FATAL AORTIC RUPTURE FOLLOWING BALLOON ANGIOPLASTY OF AORTIC RESTENOSIS IN AORTOARTERITIS

We report a case of fatal aortic rupture following balloon dilation in a young female with aortoarteritis in whom restenosis of the aorta wa s observed 16 years after a patch aortoplasty operation, To the best o f our knowledge, this complication has not been reported in aortoarter itis, although such instances have been reported in recoarctation, Thi s unfortunate experience leads us believe that aortic segment in opera ted cases may be resistant to balloon dilation and vulnerable to ruptu re. In such cases, balloon angioplasty should either be avoided or per formed with extreme caution, A sequential balloon dilation technique s tarting with a smaller balloon may be helpful in avoiding this complic ation. (C) 1995 Wiley-Liss, Inc.