Early and Late Surgical Outcomes of Acute Type A Aortic Dissection in Octogenarians

Although surgical outcomes of acute type A aortic dissection (ATAAD) have improved, it is still a high-risk procedure for octogenarians. This study analyzed early and late outcomes of surgical repair of ATAAD among octogenarians.

From 1990 through 2016, 1,260 consecutive patients with ATAAD were emergently admitted to Jichi Medical University Hospitals. Of them, 1,026 patients who underwent emergency surgery for ATAAD within 48 hours of symptom onset were included in this retrospective study. Of these, 112 were aged 80 years or more (mean, 83.1 ± 2.7) and formed the octogenarian group; and 914 were aged less than 80 years (mean, 62.0 ± 11.4) and formed the control group. Early and late outcomes were compared.

The inhospital mortality rate was 6.3% for the octogenarian group and 7.4% for the control group (p = 0.85). No significant difference was observed in the causes of hospital death. Although the overall postoperative complication rate was not different (24.1% versus 23.0%), pneumonia was more frequent among octogenarians (p = 0.03). Multivariate analysis of hospital mortality did not indicate age 80 years or more as a risk factor. Overall postoperative survival for the octogenarian group was 84.6%, 70.5%, and 57.1% at 1, 3, and 5 years, respectively. For the control group, the rates were 89.1%, 85.6%, and 82.1%, respectively. Pneumonia and decrepitude were the major causes of remote death for the octogenarian group.

No significant difference in the hospital mortality rate or the complication rate was observed between the groups. Emergency surgery for ATAAD in octogenarians could be performed with the same low risk observed for younger patients.