Evolution of surgical treatment of thoracic aortic aneurysms

Aneurysms of the thoracic aorta remain a challenge to surgeons. My early experience began in 1950, when I excised a large aneurysm in one of Dr Alfred Blalock's patients. The patient survived and was cured. This experience convinced me that aortic aneurysms could be treated successfully by aggressive surgical means. Treatment, however, has changed from the early emphasis on excision of the lesion to the present belief in restoration of circulatory continuity using a suitable Dacron graft, or endoaneurysmorrhaphy.