Acute Stanford Type A Aortic Dissociation with Simultaneous Cerebral Hemorrhage : a Rare Case / 日本心臓血管外科学会雑誌

ABSTRACT

The case concerns a seventy-one-year old male patient on maintenance dialysis. He experienced chest discomfort and called for emergency conveyance. He was diagnosed with acute Stanford type A aortic dissection with open false lumen and expanded hematoma around the aorta using computed tomography (CT). The patient was referred to our hospital for emergent surgical intervention. At the time of admission to our hospital, cerebral hemorrhage in the left thalamus and right head of caudate nucleus was revealed on a CT head scan. On neurologic examination, a slight drop in exercise ability was demonstrated in the right arm. We shared the images offline with a neurosurgeon in a neighboring hospital. After the consultation, surgery for the acute aortic dissociation was canceled due to concerns about cerebral hemorrhage aggravation with the use of an intraoperative anticoagulant. Although there was no indication for surgical intervention for the cerebral hemorrhage at that point, he was placed under careful observation. Hemodialysis using nafamostat mesilate was restarted ; fortunately, there was no exacerbation in the cerebral hemorrhage. However, a CT scan revealed expansion of the false cavity of the ascending aorta on the fifth day post-diagnosis. After confirming no exacerbation of cerebral hemorrhage on CT on the fifth, sixth, and seventh days, graft replacement of the ascending aorta and concomitant aortic valve replacement for aortic valve stenosis were performed on the eighth day. He was extubated on the first postoperative day. He left the ICU on the sixth postoperative day. Neither increase of hematoma on the postoperative CT, nor any exacerbation of the neurologic symptoms was observed. On the forty-seventh postoperative day, he was shifted back to the referring hospital for rehabilitation.Acute aortic dissection with simultaneous onset of cerebral hemorrhage is very rare. Though both conditions are critical, there are no guidelines for treatment, and decisions on the treatment strategy are unclear. In this case of acute Stanford type A aortic dissection, there was a concern about the exacerbation of cerebral hemorrhage with the use of an intraoperative anticoagulant. We report the successful surgical repair of acute aortic dissection one week after onset as a viable therapeutic option in cases where emergency intervention is not possible due to associated complications.