RADICAL ENDARTERECTOMY OF SEVERELY CALCIFIED ASCENDING AORTA PREVENTSSTROKE DURING OPEN-HEART-SURGERY

In ten patients (7 women), mean age 73 years, with severely calcified ascending aorta, aortic valve and coronary artery disease were surgica lly treated after radical endarterectomy of the ascending aorta during cardiopulmonary bypass and with or without deep hypothermic total cir culatory arrest. One patient died 10 days and one 11 months postoperat ively of complications which neither directly nor indirectly could be attributed to the aortic endarterectomy. The eight surviving patients are doing well after follow-up averaging 16 months. CT scans 1 year po stoperatively showed no aneurysmal dilation of the ascending aorta or aortic dissection distal to the endarterectomy site. Radical endartere ctomy of calcified ascending aorta thus can be performed with relative ly low mortality and stroke risk and may be considered in patients und ergoing valve replacement and/or coronary artery bypass grafting.