RADIOLOGICAL EVALUATION OF THE ASCENDING AORTA FOLLOWING REPAIR OF TYPE-A DISSECTION

A patient with persistent chronic dissection proximal to an aortic int erposition graft for repair of a type A dissection prompted us to revi ew the computed tomographic (CT) findings in 14 other such patients 5- 47 months after surgery. No other case of proximal aortic dissection w as identified although dilatation of the aortic root proximal to the g raft was present in 8 patients (57%). Persistent dissection distal to the graft in 11 patients (79%) was in keeping with that reported by ot her workers. Chronic dissection proximal to the surgical repair of a d issection seems a rare although important complication.