Reduction aortoplasty for ascending aortic aneurysm: a 14-year experience

Area of Science:

• Cardiovascular Surgery
• Thoracic Surgery
• Vascular Surgery

Background:

• Ascending aortic aneurysms often require surgical intervention.
• Prosthetic graft replacement is a common treatment, but associated with significant procedural times.
• Alternative techniques are sought to improve patient outcomes and reduce surgical burden.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the early results and long-term follow-up of reduction aortoplasty with external wrapping for the ascending aorta.
• To compare this technique with traditional prosthetic graft replacement.

Main Methods:

• A retrospective comparison of 32 patients undergoing reduction aortoplasty versus 47 patients undergoing prosthetic graft replacement.
• Analysis of aortic crossclamp times, cardiopulmonary bypass times, transfusion requirements, and aortic diameter changes.
• Long-term follow-up data was collected and analyzed.

Main Results:

• Reduction aortoplasty patients had significantly shorter aortic crossclamp (18.78 +/- 1.91 vs. 34.04 +/- 3.25 min) and cardiopulmonary bypass times (30.16 +/- 2.36 vs. 60.83 +/- 2.05 min).
• Fewer transfusions were required in the reduction aortoplasty group.
• No significant enlargement of the aortic diameter at the sinus of Valsalva was observed during follow-up (38.84 +/- 3.10 to 39.48 +/- 2.72 mm).

Conclusions:

• Reduction aortoplasty with external wrapping is a simple and promising surgical method for the ascending aorta.
• This technique is the procedure of choice in patients without aortic dissection and with an appropriately sized sinus of Valsalva.