Management of an 11-year-old patient who presented with acute aortic dissection

An 11-year-old boy with no medical or family history was diagnosed with Stanford type B acute aortic dissection. Although a conservative treatment approach was adopted, deep sedation was required to keep him still during computed tomography. It revealed enlargement of the false lumen of the descending aorta, bilateral pleural effusion, and atelectasis. Thus, he underwent descending aortic replacement. After amelioration of perioperative rhabdomyolysis, he was discharged post-recovery. Since there have been no clinical guidelines for management of pediatric aortic dissection, it was difficult to decide between surgical and conservative approaches. Considering difficulty of mild sedation in children, if conservative approaches seem to be problematic, an early surgical approach with aortic replacement is sometimes necessary. <Learning objective: Acute aortic dissection rarely occurs in children or adolescents. There have been no clinical guidelines for management of pediatric aortic dissection. Therefore, it is difficult to decide between surgical and conservative approaches. Considering difficulty of mild sedation in children, if conservative approaches seem to be problematic, an early surgical approach might be effective.>.