Mortality and morbidity after total aortic arch replacement

Total aortic arch replacement is associated with considerable mortality and morbidity. Although operative death is the most extreme adverse clinical end point, postoperative morbidity can also be devastating for survivors.

We examined the short-term and long-term outcomes of 146 patients who underwent total aortic arch replacements between September 2003 and September 2011.

The overall in-hospital mortality was 4.8%, and major postoperative morbidity during hospitalization occurred in 29 patients (19.9%). Multivariate analyses demonstrated that risk factors for hospital death were left thoracotomy (odds ratio [OR], 51.92; p=0.01), high preoperative serum creatinine values (OR, 3.88; p=0.02), and intraoperative blood loss (OR, 1.01; p=0.04). Ruptured aorta (OR, 7.13; p=0.02) and previous myocardial infarction (OR, 5.13; p=0.04) were identified as independent risk factors for major postoperative morbidity. The postoperative survival of all patients at 5 years was 76.7%±5%. After hospital discharge, the standardized mortality ratios showed no significant difference between hospital survivors and a comparable Japanese population and were 1.09 (p=0.41) among patients without major morbidity and 1.82 (p=0.12) among those with major morbidity. The development of renal failure requiring hemodialysis increased the risk of long-term death (hazard ratio, 5.59; p=0.03), even among hospital survivors.

Our approach for total arch replacement resulted in low in-hospital mortality and morbidity. Long-term outcomes are stable in hospital survivors, especially in the absence of a postoperative requirement for dialysis.