A successful surgical case of an 80-year-old patient with type a acute aortic dissection complicated by preoperative multiple organ failure

Abstract

An 80-year-old woman was hospitalized in a state of shock accompanied by blood acidosis due to type A acute aortic dissection complicated by respiratory, liver, and kidney failure. A warning was given to her family that lack of intervention may possibly lead to an early death, and permission for the intervention was obtained. After undergoing a "less invasive quick replacement (LIQR)," a newly modified procedure that we had developed, the patient improved gradually, went home without any complications, and continues to be well. Emergency surgery for octogenarians remains controversial, particularly for patients with a pre-operative, compassionate indication. Here, we report a survival case for an emergency operation using LIQR to treat an octogenarian diagnosed with type A acute aortic dissection complicated by multiple organs failure. © 2011 The Editorial Committee of Annals of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery. All rights reserved.