Current treatment of traumatic aortic disruptions

Eighteen patients with traumatic disruptions of the descending thoracic aorta were treated at the Wake Forest University Medical Center from 1979 through 1986. Their preoperative evaluation and operative management are presented, with emphasis being placed on methods for preventing complications rel...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inThe American surgeon Vol. 55; no. 5; p. 316
Main Authors Wallenhaupt, S L, Hudspeth, A S, Mills, S A, Tucker, W Y, Dobbins, J E, Cordell, A R
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published United States 01.05.1989
Subjects
Adult
Aorta, Thoracic - injuries
Aortic Rupture - etiology
Aortic Rupture - surgery
Cardiopulmonary Bypass
Emergencies
Female
Humans
Intraoperative Care - methods
Male
Wounds, Nonpenetrating - complications
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Summary:Eighteen patients with traumatic disruptions of the descending thoracic aorta were treated at the Wake Forest University Medical Center from 1979 through 1986. Their preoperative evaluation and operative management are presented, with emphasis being placed on methods for preventing complications related specifically to aortic cross-clamping. Two patients died, for an operative mortality of 11 per cent. One of the two patients had exsanguinating hemorrhage with profound shock on the way to the operating room; in the second patient, the aorta was occluded just beyond the disruption, and there had been no distal perfusion for several hours before operation. Four patients (22%), three of whom had not had a shunting procedure, had major neurologic complications relating to the spinal cord. Thus, shunting procedures during repair of descending aortic disruption appear to offer some protection from neurologic deficits.
ISSN:0003-1348