Background: The aim of this study was to evaluate long-term results of surgery for type A aortic dissection in non-Marfan patients with histologically confirmed cystic medial necrosis.
Methods: We reviewed our institutional database to identify non-Marfan patients who underwent surgery for acute type A dissection between October 1994 and May 2006 (n = 188). Pathology reports and histologic analyses were available in 174 patients, which form the focus of this study. Long-term results of patients with histologic evidence of cystic medial necrosis in their resected aorta were compared with patients with other causes of aortic dissection.
Results: A total of 137 patients (79%) survived to discharge from the hospital. Cystic medial necrosis was present in 89 of these 137 patients (65%, group 1). The remaining 48 patients showed a different histologic pattern (group 2). Long-term follow-up was available in 100% of survivors and was 41 +/- 30 months long. Freedom from late death was 82% in group 1 and 74% in group 2 (p = 0.24). Although aortic reoperation was required in more group 1 patients (17% versus 10%), this difference failed to reach statistical significance (p = 0.3).
Conclusions: The aortic reoperation rate after acute type A dissection may be higher among patients having cystic medial necrosis. We recommend that non-Marfan patients with histologically confirmed cystic medial necrosis undergo the same thorough postoperative surveillance as Marfan patients do.