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Annals of Surgery logoLink to Annals of Surgery
. 1991 Jul;214(1):31–41. doi: 10.1097/00000658-199107000-00006

Management and long-term outcome of aortic dissection.

D D Glower 1, R H Speier 1, W D White 1, L R Smith 1, J S Rankin 1, W G Wolfe 1
PMCID: PMC1358411  PMID: 2064469

Abstract

All 163 patients admitted to one institution between 1975 and 1988 with aortic dissection were reviewed. Type I and type II patients received grafting of the ascending aorta, with an intraoperative mortality rate of 11%. For type III dissection, management was medical in 53 patients, while 19 required surgery for aortic rupture or expansion, with an intraoperative mortality rate of 11%. The 9- or 10-year survival rates were 29%, 46%, and 29% for types I, II, and III respectively. Of 135 patients with primary aortic dissection, 17 (13%) required subsequent aortic surgery. Cause of late death was other cardiovascular disease in 38%, rupture of another aortic segment in 18%, sudden death in 24%, and other medical conditions in 21%. Although operative therapy for types I and II dissections and reserving operation for selected type III dissections provides acceptable long-term survival, careful follow-up is necessary due to concurrent cardiovascular disease and residual aortic disease.

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Selected References

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