to accurate postoperative imaging evaluation. MRI is the method of choice in the postoperative follow-up of clinically stable patients with aortic dissections.