[Perioperative Management of Acute Type-A Aortic Dissection in a 97-year-old Woman]

A 97-year-old woman with severe back pain was transferred to our hospital. She was able to perform activities of daily living independently and had no neu- rological deficit or dementia before her admission. Con- trast-enhanced computed tomography revealed a rup- ture in the descending aorta and thrombosed type A aortic dissection. We carefully explained the need for and the risks associated with surgery to the patient and her family. After an informed consent had been obtained, she was taken to the operating room for an emergency surgery. Anesthetic management was uneventful. Trans- esophageal echocardiography was useful to evaluate her cardiac function and aortic dissection. We per- formed replacement of the total aortic arch and descending aorta successfully. On the 55th postopera- tive day, she was transferred to another hospital to undergo further physical therapy. The total hospital- ization cost was nearly 9.8 million yen. The medical cost was high in our case. In cases of nonagenarians who require an emergency cardiac surgery, we should consider the patients' age, preoperative activities of daily living, and postoperative quality of life when making decisions on surgery. The patient in our case needed to be carefully treated for airway and swallow- ing management in the early perioperative period.