REOPERATIONS AFTER DACRON PATCH AORTOPLASTY WITH HEPARINIZED FEMOROFEMORAL BYPASS

Dacron patch aortoplasty used to be a standard therapy in some surgica l units. Occurrence of aneurysm formation after this procedure is well known. The incidence of aneurysms is reported to be 0-35% with a high risk of lethal rupture. We report three cases of aneurysm repair of t he descending thoracic aorta after dacron patch aortoplasty using femo ro-femoral extracorporeal system. Heparin-coated system was used prima rily to prevent ischemic spinal cord injury through hypotension of the distal aorta and secondarily to reduce the risk of intraoperative hem orrhage. (C) 1997 Elsevier Science B.V.