Objective To summarize clinical outcomes of different end-to-end anastomotic methods for surgical treatment of acute Stanford type A aortic dissection (AD). Methods Between January 2012 and May 2013, 95 patients with acute Stanford type A AD received surgical treatment in Nanjing Hospital Affiliated to Nanjing Medical University. According to different end-to-end anastomotic methods, 72 patients were divided into 3 groups (23 patients undergoing Bentall procedure were excluded from this study). In group A, there were 23 patients including 18 males and 5 females with their age of 48.67±9.23 years, who received 'sandwich' anastomotic technique strengthening both the inner and outer layers of the aortic wall. In group B, there were 11 patients including 8 males and 3 females with their age of 48.00±9.17 years, who received pericardium strengthening only inner layer of the aortic wall. In group C, there were 38 patients including 29 males and 9 females with their age of 49.20±8.57 years, who received artificial graft that was anastomosed directly to the aortic wall without any reinforcement. Postoperative outcomes were compared among the 3 groups. Results Eight patients (11.11%)died postoperatively including 1 patient in group A (1/23, 4.35%)and 7 patients in group C (7/38, 18.42%). One patient in group A died of persistent wound errhysis and later disseminated intravascular coagulation. Three patients in group C died of persistent anastomotic incision errhysis and circulatory failure. Four patients in group C died of postopera-tive severe tricuspid regurgitation, secondary severe low cardiac output syndrome and multiple organ dysfunction syndrome. Severe postoperative complications included renal failure in 5 patients, respiratory failure in 7 patients, severe cerebral infarction and paralysis in 1 patient, paresis in 3 patients, delayed recovery of consciousness in 2 patients, and ischemic necrosis of the lower limb in 1 patient. Postoperative thoracic drainage amount in group C was significantly larger than that of the other 2 groups, and there was no statistical difference in thoracic drainage amount between group A and group B. Sixty-four patients were followed up for 1 to 6 months, and there was no late death during follow-up. Among the 5 patients with postoperative renal failure, only 1 patient needed regular hemodialysis, and renal function of the other 4 patients returned to normal. One patient with cerebral infarction recovered partial limb function and was able to walk with crutches. All the 3 patients with paresis recovered their limb function. Conclusions Anastomotic quality of end-to-end anastomosis is of crucial importance for surgical treatment of acute Stanford type A AD. Appropriate reinforcement methods can be chosen according to individual intraoperative findings. 'sandwich' anastomotic technique can significantly reduce incision errhysis, prevent acute myocardial infarction caused by aortic anastomotic tear, and decrease postoperative mortality. If coronary ostia are involved in AD, concomitant coronary artery bypass grafting is needed.

Citation： QINWei, HUANGFu-hua, CHENXin, LIUSheng-chen. Different End-to-end Anastomotic Methods for Surgical Treatment of Acute Stanford Type A Aortic Dissection. Chinese Journal of Clinical Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery, 2014, 21(3): 356-359. doi: 10.7507/1007-4848.20140097 Copy

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