Right main pulmonary artery thrombus after type a aortic dissection repair

Abstract

Type A aortic dissection involves the ascending thoracic aorta and needs emergent surgical repair since these patients are at increased risk of complications such as aortic rupture, aortic regurgitation, myocardial infarction, and cardiac tamponade. We describe two cases of right main pulmonary artery thrombus after Type A aortic dissection repair with graft. The right main pulmonary artery thrombus is a very rare complication of Type A aortic dissection repair and has never been reported up to the present time. The preferred location of thrombus after ascending aortic dissection repair is the right main pulmonary artery due to its close approximation. The possible mechanism of right main pulmonary artery thrombus is the compression of the right main pulmonary artery by distorted aortic structure after the surgery and altered blood flow dynamics in the pulmonary artery.