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Ascending Aortic Diameter after Dissection Does Not Reflect Size before Dissection
Qais W Saleh1,2,3, Axel C P Diederichsen2,3,4, Jes S Lindholt1,2,3
1Department of Thoracic-, Cardiac- and Vascular Surgery, Odense University Hospital, Odense, Denmark.
Introduction:
Current guidelines for prophylactic resection of ascending aortic aneurysms are based on post-dissection aortic diameter. However, this may not reflect the diameter prior to dissection.
Report:
Pre- and post-dissection aortic diameters were compared in 34 patients with available computerised tomography scans. The median time interval between these scans was 536 days (interquartile range 354 - 1237).
Discussion:
There was a statistically significant difference in diameters from the sinotubular junction to the proximal abdominal aorta, the largest was in the ascending aorta with a mean of 7.6 mm (standard deviation 4.5). This suggests that the ascending aortic diameter is a poor predictor of dissection in most patients.
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