Acute aortic dissection. A comparison between the results of medical and surgical treatments.

Over the last ten years 96 patients with aortic dissection were encountered in our Institute, of whom 51 had type A dissection, and 45 had type B dissection. In the patients with type A dissection the long-term survival rate was poor if they were not operated upon without delay, and the cause of death was usually rupture of the aneurysms. In the patients with acute type B dissection the surgical indication was limited and, generally speaking the long-term survival rate of the medically treated patients was more favorable.