| Spontaneous Rupture of the Aortic
Arch: A Case Report and a Review of Literature |
(First Department of Surgery, Showa University,
Tokyo, Japan)
| Atsushi Bito |
Kazuto Maruta |
Yoshiaki Matsuo |
| Masahiro Aiba |
Tadanori Kawada |
Toshihiro Takaba |
|
The extremely rare occurrence of
a case of spontaneous rupture of the aortic arch is reported.
The patient was a 55-year-old woman who underwent a medical examination
at a hospital following a sudden onset of chest pain. After a
diagnosis of having cardiac tamponade was established, she was
transferred to our hospital. She was in a state of shock with
systolic blood pressure recorded at 70mmHg. Computerized tomographic
findings indicated cardiac tamponade and hematoma around the
ascending aortic arch but no aortic dissection. She was diagnosed
as having a ruptured aortic arch and an emergency operation was
performed. Apertures were observed on the anterior arch and were
closed by a suture under halted circulation. Transesophageal
echography was used to correctly identify the aperture on the
rupture during the operation. Pathologic findings also indicated
only extramural hematoma on the ascending aortic arch without
the dissection. The patientfs postoperative progress was satisfactory,
and she was discharged after spending 16 days in the hospital.
Spontaneous rupture of the thoracic aorta is extremely rare;
it cannot be accurately diagnosed and leads to poor prognosis.
Even in a case without trauma and aortic aneurysm, this disease
should be diagnosed through rapid and detailed examination using
computed tomography, and aggressive surgical treatment should
be performed.
@Jpn. J. Cardiovasc. Surg. 33: 270-273i2004) |
|
