Surgical Treatment of Retrograde Type A Aortic Dissection After Thoracic Endovascular Aortic Repair

Data are scarce regarding retrograde type A dissection (RTAD) after thoracic endovascular aortic repair (TEVAR). This study aimed to investigate the clinical characteristics and surgical treatment outcomes of patients who developed RTAD after TEVAR. From January 2015 to January 2020, 25 consecutive patients (aged 52 +/- 11.69 years) of RTAD after TEVAR received open surgery. All patients received total arch replacement (TAR) with the frozen elephant trunk (FET). The proximal part of the TEVAR stent was removed using a wire scissor. The distal part of the TEVAR stent in the descending aorta was preserved. Data of 50 random patients of type A aortic dissection without prior TEVAR were collected during the same period. We compared the perioperative and midterm follow-up outcomes between patients with prior TEVAR and patients without prior TEVAR. The mean cardiopulmonary bypass time, aortic cross-clamp time, and deep hypothermic circulatory arrest time were 173.7 +/- 44.1, 109.5 +/- 31.4, and 21.6 +/- 6.8 minutes in the RTAD group, respectively. These times are similar to those of the no-RTAD group. The median interval between the initial TEVAR procedure and RTAD was 8.5 months (range, 0-72 months). New entry tears that were induced by the proximal end of the TEVAR stent were found in 23 (92%) patients of the RTAD group. There were no significant differences in major ad-verse events and overall survival between the two groups. TAR with the FET technique was feasible for the treatment of RTAD after TEVAR, with acceptable early and midterm results. (Int Heart J 2022; 63: 286-292)