Following surgery for aortic dissection, patients generally have good functional status but require periodic screening due to frequent residual changes and risk of subsequent aneurysms.
Supports periodic aortic surveillance post-dissection; leaves open optimal protocols pending larger prospective data.
The results of 32 patients who had undergone surgery for aortic dissections were analyzed. Twenty-six patients were examined in hospital during the follow-up study while one patient refused the examination and 5 others had succumbed. The average follow-up was 42.6 months. Late functional status was generally good. Resuspension of the aortic annulus for incompetent aortic valves in type I and II dissections resulted in grave aortic regurgitation and death in one case, and in mild valvular incompetence in another case, while 5 patients had competent valves after resuspension. Computed tomography (CT) and angiographic studies frequently revealed residual changes such as double lumen of the aorta. Five subsequent aortic aneurysms were discovered, 4 of them having been reoperated after the study was completed. Periodical follow-up and screening of the aorta of operative survivors is recommended.
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Viljanen et al. (1985) studied this question.
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