[Surgical treatment of thoracic aortic aneurysm]

In 80 patients with thoracic aortic aneurysm were treated in our hospital, 62 were males and 18 females. Their age ranged from 20 to 73 years. The aneurysm lesions involved ascending aorta in 45 patients (Marfan's syndrome), aortic isthmus segment in 3, descending aortic aneurysm in 26, and thoraco-abdominal aneurysm in 3. Thoracic aortic aneurysm with dissecting aneurysm were found in 49. Stanford type A was present in 28 cases patients and type B in 21.61 patients underwent surgery including Bentall's operation in 35, Wheat's operation in 3, resection of discending aortic aneurysm with vascular prosthesis grafting in 14, and other types of operation in 9. Operative mortality rate was 6%. In the medically treatment group of patients, spontaneous rupture of the aneurysm occurred in 8. Among them, 5 died in hospital and another 2 at home. In this series of patients, Marfan's syndrome and dissecting aneurysm were the predominant pathological lesion. Since acute rupture of dissecting aneurysm is the main cause of death, surgical treatment should be immediate after the diagnosis is established. In the chronic dissecting aneurysm, early surgical treatment also should be considered.