Aortic dissection resulting from tear of transverse arch: is concomitant arch repair warranted?

Forty-seven patients with aortic dissection resulting from a primary tear located in the transverse aortic arch underwent surgical treatment. Twenty-six patients had acute type A, 7 had acute type B, 7 had chronic type A, and 7 had chronic type B aortic dissections. Of the 33 patients with acute dissections, 11 (7 acute type A and 4 acute type B) underwent concomitant arch repair with an operative (less than or equal to 30 days) mortality rate of 55% (35% to 73%, +/- 1 asymmetric 70% confidence limit) (2 of 7 acute type A and 4 of 4 acute type B). Concomitant arch repair was omitted in 22 patients with acute dissections (19 acute type A and 3 acute type B); the operative mortality rate was 41% (29% to 54%) (7 of 19 acute type A and 2 of 3 acute type B) (p = not significant versus arch repair). The overall survival rate for those with arch repair was 45% +/- 15% (+/- 1 standard error of the estimate) at 4 years, compared with 43% +/- 11% for patients without arch repair (p = not significant). Considering the type of dissection, the 4-year survival estimate for patients with acute type A dissections who underwent arch repair (5 hemiarch and 2 total arch) was 71% +/- 17% (versus 44% +/- 12% for acute type A patients without arch repair). There were no survivors among the 4 patients with acute type B dissections who had an arch repair (1 hemiarch and 3 total arch), whereas patients with acute type B dissections who did not undergo concomitant arch repair had a 4-year survival estimate of 33% +/- 27% (p = not significant versus arch repair). Four other patients with acute type B dissections resulting from an arch tear were managed medically and tended to have a slightly better prognosis (2-year survival estimate of 75% +/- 22% versus 14% +/- 13% for all surgically treated acute type B patients), but again this difference was not statistically significant. Multivariate analysis of the 47 surgical patients revealed that advanced age (p = 0.0008), preoperative dissection complications (p = 0.02), and other coexistent medical problems (p = 0.03) were the only significant, independent determinants of overall mortality. Initial arch repair was not a significant predictor. Nine percent (2/22) of patients with acute type A dissections who initially underwent isolated ascending aortic replacement required subsequent arch replacement; 1 died after reoperation.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)