A Case of Acute Type A Aortic Dissection with Double Aortic Arch

Abstract

Double aortic arch (DAA) is extremely rare in adults. A 71-year-old woman suffered from syncope, and an acute-type aortic dissection with a DAA accompanied by a massive pericardial effusion was shown in a non-enhanced computed tomography (CT). Enhanced CT was not performed because of her hemodynamic instability. She was rushed to the operating theater after immediate pericardiocentesis without more precise morphological evaluation. Ascending aortic replacement was performed by clamping both aortic arches without systemic circulatory arrest. She survived the operation, but her respiratory function was affected by tracheomalacia and remaining DAA with residual dissection.