ObjectiveTo assess whether expanding the landing zone of frozen elephant trunk (FET) increases the risk of spinal cord injury in patients with acute type A aortic dissection. MethodsPatients with acute type A aortic dissection who were treated in Guangdong Provincial People’s Hospital from 2017 to 2020 were collected. They were divided into two groups according to the landing zone of FET by the image diagnosis of postoperative chest X-ray or total aorta CT angiography, including a Th9 group which defined as below the eighth thoracic vertebral level, and a Th8 group which was defined as above or equal to the eighth thoracic vertebral level. Using the propensity score matching (PSM) method, the preoperative and intraoperative data of two groups were matched with a 1∶2 ratio. The prognosis of the two groups after PSM was analyzed. Results Before PSM, 573 patients were collected, including 58 patients in the Th9 group and 515 patients in the Th8 group. After PSM, 174 patients were collected, including 58 patients in the Th9 group (46 males and 12 females, with an average age of 47.91±9.92 years), and 116 patients in the Th8 group (93 males and 23 females, with an average age of 48.01±9.53 years). There were 8 patients of postoperative spinal cord injury in the two groups after PSM, including 5 (4.31%) patients in the Th8 group and 3 (5.17%) patients in the Th9 group (P=0.738). In the Th8 group, 2 patients had postoperative transient paresis and recovered spontaneously after symptomatic treatment, and 1 patient had postoperative paraplegia with cerebrospinal fluid drainage. After 3 days, the muscle strength of both lower limbs gradually recovered after treatment. There was no statistical difference in complications between the two groups (P＞0.05). ConclusionExpanding the landing zone of FET does not increase the risk of spinal cord injury in patients with acute type A aortic dissection. However, the sample size is limited, and in the future, multicenter large-scale sample size studies are still needed for verification
Objective To analyze the etiologies, surgical treatment and outcomes of retrograde type A aortic dissection (RTAD) after thoracic endovascular aortic repair (TEVAR) for Stanford type B aortic dissection. Methods The clinical data of patients with RTAD after TEVAR for Stanford type B aortic dissection receiving operations in Changhai Hospital from March 2014 to August 2018 were analyzed. All patients were followed-up by clinic interview or telephone. Results A total of 16 patients were enrolled, including 13 males and 3 females with a mean age of 49.1±12.2 years. The main symptoms of RTAD were chest pain in 12 patients, headache in 1 patient, conscious disturbance in 1 patient, and asymptomatic in 2 patients. All the 16 patients received total arch replacement with the frozen elephant trunk technique. Bentall procedure was used in 2 patients, aortic root plasticity in 10 patients and aortic valve replacement in 1 patient. The primary tear in 10 patients was located in the area which were anchored by bare mental stent, and in the other 6 patients it was located in the anterior part of ascending aorta. The mean cardiopulmonary bypass time was 152.2±29.4 min, aortic cross-clamping time was 93.6±27.8 min and selective cerebral perfusion time was 29.8±8.3 min. There was no death in hospital or within postoperative 30 days. The follow-up period was 32-85 (57.4±18.3) months. No death occurred during the follow-up period. One patient underwent TEVAR again 3 years after this operation and had an uneventful survival. Conclusion Total arch replacement with the frozen elephant trunk technique is a suitable strategy for the management of RTAD after TEVAR for Stanford type B aortic dissection.
Objective To investigate the association between D-dimer levels within 2 hours of admission and in-hospital major adverse events (MAEs) in patients with acute type A aortic dissection (ATAAD) who underwent total arch replacement combined with frozen elephant trunk (FET) implantation. Methods This retrospective study included patients with ATAAD who underwent total arch replacement with FET implantation at Fuwai Yunnan Cardiovascular Hospital from September 2017 to December 2022. Patients were divided into two groups based on the occurrence of in-hospital MAEs: a MAEs group and a non-MAEs group (control). Perioperative data were compared between the two groups. Univariate and multivariate logistic regression analyses were performed to identify risk factors for in-hospital MAEs, which included in-hospital death, gastrointestinal bleeding, paraplegia, acute kidney injury, low cardiac output syndrome, stroke, respiratory failure, multiple organ dysfunction syndrome, and severe infection. The predictive value of D-dimer was evaluated using the area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC). Results A total of 218 patients were included (157 males, 61 females), with a mean age of (51.54±9.79) years. There were 152 patients in the non-MAEs group and 66 in the MAEs group. The overall incidence of in-hospital MAEs was 30.3%, and the in-hospital mortality rate was 2.8% (6/218). Compared to the non-MAEs group, the MAEs group had significantly higher levels of D-dimer and lactate, as well as longer cardiopulmonary bypass time, aortic cross-clamp time, and ICU length of stay (all P<0.05). Multivariate logistic regression analysis identified D-dimer as an independent risk factor for in-hospital MAEs [OR=1.077, 95%CI (1.020, 1.137), P=0.013]. The AUC for the D-dimer level within 2 hours of admission to predict in-hospital MAEs was 0.83 [95%CI (0.736, 0.870), P<0.001]. The optimal cutoff value was 2.2 μg/mL, with a sensitivity of 84.8% and a specificity of 73.0%. Conclusion The serum D-dimer level is an independent risk factor for in-hospital MAEs in patients with ATAAD following total arch replacement with FET implantation. D-dimer levels on admission can help clinicians optimize risk stratification and perioperative management, potentially reducing the incidence of early adverse events.