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J Thorac Cardiovasc Surg 2006;132:e25-e26
© 2006 The American Association for Thoracic Surgery

Brief Communication

Stent-grafting of the descending aorta: Value of early postinterventional computed tomographic control

^a Department of Cardiovascular Surgery, German Heart Center Munich, Germany
^b Department of Radiology, German Heart Center Munich, Germany
^c Department of Internal Medicine, Ilmtalklinik, Pfaffenhofen, Germany.

Received for publication May 3, 2006; accepted for publication August 7, 2006.

^_* Address for reprints: Eva U. Schirmbeck, MD, MSc, German Heart Center Munich, Department of Cardiovascular Surgery, Lazarettstrasse 36, 80636 Munich, Germany. (Email: schirmbeck@dhm.mhn.de).

The first 20% of the full text of this article appears below.

Stent-grafting of the descending thoracic aorta in patients with aneurysms or complicated type B dissections has emerged as a promising alternative to open surgical repair.^1,2 Mortality and morbidity have been demonstrated to be lower than with open surgical procedures.³ Nevertheless, stent grafting must still be considered a developing technology, with indications, pitfalls, and safeguards yet to be defined.

Clinical Summary

A 49-year-old man had a history of chest trauma from a car accident 20 years before initial referral to our institution. Because he was symptom free and his clinical course was uneventful, he did not undergo any follow-up until chest radiography was performed for prolonged symptoms of influenza. The radiograph yielded a strong suspicion of a large, partially calcified aneurysm of the proximal descending thoracic aorta. Subsequent echocardiography and computed tomographic (CT) scan confirmed the diagnosis, showing an aneurysm with a maximum diameter of 8 cm distally at the smaller aortic curvature (Figure 1, a).

View larger version (54K):   Figure 1. a, Preoperative computed tomographic scan shows partially calcified aneurysm of proximal descending thoracic aorta with maximum . . . [Full Text of this Article]

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				R. Bauernschmitt, B. Voss, and R. Lange Interventional techniques in cardiovascular surgery. J. Thorac. Cardiovasc. Surg., November 1, 2007; 134(5): 1383 - 1383. [Full Text] [PDF]

				R. S. Mitchell Early computed tomographic control J. Thorac. Cardiovasc. Surg., December 1, 2006; 132(6): 1257 - 1257. [Full Text] [PDF]