Endarterectomy and external prosthetic grafting of the ascending and transverse aorta under hypothermic circulatory arrest.

A 78-year-old woman presented with acute pulmonary edema, a blood pressure of 250/160 mmHg, and a 4/6 diastolic murmur of probable aortic origin. Aortography revealed 4+ aortic regurgitation, left ventricular dysfunction, a right coronary artery with good distal run-off but complete proximal occlusion, a fusiform aneurysm of the ascending and transverse aorta (with a transverse dissection in the left anterolateral wall of the upper ascending aorta, but no evidence of intramural lumen), and milder, isolated dilatation of the descending thoracic aorta. Upon operation, on 8 September 1987, I discovered an incompetent aortic valve, advanced atherosclerosis in the ascending and transverse aorta, and a loose intimal flap--but no false lumen--in the upper ascending aorta. After valve replacement and construction of a vein graft to the distal right coronary artery, I decided against replacement of the diseased segment of the ascending and transverse aorta and chose, instead, aortic endarterectomy reinforced by external grafting, as a simpler, quicker, and safer procedure for this patient. Safety was further enhanced by use of profound hypothermia (16 degrees C) to induce total circulatory arrest during the brief period (15 minutes) required for endarterectomy of the arch and approximation of the flap. The patient was discharged 19 days after surgery and continues well and asymptomatic to the present, 21 months after surgery; her milder dilatation of the descending thoracic aorta, which was not treated, is stable and is being monitored.