[Case report of a thoracoabdominal aneurysm operation using profound hypothermia and circulatory arrest]

A 55-year-old male was diagnosed by CT scan as having a Crawford type I thoracoabdominal aneurysm. An angiogram revealed an aortic aneurysm located from the Th 7 to the visceral vessels of the abdominal aorta and its maximum diameter was 10 cm. Resection and replacement of the aneurysm was performed, but due to the large diameter of the aneurysm, cross-clamping of the descending aorta was impossible. Therefore, the operation was carried out under profound hypothermia and circulatory arrest (HCA). The postoperative course was excellent without any adverse neurological symptoms or complications of any kind. Although HCA has some disadvantages such as coagulation disorders and lung complication, it seems to be a very useful method in cases of reoperation or in cases such as presented here where the aneurysm was of large diameter.