Details of Aortic Dissection Repair Surgery

An aortic dissection is a tear in the wall of the body’s main artery, the aorta. And it is aorta which supplies blood from heart to rest of the body. So, this dissection causes blood split into layers which reduces the amount of oxygen and nutrients available for your body’s organs. That's why early diagnosis and treatment are important. Considering the the part of aorta affected, it is divided into two groups: * Type A. If upper aorta is affected, it is considered more dangerous and it is more common as well. Type B. If lower aorta is affected, it is considered less dangerous.

May include:

• Breathlessness
• Loss of control
• Loss of vision
• Paralysis
• Leg pain 
• Chest pain
• Back pain

May include:

• Marfan syndrome
• Trauma
• Any previous procedure
• Bicuspid aortic valve
• High BP

• Transesophageal echocardiogram (TEE).
• Computerized tomography (CT) scan.
• Magnetic resonance angiogram (MRA).
• Chest x-ray.
• Physical examination.

Surgery: In this procedure, your doctor takes out as much of the teared aorta as possible, blocks the entry of blood into the aortic wall and reconstruct the aorta with a graft.

Medication: Sometimes medication is enough. Like beta blockers and nitroprusside (Nitropress) these are some which can prevent that from worsening.

Treatment of type B aortic dissection may include:

Medications: Same medication of type A can be prescribed without surgery for treatment.

Surgery: It is also similar to type A procedure but sometimes stents may be put in the aorta to repair complicated type B aortic dissections.

Risks with the surgery:

• Stroke
• Heart attack
• Lung infections
• Bleeding
• Risks from anesthesia
• Death