Aortocoronary dissection with acute left main artery occlusion: successful treatment with emergent stenting

Iatrogenic aortocoronary dissection is a rare but devastating complication of percutaneous coronary interventions and cardiac surgery, with a mortality rate up to 35%. Of the type-A dissections in the International Registry of Aortic Dissections (IRAD), 27% were caused by coronary interventions. The mechanism involves an initial dissection in the coronary artery, which then propagates in a retrograde fashion past the sinuses of Valsalva, often several centimeters beyond the aortic valve. With the advent of complex interventions such as left main stent implantation, revascularization of chronic total occlusions and mechanical thrombectomy, this complication may become more prevalent. Here we present a unique case of percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) of the left circumflex (LCx) artery complicated by a left main coronary dissection that propagated approximately 8 cm into the ascending aorta and caused abrupt left main coronary artery occlusion and hemodynamic collapse. Rescue of the left main artery and sealing of the aortic dissection with stabilization of the patient was possible with rapid ostial left main artery stenting.